dromasca Reviews

Project Wolf Hunting (2022)

bloody horror

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

Those who will dare to watch 'Project Wolf Hunting' (the original title is 'Neugdaesnyang'), the 2022 film written and directed by Korean director Kim Hong Sun will have a good chance to see the bloodiest movie or one of the bloodiest movie that they have ever seen them. And yet it is not just a film aimed at fans of violent action and/or horror. 'Project Wolf Hunting' is also a film that confirms the boldness and creativity of South Korean filmmakers, their ability to combine and transcend genres and make interesting films that are not shy of being extreme or bizarre.

Several dozen male and female prisoners, handcuffed and guarded by a detachment of guards and policemen armed to the teeth, are extradited from the Philippines to South Korea aboard a cargo ship. The inmates plan and execute a spectacular escape and take control of the ship. They are among the cruelest criminals and murderers, so that the revolt is violent from the beginning and the fights between the guards and the prisoners cause many victims. Before long, however, they will all realize that they face a common danger, even more deadly than their rivalries. The ship carries a secret passenger of a very special kind, a killing machine with seemingly supernatural powers. It will break free and go on a rampage, killing everything in its path. Meanwhile, a remote command center watches over the ship until all communications are cut.

'Project Wolf Hunting' navigates (to use an appropriate expression) between cinematic genres. In the first half hour, which is about a quarter of the film's duration, we get to know the characters - the policemen, the prisoners, the crew, the people in the command center. Then we start losing them one by one in the violence that ensues. What started out as a psychological thriller turns into an action film about a prison uprising, only to end in pure horror. There is also an explanation of what is happening, a combination of facts from the violent history of Asia during the Second World War with experiences of prisoners that are taken over in our era by big pharma concerns and by armies. Everything makes sense and is well filmed. Those who do not reject violence as cinematic entertainment have a good chance of enjoying this film. The finale opens the premises of some sequels, so we may hear more about 'Project Wolf Hunting'.

Revenge (II) (2017)

much more than a revenge movie

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

'Revenge' is the feature debut of French director Coralie Fargeat, a director who doesn't seem to be in a hurry. She was already 40+ years in 2017 when this film was made, and only this year, as she approaches the age of 50, her second film will premiere in the official competition at Cannes. Even from the title it is suggested that it is a revenge movie, although, perhaps, if I had to choose the closest genre I would rather include it among survival movies. However, 'Revenge' does not sit comfortably within the limits of any of these genres. It has a quality of its own and manages to be more than just a movie in one genre or another, although the amount of action and gore will please fans of those genres. It is also a feminist film, the main heroine being a woman and the director approaching two very 'masculine' cinematic genres without any complex. If anyone was in doubt, everything a man can do a woman can do as well, and often much better.

The film has four characters - three men and one woman. The action takes place in a desert hunting area. Richard, who is rich and married, brings Jen, his young and beautiful mistress, to the pool villa in the middle of the desert for two days of intimacy before his two other friends arrive. However, they appear earlier than expected. After a night of partying, Richard leaves to get hunting licenses, and in his absence, one of the friends rapes Jen, while the third man hesitates and decides not to help her. When Richard returns, he tries to appease and cover up the story, but Jen, perhaps shocked, doesn't seem willing to cooperate. Richard decides to kill her and throws her into a precipice in the desert. Convinced that the young woman is dead, the three men attempt to continue their hunting program as if nothing had happened. But Jen survives. Or perhaps the more accurate term is that she is reborn. And she will take her revenge.

In many ways the movie is predictable and the characters do pretty much what we expect them to do in movies of this kind. And yet 'Revenge' surpasses in quality just about everything we've seen in these categories. First of all, the story is very well written (Coralie Fargeat is also the author of the original screenplay) and the action never drags. A few well-placed symbols (the apple the heroine bites into at the beginning of the story, the Phoenix bird as rebirth and healing by fire) add meaning without being excessive. The cinematography is special - both in the way the desert is shot and in the alternation of fast action shots with long shots. For example, the final confrontation in the villa is preluded by a multi-minute single shot frame from Richard's perspective, which helps build the tension. Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz is the ideal actress for the role, and being directed by a woman adds to the psychological veracity of the character, who transforms from an object of attraction for the men in the film to a machine of survival and revenge. The amount of blood and scenes of cruelty that are the main source of horror place the film among the most violent in an already very violent genre. But 'Revenge' is one of those films where the violence is motivated by the characters, and that's why it looks credible despite the fact that the amount of blood that flows is much greater than can fit in the bodies of the four characters of the film.

Un homme heureux (2023)

too nice to be true

[6/10 · 18 April 2024]

I am a big fan of Fabrice Luchini. The joy of seeing one of his latest films was immense. I was quite surprised that Tristan Séguéla's 'Un homme hereux' (2023) seems to have been seen by very few people. The theme of acceptance of different LGBT+ communities always risks generating controversy, and there are viewers who shun films that set or touch on this space. On the other hand, the cinematography of the world in general and the French one in particular has recorded numerous successes - including blockbusters, including comedies - with films of this kind. The common denominator of the successful films, however, was audacity. Addressing sensitive subjects requires courage on the part of screenwriters and directors, and if it is a comedy, taking the risk of offending, within the limits of good taste and avoiding cheap humor. This is exactly what is unfortunately missing in 'Un homme hereux', but the film is still worth seeing. Not just for Fabrice Luchini.

The story takes place in a city in the north of France. Mayor Jean Leroy, a rather conservative 63 years old politician who opportunistically keeps his homophobic views to himself, decides to run for another term. Just then, his wife, Édith, informs him that ... she has felt like a man all her life, that she is tired of hiding her sexual identity and that she has begun the process of physical transition from woman to man. The two decide to postpone the public announcement of the transition until after the election, so as not to disturb Jean's image in the eyes of the town's conservative electorate. As you might suspect, such a plan cannot be kept a secret for too long, neither from the couple's three adult children, nor from residents and voters, in a world where everyone has eyes, ears, and especially cameras and mobile phones. The revelation will blow up the electoral plans and transform the mayor and those around him. Meanwhile Édith continues her transition to becoming Édy.

Need I mention that Fabrice Luchini is formidable and his every moment on screen is a delight? The same can be said about Catherine Frot who plays the role of Édith - Édy. The two practically support the film along with Philippe Katerine, a formidable actor himself who I've seen perform well in so many supporting roles that I can't help but wait for the moment when a brave director gives him a big leading role. The problem is the script. Trying not to upset anyone, the story avoids any violent confrontation (like those that happen in reality) and blunts all the arrows of satire. The most successful scenes are those in the LGBT+ support group, where the 'politically correct' language of the community is ironized, but here too the excessive restraint is obvious. The feeling of missing out is amplified by the ending. The last 15 minutes seem to belong to the American remake and not the original film, with a very predictable breakup and reunion and a completely missed opportunity to generate more fun and satire based on the opposites of gender cross-dressing at the carnival. We are left with the image of Luchini's sad and lonely clown face at the end, but I have already praised him enough. 'Un homme hereux' is a film too nice to be genuine.

Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022)

the daemon of motherhood

[7/10 · 17 April 2024]

'Huesera' (2022) is the debut feature film of Mexican director Michelle Garza Cervera. And what a debut! The director, who is also a co-writer, has imagined a story that combines psychological thriller with elements of horror, tackles feminist themes and explores female psychology during pregnancy and the immediate post-natal period with an intensity worthy of the great masters of cinematic art. Not everything works in this film, but what we saw in the 93 minutes that the film lasts is the promise that this is a significant first film by a female filmmaker who can become a name in the world of cinema.

Valeria and Raúl are an ordinary Mexican couple. They have wanted a child for a long time and for this Valeria will travel with her mother on a pilgrimage to a huge golden statue of the Holy Virgin. She seems to answer prayers and Valeria becomes pregnant. The two spouses begin to plan and prepare for the baby's arrival, she builds a wonderful bed and transforms her carpentry workshop into the baby's future room. One night something happens. Valeria sees a woman throwing herself from the second floor of the building across the street and breaking her legs. Until she calles Raúl, the woman had disappeared. Nightmare? Hallucination? Other visions also happen. Memories also return - of an incident in the past when she had fallen with the child of neighbors in the arms, of the adventurous youth in which she had had an affair with another woman. In the eyes of those around her, even Raúl's, her ability to be a good mother starts to be questioned. The birth of the baby girl should bring things back to normal, but not only is that not happening, the crisis is deepening.

What happens to Valeria is an open question. Is it mental disorders, natural to some point during pregnancy or after birth? Or maybe the young woman represses her sexuality and desire for freedom under social and family pressure? Or maybe it's about something deeper and stranger. Mexico is a country that lives between tradition and modernity, between reality and magic. Valeria finds herself also between the two worlds. The solution to her problems will also belong to the world of magic. The ending is a variation on a legend that gives the film its name, but what we see is in terms of reality an abandonment, in terms of magic a liberation. The performer of the main role - Natalia Solián - is extraordinary. It can be seen that she worked on the role for a long time together with the director. The cinematography is also of very good quality, with the symbolism of the cobweb trap returning in different visual forms. Not everything works in this film, the horror scenes do not always manage to create the expected effects, but the minuses in the effects are compensated by the eyes and the face of the actress who shouts her feelings beyond the screen. 'Huesera' is a special and impressive film, a spectacular debut.

Back to Black (2024)

a softer Amy Winehouse

[7/10 · 16 April 2024]

Amy Winehouse is the latest personality in a select and tragic list that includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones. They were all extraordinarily talented musicians. They all led intense lives marked by phenomenal creativity but also personal crises and substance abuse. All died at the age of 27 of lifestyle-related deaths. All left behind millions of grieving fans and musical legacies as sizable as they are focused, leaving us to guess what their careers and music history would have looked like without these tragic early deaths. An acclaimed and award-winning documentary has already been made about Amy Winehouse. Now, director Sam Taylor-Johnson offers us 'Back to Black' - a biopic that proposes a somewhat 'sweetened' vision of the singer who not only lived and created intensely, but also never avoided controversy. It is possible that the original screenplay written by Matt Greenhalgh may have sinned in this very way.

The problem with a biography like Amy's is that most of the viewers were her contemporaries, we each have our own memories of her person and career, and we can't avoid comparing them to what we see on screen. From the biography of the musician, the script chose the few years between 2002 when she signed the collaboration with '19 Management' for her first album and 2008 when at the 50th edition of the Grammy Awards she received five awards in the same night. Connoisseurs will note the absence from Amy's career story of Mark Ronson, the producer of the blockbuster album that also gives the film its title. From her private life, the focus is on her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil. This is on the one hand presented as the only true love story of Amy's life. On the other hand, the same relationship is blamed for the singer's personal crises and heavy drugs addiction. The family also plays an important and largely positive role. Both Amy's father and grandmother appear as luminouse characters, who support her in her career and try (unsuccessfully) to guide her in her personal life as well.

The writer and the director chose to present a somewhat embellished version of Amy. The final years of the artist's life, her relapse into alcoholism, the missed concerts and the conflicts with the audiences are omitted. This vision seemed incomplete to me. Could those around her have saved her? Unanswered question. I really enjoyed the recreation of the atmosphere of London clubs and the north of the British capital in the first decade of the century. Marisa Abela's performance is overwhelming - she manages to get completely into character and does very well with the music also, coming close in sound but without touching the emotion and quality of the original. Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville play the roles of Amy's father and grandmother very well. I am not sure whether in real life the family came that close to the ideal, but that's how it appears to have been in the movie, and the emotion crosses the screen. 'Back to Black' is a film worth seeing for both the music and the story, but viewers should keep in mind that this is still fiction and not an official biography. And now, I'm going to listen to Amy Winehouse - the real one.

Cries & Whispers (1972)

elegy in red

[10/10 · 15 April 2024]

If we really want to place 'Cries and Whispers' (the original Swedish title is 'Viskningar och rop'), the film made in 1972 by Ingmar Bergman, in a category or genre of films, the most appropriate categorization would be 'family drama' with the addition of 'period', the story taking place sometime at the beginning of the 20th century, the period in which the action of August Strinberg's plays also takes place. However, it is one of those films that refuses to be categorized and which, over time, we realize is itself a separate category and genre. Or in other words - a masterpiece.

The story takes place in the mansion of a rich family from the Swedish province. The three sisters who grew up here are together again, but the circumstances are not happy. Agnes, the unmarried sister and permanent tenant of the villa, is sick with cancer and lives her last days in suffering. Karin and Maria come to be with her in her last moments, but the one who really supports her in her suffering before her death, and perhaps after, is the faithful servant Anna. Each of the four women carries a baggage of sufferings, frustrations, unhappiness. Agnes's suffering is physical, but her memories are not very happy either, she experiences the feeling that she was their mother's least loved daughter. Karin cannot stand physical contact, primarily with her much older husband. Maria, the youngest sister and the most beautiful of the three, also has an unsuccessful marriage marked by infidelities. Karin and Maria each carry the memories of traumatic events that happened in the past in the same villa. Finally, Anna, a simple woman with a round face, carries with her the memory of her dead little girl. She is the only one of the four women who is faithful. After the death of their sick sister, Karin and Maria will try to reconnect, but the accumulation of frustrations and hatred is difficult to overcome.

Cinematography plays an essential role in this film. Some scenes make direct references to the Bible. The dominant color is red - "the color of the interior of the soul". The walls of the villa are painted red, the transition between scenes is done using the color red rather than the usual black, and blood appears in some dramatic scenes. For contrast, white is used quite a lot, the color of the heroines' clothing, which will be replaced by black after Agnes' death. Cinematographer Sven Nykvist won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography - the only Academy Award won by this film (out of 5 nominations, including Best Picture). The acting performances are overwhelming. The performances of the four actresses are all the more remarkable as Ingmar Bergman was a fanatic of close-ups and did not hesitate to use them copiously in this film as well. Agnes is Harriet Andersson - dramatic and emotional, experiencing physical suffering but also a coming to life hinting at the Resurrection. Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann play Karin and Maria and their scenes together are anthological. Finally, Kari Sylwan is Anna, managing to create a deeply human but also symbolic character, the social and moral opposite of the three sisters. 'Cries and whispers' is a deeply human film, loaded with moral and religious references, a film about death, pain, hatred and compassion, about the power of empathy and about the priceless value of small moments of happiness. Sensitive and symbolic. Not to be missed.

Road to Perdition (2002)

Paul Newman's Farewell

[8/10 · 14 April 2024]

The tradition of big Hollywood actors playing the roles of crime family bosses is well entrenched in the history of American cinema. About halfway between Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro we have Paul Newman, one of the most impressive and popular actors of his generation, playing the role of Irish clan boss John Rooney in 'Road to Perdition'. If only this 2002 film, directed by Sam Mendes, had given Newman one last big screen role and given him a chance to meet in the cast some of the important actors of the generations after him, that would have been enough to the film to remain in the history of American cinema. 'Road to Perdition', however, has many other cinematic qualities that make it a memorable film, beyond the exceptional cast. And yes, it is also the farewell film of a great cinematographer, Conrad L. Hall.

The year is 1931. Michael Sullivan is seemingly an ordinary family man. He lives in a beautiful Chicago house with his wife and two boys, who have no idea what he's up to. One evening, Michael Jr., the older boy, about 12 years old, happens to see his father take a gun out of his pocket. The next evening he hides in the car that takes his father to a meeting that ends in an assassination. Thus he learns that the father is the Rooney family's confidant and cold-blooded killer. When Michael discovers that young Connor Rooney is conning his father, Michael tries to get his attention, but Connor kills his wife and young son. The two Michaels, father and son, set out on a road strewn with armed robbers and corpses. The attempt to prove his loyalty to the head of the clan collides with the solidarity of the criminal family. The boy will be getting some early life lessons in a few weeks. Will he follow in his father's footsteps on the path of murder?

The bonds between fathers and sons form the axis of the film. The role of Michael Sullivan is played by Tom Hanks in one of the first roles in which he does not play a 'nice guy' character. He is the true spiritual son of John Rooney, who is played with restraint and dignity by Paul Newman. Mob laws take precedence over feelings, however, and they dictate to the Mob boss to favor and protect his own son, Connor, even at the cost of ruining his own business and losing his faithful Michael. Connor is played by Daniel Craig, unexpectedly nuanced here, before donning the mask of James Bond. Jude Law as the hitman to kill the hitman who was Michael also has an excellent composition role. The moral thread of the action is emphasized by Michael Sullivan's dilemmas. On the one hand, he has no choice but to take his son (played by Tyler Hoechlin) on a journey of initiation where he has to share with him survival techniques from the criminals' arsenal. On the other hand, he would like Michael Jr. To grow up differently and to be able to choose a path other than that of crime. How he will succeed in this you will see in that part of the film which is a 'road movie' with a father and a son, very different from the similar ones in other films. Conrad L. Hall's cinematography is exceptional, with gunfights and scenes shot in the rain providing reference frames. The story takes place entirely in the world of gangsters, where - says John Rooney - none of the characters will sit at the right hand of God. Sam Mendes tries to prove, however, that moral salvation is still, even here, possible.

Paula (I) (2016)

opening new roads

[7/10 · 12 April 2024]

Paula Modersohn-Becker seems to have lived several lives. The first was, of course, her life on this planet, between 1876 and 1907 - a short, tumultuous life, a constant struggle with the world around her, but primarily with herself, as a woman and as an artist. She left behind more than 700 paintings and 1000 drawings. The German Expressionists gave her a second life, considering her as one of the representative artists of the current and dedicating to her, in 1927, the first museum of a female artist in the history of art. The Nazi regime removed her works from museums and declared them to belong to 'degenerate art'. The third life seems to be happening in the last few decades. Paula Modersohn-Becker is reconsidered not only as one of the important artists of the beginning of the 20th century, but also as a model of struggle for female affirmation and breaking of artistic and social conventions and prejudices. The film 'Paula' (2016) by the German director Christian Schwochow is part of this revival of interest and artistic and media recovery of the painter, along with important exhibitions and documentary films.

'Paula' is a fairly detailed biopic, that focuses on the last seven years of the artist's life. We find her at the beginning of the film attending the (segregated, for women) painting lessons at the artists' colony at Worpswede. Her artistic talent and ambitions exceed the artistic and ideological limits imposed by the realism and naturalism promoted by the school and the social conventions that wanted to reduce her to the role of wife and mother, prohibiting her career as a professional artist, considered suitable only for men. Paula will quickly get into conflict with her teachers, but it is here that she will meet Paul Modersohn, a less talented painter who, however, enjoyed success and financial stability, and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who opens her horizons and a encourages her to continue her path as an artist. The film's script offers a slightly different point of view than other biographies regarding Paula and Albert's marriage and relationship. The man, it is claimed, did not understand modern art or his wife's talent, at least at first, but he financially supported her trip and stay in Paris. The crisis of the marriage and the absence of children during the first five years of marriage are resolved by the script in a dramatic manner with the scenes that take place in 1906, when Albert arrives in Paris. It seems to be, for a short time, a happy love story. The man's fears, due to the loss of his first wife, will be however confirmed by the death of Paula, a year later, a few weeks after the birth of their only daughter.

The fate of Paula Modersohn-Becker can be compared to that of several other contemporary artists, who could hardly survive in the environment of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which was as revolutionary in art as it was misogynistic in the attitude of most artists, collectors and art critics towards women. Like Camille Claudel in sculpture, Paula Modersohn-Becker had a short active life, but left a significant body of work. In Christian Schwochow's film, Paula's struggle with the artistic and social environment is well highlighted, although the atmosphere is not gloomy. This is largely due to the acting creation of Carla Juri, an actress I do not remember having seen before, who brings to the screen a luminous and optimistic character, sure of her talent, determined to realize herself both as an artist and as a woman. Her belief that it is possible for a woman to fulfill both roles - in art and in society - captivates viewers, even if the ending is not a happy one. Visually, the film is very well designed, with many excellently filmed studio or nature painting scenes. The image of the painter carrying her easel like a cross in the fields or on the streets of the village will remain in the memory of those who saw the film. Art history recovered Paula Modersohn-Becker with her pioneering talent, courage and ability to understand people and represent their humanity in her portraits. 'Paula' - the film pays her a fitting tribute.

Crooks in Clover (1963)

cinema of the uncles

[8/10 · 11 April 2024]

Almost every reference to 'Les tontons flinguers' includes the phrase 'cult film'. To be honest, I don't know exactly what this expression means, but I suspect that what is meant in this case is that director Georges Lautner's film has gained a loyal audience, who enjoy watching it again every time they get the chance, and that it includes some scenes that fans know by heart and several lines that have entered popular folklore, even if not everyone knows their source. But this film also has an interesting positioning. It was released in 1963, in the midst of the 'Nouvelle Vague' revolution in French cinema. A series of "cinema du papa" filmmakers - to use the expression attributed, it seems wrongly, to Truffaut - reacted by making films in the tradition of the 40s and 50s. Some of them were really good, and 'Les tontons flinguers' was one of them. In addition, it is also a parody of 'film noir' in the American style, the genre they were in love with and which the young 'Nouvelle Vague' directors imitated. Gaumont studios initially did not believe in the success of this film and to secure financing they allied themselves with German and Italian studios for a co-production. They were wrong both on the short term, with the film having over 3 million viewers in the year of its release, and of course in the long term, 'Les tontons flinguers' becoming, deservedly, a cinematic landmark.

'Les tontons flinguers' is the last film in a trilogy of adaptations of Albert Simonin's novels that have Max le Menteur (The Liar) as their hero. Unlike the previous films in which the main role was played by Jean Gabin, here the hero, renamed Fernand Naudin, is played by Lino Ventura. Withdrawn from the business of crime for 15 years, 'Uncle Fernand' is called to Paris by his friend Louis le Mexicain (the Mexican), who is on his deathbed, to take over his small illegal business empire and especially to take care of his daughter Patricia. The heads of the different 'branches of activity' of the Mexican, who hoped to inherit and administer them as they pleased, do not come to terms with the situation. What follows is the outbreak of an underworld gangs war parallel to young Patricia's adventures that prove as difficult to control as the crime empire.

Lino Ventura fits perfectly into the role of Uncle Fernand. His comic talent is evident today, but that was not the case at that point in his career, with the actor specialized in 'tough' gangster or cop roles almost turning down the role in this film. He is surrounded by a group of lesser-known actors, although you probably know many of their figures from supporting roles in many other films. I'll give special mention to Bernard Blier, Robert Dalban, Francis Blanche and German actor Horst Frank with an icy stare that makes him look like a Daniel Craig replica (just that Craig was not born yet). Jean Lefebvre, who would later become famous in comedies, had yet to demonstrate his full talent. The story is simple and therefore can be easily followed, and Michel Audiard's dialogues, combining jargon with the language of the rich, make us constantly wait for the next memorable line. Michel Magne's music is also worth paying attention to. It is about a single theme (composed of four notes!) that is repeated throughout the film in about 13 different styles, from baroque to twist. Maurice Fellous' cinematography also serves the comedy well and helps create some memorable scenes. Watched today, 'Les tontons flinguers' seems uneven and many of the jokes have lost their effect, but those few scenes of situation and language comedy that are very successful place it among the most memorable films of the period. The actors are said to have had a blast during the shooting. This can be seen, and we, the viewers, share the feeling even after 60 years.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

a self parody

[6/10 · 9 April 2024]

The intention of parody is visible from the title. 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' directed by Tom Gormican is inspired by 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being', the 1988 screen adaptation of a novel by Milan Kundera directed by Philip Kaufman. Nothing is too 'heavy' in this 2022 film, just as nothing was too 'light' in the 1988 film. If it's a parody, then we're dealing with a Nicolas Cage self-parody. No one doubts that he is an actor with 'massive talent'. But his career seems to have come to a standstill about two decades ago. His memorable roles - and they weren't few - were all created in the 90s and early 00s. The pace of work has not slowed down at all, with the actor being forced to act in just about anything to pay off debts related to taxes and expensive divorces. These roles were mostly in action movies, some bizare, some boring, far from the level of the films of his peak years. In recent years, perhaps with the remediation of its financial situation, we can notice a qualitative recovery trend. 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' is part of this artistic return of Nicolas Cage. What could be more suitable for this purpose than an action film (with a good chance of being liked by fans audience of the genre) in which the main hero is himself ... Nicolas Cage? We can also look at it as a kind of comic meditation on his own artistic path. Or simply as a likable comedy that reuses fun elements from his previous films.

The hero of the film, the actor Nick Cage is experiencing a life and career crisis. He is divorced and when he is meeting his teenage daughter he exasperates her by forcing her to watch the movies that made him famous or that he likes ('oldies movies' as we all teenage parents or grandparents know). His friend and advisor is an imaginary, younger alter-ego with whom he occasionally has dialogues. His agent is struggling to find him more meaningful roles than the B-movie action movies he's been stuck in for the past few years (any resemblance is no coincidence) but to no avail. He is denied a much-desired role, which would have relaunched his career in another direction. Desperate and in debt, he accepts an offer to attend a Spanish millionaire's birthday party for a million dollars. Upon landing in the picturesque island of Mallorca, however, a surprise awaits him. The Spanish millionaire is suspected of being the head of a mobster gang involved in the politics of Catalonia, who had just kidnapped, before the elections, the daughter of a candidate for the presidency of the province. The American secret services ask for his help to penetrate the suspect's entourage. But the millionaire turns out to be a great cinema lover, an admirer of Cage and willing to make ... a film together with him. The premise of an action comedy is there.

I'm having a hard time deciding if Nicholas Cage the actor is playing Nick Cage the actor in this movie or Nick Cage the character who happens to be an actor but is more of an adventure comedy hero. Perhaps both director and co-writer Tom Gormican and the actor himself left that dilemma up to the viewers. The character in the film borrows many elements from the actor's biography, but the atmosphere is that of parody, or self-parody if you will. We can't take some of the jokes too seriously, such as the use of prop guns in mob fights, but on the other hand, the script seems quite serious in its homage to Cage's previous films, or other films that he loves. Self-parody and self-homage at the same time? Movies of this type are the more successful the less they take themselves seriously. 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' doesn't relaunch Nicolas Cage's career into stellar orbit, but it does provide viewers with over 100 minutes of reasonable entertainment. This is no small thing either.

The Animal Kingdom (2023)

humans and creatures

[8/10 · 8 April 2024]

'Le règne animal' (2023), the second feature film of the French director Thomas Cailley, is a film that may confuse or disturb many of those who dare to see it. It is not recommended for those who do not like 'horror' films, but it is not a classic film in this genre either. It is an ecological and philosophical parable, but it is delivered in a package that is very different from that of art films. It's also a coming-of-age film and a father-son relationship, but these take place under extreme conditions that challenge conventions and overturn generally accepted principles. It is a disturbing, powerful and original film that aims to stay in the memory of those who have seen it without ever trying to be likeable.

The scene that opens the film takes place in a huge traffic jam, something quite common on French roads. A father, François, and his son, Émile, are stuck in a car. However, the reason for the blockage is not at all common. A strange creature, half man - half bird, had escaped from an ambulance. In the world where the story takes place, strange phenomena occur. Some people, touched by a mysterious disease, begin to turn into animals. The process is gradual, at first there are signs, then they become hybrids, they can end up looking like monsters. Those untouched by the disease call them 'creatures' and intern them in special 'centres' surrounded by prison walls and barbed wire. François's wife and Émile's mother is one of those ill. On the way to the south of France, where she had been assigned to such a 'centre', a car accident occurs. We don't know for sure if she survives. Father and son start looking for her in a forest populated by escaped 'creatures'. The teenage son, going through the crises of age and the inherent conflicts with his father, begins to show the first signs of the disease.

We can watch 'Le règne animal' as a horror film, but we can't help but wonder whose behavior is monstrous. Of 'creatures' who aspire to freedom or of people who behave with them as human social groups have often behaved in history with those considered 'foreigners 'aliens': with immigrants, with the natives of newly discovered territories, with those considered as belonging to 'the lower races', with the sick suffering from diseases that inspire fear. The directorial vision accentuates the sense of fantastical dystopia. The scenes that take place in the 'human kingdom' start with an appearance of normality thanks to the settings that are familiar to us (cars, a holiday village, a classroom, a supermarket) but each time a strange element appears that breaks the balance. Paradoxically, the scenes in a natural setting that represent the 'animal kingdom' are the ones that start from the fantastic to insert the emotions. Visually, some of these reminded me of James Cameron's 'Avatar', although the investment was probably several orders of magnitude lower in the French film. Romain Duris and Paul Kircher create a permanent dynamic in the relationship between father and son, presenting us with a family cell that faces the hostile unknown and manages to stay together and understand each other even when words no longer can express feelings. Tom Mercier, whom I noticed in 'Synonyms', also appears in the film in a supporting but important role. 'Le règne animal' is a special movie from many points of view. Many viewers will drop out somewhere in the middle. Those who will remain will be, in my opinion, the winers.

The Ladykillers (1955)

the original equals the remake

[8/10 · 6 April 2024]

'The Ladykillers' reopens the endless discussion with no conclusions about original films and remakes. 20 years ago, the Coen brothers were making an American remake starring Tom Hanks, which I saw then and liked (much more than other) . Now I got to see the original version made in 1955 and directed by Alexander Mackendrick. I enjoyed the movie made 69 years ago at least as much. Not only has the comedy and action remained fresh, but the visual quality and performances of the actors make 'The Ladykillers' 1955 edition one of the best films of the British Ealing film studios and a reference film for productions realized exclusively on the sets, precisely at the time when filmmakers and their film crews were discovering the virtues and advantages of natural light and filming in nature or in the urban environment, on the streets.

The sets, made entirely in the studio, are formidable. In an English one-story house at the end of a cul-de-sac, lives old Mrs. Wilberforce. The house looks like a prelude to the motel in 'Psycho' with two important additional details. It is on a hill near a large railway station and trains to and from all directions pass under that hill. The house had been damaged in the bombings of the war that had ended a decade ago, and the bizarre architecture was supplemented by sloping floors and walls. Precisely the strategic position makes this house the ideal home where the gang of thieves led by Professor Marcus plans to rob a mail train stopped at the station and hide the loot immediately after the hit. To camouflage the gatherings of bandits, they disguise themselves as baroque musicians in rehearsals. Mrs. Wilberforce is delighted with the company, but when the thieves use her to recover the money stolen from the station and when she realizes that the musicians were not musicians and the instrument cases hide different treasures, things get complicated. The old peaceful woman is both shrewd and stubborn, and has a sense of justice and a vitality that will blow up all the bandits' plans.

The set design is terrific, one of the best studio sets I've seen in movies. The intense and contrasting colors, with the few nuances of the early years of color film, also play an important role in the charm and special visual atmosphere of this film. The comedy of situations is enhanced by the savory lines of text. The role of the invincible old woman is played by Katie Johnson, a veteran actress of the English stage and screen, who was 78 years old and over 60 years into her career when the film was made. The head of the band of robbers is played by Alec Guinness, to whom I was able to get to know another facet of a formidable talent that also developed in many decades of activity. Among the thugs we can see Peter Sellers in one of his first major comedic roles in a feature film. 'The Ladykillers' model 1955 is a film that remains worth seeing today and that I recommend to all viewers, not just those who love classic cinematheque movies.

Bonnard: Pierre & Marthe (2023)

love and colors

[6/10 · 5 April 2024]

'Bonnard: Pierre & Marthe' (2023) is a film I would have had many reasons to like. It is the biopic of an artist from a revolutionary period of fine arts. It's a love story that takes place over half a century. It's a well-written and beautifully shot film, made by a film director who has already proven that he knows how to make excellent films about artists. And yet, something is missing. In 2008, Martin Provost directed and wrote 'Séraphine', a film about a very special artist with a spectacular biography. He then managed to enter her soul and bring to the screen a damned destiny of a female artist who suffered a lot in life. Unlike Séraphine Louis, Pierre Bonnard, considered the 'painter of happiness', had a relatively easy life, the support of his protectors launched his career and his commercial success ensured a life without material problems. Even the love story depicted in the film, with its ups, downs and dramas, is, at least seen from afar, a happy one, almost unique in the world of artists. Like it or not, traumatized lives and unhappy love stories are better filmed than long lives and long-surviving relationships.

The scene that opens the film takes place in 1893 in the Parisian studio of the young painter Pierre Bonnard. The artist had just met Marthe, noticing her on the street and inviting her to pose for him. What the French call a 'coup de foudre' takes place. In a few hours the two end up in bed and a few days later Pierre proposes to the young woman to spend their lives together. Marthe comes from a modest background, she is a worker in an artificial flower factory, she is intelligent and does not seem to lack education, but she is intimidated by the social environment and by Pierre's friends, a mixture of artists and rich people (including women) who support them. She knows that if she says yes and is lucky, she'll devote her life to supporting an artist with his eccentricities who is also a man with the specific manly egoism. If she says yes and is not lucky, the risk is that she will be very unhappy. She says Yes. The two move outside the city to a house on the banks of the Seine, a boat trip from the Givenchy of Claude Monet, who is Bonnard's friend and mentor, in a natural setting with the waters and lights that cradled Impressionism . The relationship is not without its ups and downs. Bonnard gives Marthe enough reasons to be jealous. At least two other women play an important role in his life: the pianist Misia Sert who became a patron of the arts and artists using the wealth of her successive husbands and the young artist Renée Monchaty, a late love that puts their relationship in danger. Only after this last affair fails, the two will marry, after more than 30 years of cohabitation. The First World War had marked the middle of their lives and their love story, the Second World War the end.

'Bonnard: Pierre & Marthe' lasts two hours. Martin Provost tells the story in detail, includes a lot of anecdotes gathered from the artists' memoirs or from the press of the time. It is not about the painter's biopic but about telling a love story. If there is no love, there is no art. The emphasis doesn't always seem to be on the most significant details. Some of the scenes that take place in the house on the banks of the Seine seem repetitive, while the dramatic episode of the relationship with Renée and her suicide in parallel with Martha's transformation into an artist seems superficially addressed. The most successful scenes seemed to me to be the ones where we see Bonnard (played by the excellent Vincent Macaigne) painting. In collaboration with the director of cinematography Guillaume Schiffman, film director Martin Provost manages here something that I also liked in 'Séraphine' - he harmonizes the color palette of the artist with the description of the environment that surrounded him, indicating the influence and creating an aesthetic vibration between the two visual universes. Psychologically, however, the characters cannot be deciphered until the end, despite all the efforts of Vincent Macaigne and Cécile de France in the role of the woman who dedicates her life to the artist.

I confess that I am not a big fan of Pierre Bonnard's paintings. I admire his technique, I respect his courage, I recognize his contribution to the history of art, but I cannot immerse myself in his art. My relationship with his paintings is one of aesthetic appreciation and not emotional vibration. I had about the same feeling when watching this movie.

Marguerite's Theorem (2023)

numbers and love

[6/10 · 3 April 2024]

Here is a movie that will interest my mathematician friends. I look forward to them watching it and sharing their impressions. 'Le théorème de Marguerite' (2023) is a variation on the classic formula 'boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back', with a few changes. First of all, the lead character is a woman, a young and brilliant mathematician who will meet a boy, so it's more like 'girl meets boy'. And yes, both the girl and the boy are mathematicians, so 'a mathematician girl meets a mathematician boy'. Otherwise, the formula applies - in cinema and in mathematics. The film by director Anna Novion is a film about the passion for mathematics. There aren't many movies that bring math heroes to the screen, but a few of them are memorable. 'Good Will Hunting' and 'A Beautiful Mind', for example, also offered us heroes whose life and passion are consumed in front of blackboards filled with mathematical equations. 'Le théorème de Marguerite' aims to join this select club.

The heroine of the film is called Marguerite Hoffman. She is a brilliant PhD student at one of the most prestigious colleges in France and mathematics is her whole life. The doctoral thesis supervised by Professor Werner is a demonstration of one of the most famous problems that mathematicians have faced for centuries: the Goldbach conjuncture. (for the curious: 'Any even number is the sum of two prime numbers'). The proposition was verified by numerical computers until they ran out of power, but it was never proved. On the day of the thesis presentation, however, a catastrophe occurs. Julien, another brilliant young mathematician who had joined Wener's team a few days before, points out a fatal flaw in the proof. Marguerite has a total mental breakdown and decides to abandon mathematics and the teacher whom she blames for betraying her by associating with the new student. She will try to work as a saleswoman, she will meet Noa, a dancer with whom she shares a rented apartment and who will try to bring her back to life. Marguerite, however, may leave mathematics, but mathematics does not leave her. The talent will help her become a brilliant mahjong player (a complex Chinese game with stones) and her orderly mathematical mind will struggle with feelings for the rival she associates with in solving the impossible problem.

Can love be rationalized? Can human mind function in the absence of feelings? You will receive answers to these questions in the story Anna Novion co-wrote. The main problem with the film is, in my opinion, the fact that these answers are kind of what we expected. Focus is on mathematics and love. Social aspects that might have been interesting - the position of women in academia, the life of the Chinese community in Paris - are touched upon only tangentially. The plot is also quite predictable. A bit more boldness and a story with more surprises wouldn't hurt. Fortunately, much of these weaker parts are offset by Ella Rumpf's formidable acting performance. The actress is no longer very young, she is more than ten years older than the heroine she plays in this film and has a filmography of almost 20 films behind her. And yet, with this role she won the Lumiere award for 'best female revelation' and four other awards - completely deserved. Her Marguerite Hoffman is intelligent and vulnerable, passionate to the point of obsession when it comes to the mathematics she has known since childhood and when it comes to the love she discovers late. With any luck for her and us viewers, 'Le théorème de Marguerite' is the first major film of a great actress. Among the other actors in the cast, I cannot skip Jean-Pierre Darroussin in the role of the teacher who guides the heroine's steps in mathematics even when their paths diverge, alongside the girl's mother played by Clotilde Courau. Goldbach's conjuncture is still waiting for its demo, and we, the viewers, are waiting for the future films of director Anna Novion and actress Ella Rumpf.

Bitter Flowers (2017)

alone, between two worlds

[7/10 · 2 April 2024]

'Les fleurs amères' (the title in the English distribution is 'Bitter Flowers') is the debut feature film of Belgian director Olivier Meys. It's also his only film so far, but I sincerely hope there will be more, because Meys demonstrates here both courage in tackling difficult themes, competence in assembling an unusual international team and talent in creating believable characters and situations on screen, which reflect real problems of the world in which we live. The director lived for many years in China and has experience as a documentary filmmaker with films made there during the period of great transformations that this country went through after the year 2000. 'Les fleurs amères' uses this life experience and decants it into a film also located at the intersection of the two cultures (Chinese and Western), with a story in which the often difficult experience of Chinese economic emigrants who came to work illegally in Europe is presented from the opposite point of view to that which European viewers are used to. Avoiding the pitfalls of melodrama and propaganda, Meys brings dramatic and believable characters and events to the screen.

The main heroine of the film, Lina, is an intelligent and hard-working woman, married and the mother of a ten-year-old boy, who decides to go to work for a few years in France as a nanny to get out of the economic impasse of the family, which lives in an area of China where industry has fallen into ruin. Once she arrives in Paris she will discover, as many other economic immigrants did, that the European reality is very different from expectations. In addition, the language and appearance barrier and the illegal status isolate her in the Chinese-speaking community. She finds support only in a group of immigrant women like her, forced to prostitute themselves to survive. Lina, after many tentatives and hesitations, joins them, and manages to recover financially. The price paid by this compromise, however, is huge and endangers not only her social status and her family life when she returns to China, but also her self-respect.

The relationship between the West and China is very complex these days, and 'Les fleurs amères' addresses a facet not explored (as far as I know) in films. We know the theme of immigration, including illegal immigration and its sordid and violent aspects from other films, but most of them are about immigrants from Eastern Europe or Africa. Although Olivier Meys is Belgian, the film is made from the Chinese perspective, addressing aspects related to the complex issues of the huge population migration (part internal, but also external as we can see in the film) that has taken place in China for the last four decades. Meys probably has the freedom to explore aspects and say things that Chinese filmmakers could not express. What impressed me though is the style and atmosphere, which retains the human empathy and solidarity of the characters in many Chinese films. The lead role is played by Xi Qi, a formidable actress, whose emotions transcend the screen and impress with dignity and sensitivity. Wang Xi plays her friend, in whom she finds moral support in the worst moments of trouble. Finally, the trio of strong female characters is completed by the younger Chloe Maayan who plays the role of Lina's sister-in-law, arrived later in Paris, attracted by the mirage of the heroine's supposed success. The cinematography belongs to Benoît Dervaux, an experienced Belgian filmmaker, who contributes to the special atmosphere of the film, whose action takes place partly in Paris, partly in China. Even when filming in Paris, the camera seems closed in the social bubble in which the heroine lives, that of the Chinese community in the French capital. We see, sometimes in the background, monuments and landscapes that we know, but it is as if they are seen from the inside through a glass wall. Scenes filmed in China add to the picture of a changing world and capture the moral and social implications of the events that had taken place in France. Both Meys and Dervaux have backgrounds and experience as documentarians, and it shows. The camera is mobile, part of the actors are amateur. Although the characters and the plot are imaginary, 'Les fleurs amères' looks like a docu-drama. A powerful and impressive one.

The Crime Is Mine (2023)

a me-too story in 1935's Paris

[8/10 · 1 April 2024]

'Mon crime' is the funniest and most entertaining film I have seen in the first three months of this year. Don't get me wrong, I've already seen some very good films, with deep topics, interesting cinematography and with great acting, but none of them made me laugh so heartily and none of them left me with smile on my face at the end as it happened with this 2023 film by François Ozon. This is one of his more relaxed films for the French director as well. Others tackle more 'serious' themes and do not hesitate to engage their viewers in original cinematic experiences. 'Mon crime' is an adaptation of a play written in 1934, the story takes place in 1935 and represents a kind of retro-me-too film, written (also by Ozon) and made in the spirit of French theatrical farces. The cast brings to the screen some fresh figures from among the young generation of French actors alongside stars whose presences make any film an unmissable event. The result is excellent.

Madeleine and Pauline are two young women trying their luck in Paris in 1935. Madeleine is a beautiful and talented actress, Pauline is a novice lawyer, brilliant but without clients. The two girls are on the verge of being evicted from the small and unheated rented apartment because they have not been able to pay their rent for many months. Madeleine shows up for an interview with a theater producer and goes through a me-too trauma, being assaulted and rejecting his advances. Unfortunately for her, an hour later the producer is found dead and Madeleine becomes the prime suspect. And then, the two girls decide to turn bad luck into opportunity by plotting to be involved in a trial that will make them famous. Madeleine confesses to the crime she did not commit and Pauline defends her and gets her acquitted. The luck gained through this ruse is in danger, however, when the real killer appears.

The true assassin is played by Isabelle Huppert in one of her best and funniest roles in this millennium, a role very different from the grim and doom-and-gloom characters she's taken on serially for quite some time. A formidable comedian is also Fabrice Luchini, another one of my favorite actors, relishing in the role of the investigating judge who manipulates justice to his own whims. Dany Boon, Olivier Broche and André Dussollier also have savory supporting roles. However, the main merits go, of course, to the two young actresses - Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Rebecca Marder - who each of them and especially together radiate talent and beauty. The satire of the misogynistic morals of 1930s France, unfortunately, still rings terribly relevant today. With slight changes, the story in the film could take place in 2024. But we would have lost the period fragrance and the pleasure of recreating a gallant Paris, with morals that are eternal despite toilets and hats that change their shapes and colors. I recommend that you don't miss 'Mon crime' for a healthy dose of charming entertainment.

Acceptable Risk (2017)

a pharma thriller in Dublin

[7/10 · 30 March 2024]

I do not regret the decision to spend the time of the six episodes in the company of the Irish mini-series 'Acceptable Risk' (2017) written by Ron Hutchinson and directed by Kenneth Glenaan and hristian Langlois. One of the reasons is that the story takes place in Dublin, a city I love and whose combination of traditional architecture with the futuristic atmosphere facilitated by the Irish high-tech explosion of the last few decades seems to me very suitable as a background for a crime thriller that takes place in the world of big and dangerous business (specifically that of the pharmaceutical industry) with reverberations in politics. My expectations were not disappointed. Without being a masterpiece or excelling in originality or violence, 'Acceptable Risk' has a complex and interesting plot and proposes a gallery of characters (almost all women) that we start to care about as the action progresses.

The first of the six series begins with the description of a murder in Montreal. As spectators we see as much as we are allowed, so that the atmosphere of 'whodunit' is created from the beginning. The victim is a marketing director of a concern based in Ireland. His wife, Sarah Manning, with whom he had spoken on the phone minutes before the murder, will become the main character of the story. Before long, Sarah will discover that she knows very little about the man she has lived with for many years. Tim Manning had been a CIA agent, and his assignments within the pharmaceutical concern included suspicious and dangerous contacts with politicians and influential people around the planet. Sarah, herself a lawyer and former employee of the firm, will be helped by an honest policewoman who is ready to risk her career to find out the truth, and by her sister, a woman who also hides some secrets in her biography and who entertains a very different lifestyle from the one of the recent widow left with two children to care for In a short time, the three women will realize that between them and the truth are not only the interests of the big pharma company, but also Irish political pressure, FBI and Canadian police investigations, and the activities of the American and German secret services. The story takes place in Dublin, but the implications are international.

The story is well written, the tempo is alert, something interesting and often unexpected is constantly happening. We can criticize the narrative by claiming that the sequence of events seems a little too complicated and that too many of the characters disappear to violent deaths before we have been given enough time to get to know them. This is offset by the excellent characterization of the main characters and the way their relationships unfold and progress with the investigation. Irish actress Elaine Cassidy holds the title role. I was not very excited by her performance, it seemed to me that in some places she was repeating herself and in others she was exaggerating the drama. Angeline Ball, on the other hand, creates the character of an intelligent and empathetic detective, and I would not be sorry at all if she became the heroine of a series that extends over several seasons. I also thought that Lisa Dwyer Hogg was very good, in the role of the sister who will prove to be more than just a member of the family. This triplet of characters confronting the political, police and espionage systems of multiple governments in their quest to learn the truth infuses a strong and authentic feminist message to the action. Danish actor Morten Suurballe plays the interesting role of the head of the pharmaceutical concern. We suspect from the beginning a villain behind his imposing and charismatic figure, and perhaps if the writers had provided more details about his biography and motivations, the story would have been even more complex and interesting. The finale solves the mystery of the crime and somewhat does justice, but some things will have to remain forgotten, and the world looks like it will continue with the same tricks of corruption. 'Acceptable Risk' is one of the good thriller series I've seen lately and I recommend it.

Titian. The Empire of Color (2022)

well documented, personifications do not help

[7/10 · 15 March 2024]

I am spoiled with the excellent art documentaries which are issued in the series 'Exhibition on Screen' and my quality reference is quite high. 'Titien. The Empire of Color' belongs to a different series and is quite a detailed and well-documented film, but I miss the concision, the focus and the immersive experience of visiting a major exhibition or a great art museum that I ofter experience in Phil Grabsky's movies. Yet it is well conceived following the biography of the artist and his path in history and art. Good commentary contributions of knowledgeable experts. What did not help were the personifications of the artist, his contemporaries or of the women in his life. I found these more distractive than useful.

La Chimera (2023)

the anti - Indiana Jones movie

[8/10 · 10 March 2024]

I had two very good reasons to definitely want to see 'La Chimera' (2023). The first - this is the first feature film of the Italian director Alice Rohrwacher after the unusual and superb 'Lazzaro felice' (2018). The second - we have the opportunity to see Isabella Rossellini again in a fairly consistent role, an actress whom I love enormously and whom we have the opportunity to see far too rarely in recent years. Two promises, therefore, that raised the risk that expectations would be too high relative to the viewing experience. Fortunately, that was not the case. Even if it doesn't reach the magic of the director's previous film, 'La Chimera' is an interesting movie and one far from stereotypes, which transports us in its world and which accompanies us long after the viewing is over. Isabella Rossellini creates the role of an old lady with the professionalism and nobility that characterizes her, but also with the shadow of mystery that fascinated me in films like 'Blue Velvet'. I was not disappointed.

The story in 'La chimera' can be resumed like an action movie with tomb raiders. Arthur, the main hero, is an English archaeologist who travels to Italy to explore Etruscan tombs. The young man has a special talent for detecting where to dig to reveal treasures buried for millennia. Arthur carries in his soul the pain of the death of his lover, the daughter of a music teacher who lives in a ruined palace, assisted by a woman named Italia, to whom she gives singing lessons as payment. Demoralized and fresh out of prison, Arthur associates with a group of vagabonds who discover and illegally open and rob Etruscan tombs in order sell the finds to an antiquities dealer who then resells them for fabulous sums to the world's rich. The police are constantly on their trail, without excess of zeal or efficiency.

If we refer to the tomb raiders action movies genre, 'La Chimera' is an anti-Indiana Jones movie. What could be the story of an action movie mixed with a little melodrama and a little comedy is actually something else entirely. Not because the story doesn't matter, but because the way it is told and the characters that populate it are much more interesting. The film is imbued with the melancholy of the main character, played by the British actor Josh O'Connor (a discovery for me), who sees the world as a dream in which the woman he loved is always nearby, but he cannot ever reach her. The meeting with Italia (played by the excellent Carol Duarte - another discovery), a single mother who works to raise two children, represents a hope for recovery - both emotional and maybe moral, but according to her criteria. Trying to make him forget his lost love and turn him away from the path of crime has little chance of success. Viewing Isabella Rossellini is always a delight for me, and so it was here. Alice Rohrwacher is one of the most talented and daring directors of a generation (I should say 'one of the many generations') of exceptional Italian film directors. She knows how to take a story that could be told in many other ways and turn it into a film that bears her personal stamp, combining the traditions of neo-realism with Fellini's passion for popular culture and adding a dose of the fantastic brand Rohrwacher. When shooting decaying palaces, the streets or the popular dancing balls, the director seems to feel most in her element. She tells the story and plays with her tools, changes camera types and screen formats, and she does all these with an ease that constantly serves the narrative, so that at no point do we feel the cinematography is contrived or pretentious. Even if 'La chimera' stops a little lower than the formidable 'Lazzaro felice', it is a very good film that reinforces my belief that Italian cinema is in one of its glorious periods.

Mary Cassatt: Painting the Modern Woman (2023)

the painter and her time

[8/10 · 6 March 2024]

I have already written on numerous occasions that the 'Exhibition on Screen' series of art documentaries initiated by Phil Grabsky (who also conceived and produced many of the episodes) is the most important cinematic event dedicated to the visual arts of the last decade, a treasure trove of information and beauty accompanying many of the major exhibitions that took place during this period. 'Mary Cassatt: Painting the Modern Woman' is not directed by Grasby but by director Ali Ray, and unlike most of the other films in the series, it is not linked to a specific exhibition. The film is closer to the structure of a classic biographical documentary, even though some of the invited experts are associated with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and a significant part of the paintings discussed are housed by the same museum. As the title states, however, the film aims to present us with a special vision of the life, work and influence of the artist in her era, linking the biographical and artistic aspects with the social and political involvement of Mary Cassatt. The result is not only a beautiful and interesting film, as we can expect any of the 'Exhibition on Screen' films to be, but also a manifesto perspective, suitable for the first week of March.

The film follows the life of Mary Cassatt roughly chronologically - an interesting biography and a quite different one from those of many artists of her generation. She was born in a family of Pittsburgh bankers who encouraged her inclinations, financed her education and made her a life far from material worries. However, having an independent character, she wanted to build a stable artistic career. When her studies in the United States reached the limit to which they could contribute to personal and artistic development, she travelled to Europe, discovering the Paris of the years of the impressionist revolution. She met the important artists who were changing the direction of the visual arts and integrated into their group. She also traveled and lived for short periods in Italy and France, acquiring a life experience and an artistic culture that few of his contemporaries had. She lived in exile in France for more than half her life, but remained deeply connected to the United States, becoming politically involved and significantly contributing to the acquiring of works by European artists - impressionists in particular, but also those who preceded her and those who followed - in North American private collections and in museums. Was the choice of almost exclusively female themes a social constraint or a personal decision? If we are to be guided by the comments in this film, it would rather be about the second option. Not only did Mary Cassatt portray women in private as well as in social settings and public events better than any other artist of her generation, but she was active in the political life advocating for women's equal rights and in especially the right to vote.

'Mary Cassatt: Painting the Modern Woman' offers just about everything we've come to expect from an 'Exhibition on Screen' series. The camera takes us on an immersive experience in the galleries that house the artist's works, and knowledgeable commentators (all women) bring meaningful and interesting information about the works and the artist. Detail shots add value and provide insights that we wouldn't always discover on our own, even if we were in front of the paintings. The only observation I would make about the way the presentation is organized is that detailing the biographical aspects leaves too little time for deeper analyzes of the technical aspects. I enjoyed the comparative presentations of female portraits alongside those of Mary Cassatt's contemporaries, but I would have liked to have learned more and seen more of her artistic techniques from the Impressionist period and her work in engravings. Even so, the overall impression is overwhelmingly positive and the feeling as a moviegoer and art lover is that of visiting a beautiful virtual exhibition. A retrospective exhibition will be held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this year, the first major exhibition of the artist's work in 25 years. The film 'Mary Cassatt: Painting the Modern Woman' is an excellent introduction and a valuable complementary documentary material.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)

Margaret aged 11 talks to God

[7/10 · 4 March 2024]

2023 has been a good year for films set in 1970. I have no explanation as to why, but it is certain that after 'The Holdovers', which is quite well placed in the lists of Academy Awards nominates, now comes 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, who also signs the big screen adaptation of Judy Blume's novel, a film that manages to be both enjoyable to watch and interesting. Subject-wise, this coming-of-age comedy about a 6th-grade girl and her classmates, with the inocent intrigues and the disappointments about the world around them that are magnified to the level of disaster at this age, is quite outside my usual area of interest. But there is a much more important secondary theme, and there's also the honest approach and some outstanding acting performances, and there you go - I finished the viewing almost enthusiastic and surprisingly moved by this film, which far exceeded my expectations.

Margaret is 11 years old and the only daughter of Herb and Barbara. The father is promoted at his job and the family is able to fulfill the dream of many American families in 1970 - to move to a big house in the suburbs. Mom will have to give up her art teacher lessons and become an exemplary mother and housewife, but if she's unhappy she doesn't show it. Margaret, on the other hand, who has to leave New York, change schools, break up with friends, is clearly unhappy. Who can she share her feelings with, now that grandma will be away too? With God, with whom she has private dialogues in the evenings. They are more monologues, but it is known that He is very busy and that He will answer when He has time and in His own way. The dialogue with God gets a little more complicated when the girl receives at her new school a work assignment about the study of religions. Herb is Jewish, Barbara is Christian, and discussions of religion are avoided. None of the organized religion offerings around her seems too attractive, and the subject seems taboo in the family. In addition, Margaret and her friends, members of a 'secret' club the kind of only 11-year-old girls can start, face the problems of coming of age.

The approach is honest and fresh. The dialogues are natural and sensitive themes are approached with discretion and good taste, without excesses of modesty. Child or adolescent actors, when they are well chosen, cannot fail to conquer. In this film, not only Abby Ryder Fortson, who plays the lead role, is excellent, but so are all her partners in the roles of friends and colleagues. I was sorry that the role played by Rachel McAdams was not a bit more consistent. The mother, along with her daughter, goes through the same crises at another age - crises due to moving to the suburbs and giving up her profession, but also because of the family conflict that brings back to light the old quarrel with her parents. The actress is excellent, and that's why I found the writing a bit shallow. Benny Safdie is perfect as the father, and Kathy Bates is pure fun in a role where she seems to be playing Bette Midler playing the Jewish grandmother. I recommend this film that deals with some complicated issues with the right amount of frivolity. Movies about the year 1970 also have the great advantage that the soundtrack consists of the sounds of that wonderful musical period. 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' is no exception. If all dialogues with God were like Margaret's, many conflicts could be easily resolved.

The Red Poster (1976)

the incomode heroes

[7/10 · 4 March 2024]

'L'affiche rouge' (1976) (the English title is 'The Red Poster') is the first of the films about the Manouchian or the Red Poster case - one of the most dramatic episodes and a rather controversial moment in the history of the French Resistance. It was made a little more than three decades after the Second World War, at a time when many of the survivors of the anti-fascist struggle but also some of the collaborators were still alive, a time when the less idealized historical details of the Resistance and the occupation were just beginning to come to light after decades of silence and secrecy. The director and co-writer of the film is Frank Cassenti, an interesting personality who started as a documentarian and politically engaged director ('L'affiche rouge' being part of this period) to continue and establish himself as a TV movies director, passionate expert in music and author of films about and with music. 'L'affiche rouge' shows courage and inventiveness, in many ways it can be considered as an experimental or avant-garde film, but with a clear political orientation and involvement.

The Manouchian group wrote one of the most spectacular and heroic page in the history of the French Resistance. They are credited with the assassination, on September 28, 1943, of General Julius Ritter, one of those responsible for the mobilization and deportation of slave laborers in Nazi-occupied Europe and with almost thirty other attacks against the objectives of the German occupiers between August and November 1943. They were arrested in circumstances not elucidated to this day, but this film did not refer to this controversial part, which was be covered by other works later. What distinguished the Manouchian group from other Resistance formations was the fact that most of the members of this group of heroes of France were foreigners. Missak Manouchian was an Armenian poet and survivor of the 1915 genocide. Many others in the group were Jews from Eastern Europe. Most of them had met in Spain, during the civil war, where they had fought on the side of the anti-fascist republicans. All were men with one exception - Olga Bancic, a Jewish woman born in Romania. She was the last woman executed by beheading in Europe. During my childhood in communist Romania, Olga Bancic was considered a heroine, streets were named after her and she was also mentioned in school history books. The fact that she was Jewish was omitted. It was precisely this ethnic aspect that was at the core of the way in which the occupiers, but also history, referred to this case. The film describes how the German occupiers used the fighters' ethnicity to stigmatize them as 'non-French', organizing a public trial and preparing propaganda materials, including the (in)famous red poster. After the war, the French were the ones who for a long time minimized the fact that one of the most active and effective networks fighting against the occupiers was made up of foreigners (or 'metecs' as the French say). History rehabilitated them, but too late.

Frank Cassenti's film is not a docu-drama. The director was more concerned with how the heroes of the Resistance and their actions were viewed and reflected during the time the film was made. 30 years had passed and some of the historical facts were already forgotten. Whether the oblivion was just the effect of time or also the result of overshadowing inconvenient details - is a question that is left to the viewers to answer. The pretext that works well cinematically is the staging in a public space, of a 'commedia dell'arte' type show dedicated to the events of the war and their heroes. It is the occasion for some beautiful 'theatre in film' scenes. Several of the survivors meet the young actors, from another generation, who try to understand the heroes they will play. The transition from the present to the past is smooth, sometimes in the same scene. The past infiltrates without us feeling it in the present which had begun to forget. A beautiful idea from a filmmaker who had a lot to say. Even if not all the details are chiseled to the end, even if the characters are just snapshots, devoid of depth, 'Laffiche rouge' is an interesting film which transmits a double lesson - about history and about the reflection of history in history.

Poor Things (2023)

a twisted, wonderful, disturbing fairy tale

[9/10 · 29 February 2024]

I confess that after watching Yorgos Lanthimos' previous film - 'The Favourite' - I was a bit worried. It was a period film and seemed like evidence of an unwanted (by me) cinematic maturity. I loved in that movie attention to detail and character building that was original and well integrated into the historical context. But the bizarre boldness and morbid and disturbing aesthetic of his previous films - 'Dogtooth', 'The Lobster' and 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' - were completely missing. However, 'Poor Things' dispelled all these fears. The bizarre and unsettling Yorgos Lanthimos is back. And this movie is - in my opinion - the best movie of 2023. In my ideal cinematic world, 'Poor Things' should be Best Movie of the year and Emma Stone Best Actress in a Leading Role. Of course, the Academy Awards aren't awarded in my ideal world.

Based on Alasdair Gray's novel, 'Poor Things' is a Victorian Gothic story in the tradition of mad scientist narratives created by Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'. But the roles are reversed. It is the scientist and surgeon Godwin Baxter who appears to be carved and cut like Frankenstein. In one of his experiments, he creates a strangely beautiful woman with a childlike mind whom he names Bella. The child with a woman's body will learn to walk, to talk, to behave, to confront the limits of social conventions. He will discover his body with its pleasures and pains and learn to face good and evil. She calls her creator God but at some point she revolts against the limitations that he imposes on her and decides to go out into the world, together with a man who will at first try to take advantage of her naivety. Later, as Bella grows up and develops her social talents in an original way, the two will become engaged in a game of passion and hatred with destructive potential.

'Poor Things' is a kind of road movie in an imaginary world, starting from England and Europe from the Victorian period. With this film, Yorgos Lanthimos joins those creators who invent a new, cinematic world for their stories and characters, a category that also includes Tim Burton or Wes Anderson. The limits of imagination are pushed even further at Lanthimos, with fantastic animals and hybrid monsters, with nature and urban landscapes seen through the lens of a child's or teenager's fairy tale visions. 'Poor Things' was shot almost entirely in the studios, which also gives it a visual aspect reminiscent of the great American classics, but the director also combines various filming techniques, black and white with color, panoramic 'fisheye' shooting with the main character in the center. But nothing beats the expressiveness of Emma Stone's performance. It is formidable both in the physical evolution of the growing and maturing child in a woman's body, and in the close-ups that reflect the character's experiences as she learns to confront the world around her, society, good and especially evil in the people around her. Mark Ruffalo also creates a role of a complex and toxic "bad" guy, which the viewers will remember for a long time. Hard to forget and not only because of the physical deformities is also Willem Dafoe in the role of the scientist Dr. God(win) Baxter. Each of his roles in recent years has been an event. The film features, among many other good actors, two actresses whom I have known and watched with pleasure for many decades - Hanna Schygulla and Kathryn Hunter - in the small but important roles of two women who teach Bella one or two important lessons about life. 'Poor Things' is a strange and shocking fairy tale, a film with a crisp feminist and social message, a journey into a fantastic world. Welcome back, Yorgos Lanthimos!

The Zone of Interest (2023)

the trivialization of evil

[7/10 · 26 February 2024]

Jonathan Glazer's Holocaust film The Zone of Interest (2023) is one of the most anticipated and talked about films of the season. The film is interesting and this is not a surprise. Glazer is a director and screenwriter who proposes unique personal visions in each of his films. This time the challenge is huge, because the genre of films about the Holocaust is extremely populated and diverse, and the emotion and implications that accompany discussions of the most terrible genocide in history have reverberations in the way books (documentary or fiction), films or other artistic productions related to this theme are valued. As we move away from the events, in the years when the last survivors and the last direct testimonies disappear into history, it is art that takes over part of the support of the memory. Glazer started from Martin Amis' penultimate novel, 'The Zone of Interest', but kept only the title and general approach from it. Unlike the English novelist, he gave the characters of his film their true identity: Rudolf Höss - the commandant of the Auschwitz camp and the creator of the factory of death - together with his wife Hedwig and their five children. We could say that the film is (also) about the human dimension of these characters, but the problem is that the adjective 'human' does not fit well here.

'The Zone of Interest' intents to be an argumentative exemplification of the term 'banality of evil' invented by Hanna Arendt in the book written after she had witnessed the trial of Adolf Eichman in Jerusalem. The main characters are one of the epitome of absolute evil. This is not about ordinary Germans who knew more or less, usually choosing how much they wanted to know, about the Holocaust happening right next to them. It is not even about simple executants. Rudolf Höss was one of the active participants in the extermination, a demon who commanded the death squads at Auschwitz and designed part of the extermination machine. Hedwig was also aware of everything that was going on behind the barbed wire fence, and in addition she was a direct profiteer, looting from the confiscated items of the prisoners who arrived at their final station. The two built a kind of apparent garden of heaven in the middle of hell, using the slave labor of the deportees and putting into practice an ideology that created a 'living space' for the 'superior race' by exploiting and exterminating the Jews and other peoples and categories considered 'inferior'. It is the details that are the most shocking. Fear in the eyes of the women who serve in the house. The sinister games of Nazi children. The executioner's obsession with hygiene. Bureaucratic approach and engineering planning of criminal activities. The Hösses and those around them never ask themselves any ethical questions. In fact, they do not seem to see the slave deportees as human beings. By this they take themselves out of humanity.

In times like ours, where Holocaust denial persists, such films are necessary. By removing one layer of fiction and choosing to restore the characters to their real identity, using or reconstructing archival documents about Auschwitz and its executioners, Jonathan Glazer chose not to make a film version of Martin Amis' book but the docudrama that could be the basis of the book. The main idea of the novel is repeated and elaborated, but after the first ten minutes we learn nothing new. The discourse about the banality of evil is dangerously close to trivialization. Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller interpret their roles with glacial cynicism. This is where I lacked nuancing. Although they are present on screen most of the time, we do not learn anything about the roots of the absolute evil that the two characters symbolize. A single allusion is made at one point to the wife's modest social origins, in the discussion with her mother - the only character who seems to dissociate herself from what is happening around her. How did these ordinary Germans become faithful executors of criminal plans? National-Socialism did not emerge from the void. Jonathan Glazer tries to introduce special cinematic elements, but not all of them work. Dark screens for many tens of seconds are useless. The dream sequences and the one with the piano song were not clear to me when watching, the viewer needs to read about the documentation of the film to understand and place them where they need to be. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is terrific. I haven't heard such a film in a long time and the expression 'to hear the film' is the correct one. The haunting music is written by Mica Levi. There are many original elements, more or less successful, and not all of them connect. The essence is missing.

Martin Amis died on the day of the film's world premiere, which took place at the Cannes Film Festival. I would have really liked to know his opinion about the movie.

125 rue Montmartre (1959)

damned be the savior

[6/10 · 24 February 2024]

The year 1959 in which Gilles Grangier's '125 rue Montmartre' was made was not an ordinary year in the history of French cinema. It was the year of the release of films like 'Les quatre cent coups' and 'Hiroshima mon amour', the first of a few consecutive years in which world cinema would be changed by a group of young directors and film theorists, followers of the concept of auteur cinema. Gilles Grangier was also in a period of maximum productivity. He had made the year before 'Le désordre et la nuit' and that year 'Archimède, le clochard', both with Jean Gabin in the leading roles. In '125 rue Montmartre' he casts Lino Ventura in the lead role. It is a thriller drama with a 'film noir' tone but also a moralizing story with dialogues written by Michel Audiard, adapting a novel by André Gillois. Grangier proves in this film that he masters and adopts many of the Nouvelle Vague techniques, but his directorial conception is completely opposite. He seems to be telling his young peers that movies are about and for viewers and are entertainment to take spectators out of the everyday, and not about the filmmakers or vehicles for engaging spectators with social or political messages.

The story takes place in 1959, in an era when printed newspapers were still the main means of information and the job of selling newspapers made it possible to earn a modest but decent living. Pascal is one such newspaper seller, every day he takes a stack of a hundred newspapers, rides his bicycle and sells them on the streets of Paris. After work, he smokes a cigarette on the banks of the Seine. On such a day he witnesses the suicide attempt of a man named Didier. He rescues him and takes him to his home. The man tells him about his wife trying to commit him to a mental asylum to get her hands on his fortune. Good soul, Pascal offers to help him, but this decision gets him into big trouble. The good deed will be punished with involvement in a burglary and being accused of a crime he did not commit.

Lino Ventura plays a role in this film that is a bit different from the kind of gangster or tough cop roles that audiences are used to in most of his other films. Pascal is a simple and gullible man who reacts violently when bad things happen to him, but who wouldn't react violently in his situation? The charm of this film also resides in the unexpectedly smooth melting of Pascal / Ventura in the surrounding human landscape, but also in the description of the human mosaic and life on the streets, in popular restaurants or at the distribution of newspapers, of a Paris of modest and working people. The contrast with the bourgeois house where dark intrigues and murders take place also has a social undertone, but this is implied and not emphasized. The Paris street and nocturnal scenes are no less interesting than those of the Nouvelle Vague contemporaries, and the sincerity of Ventura's performance is also fresh and natural. Even if Gilles Grangier belongs to a different directorial school, '125 rue Montmartre' is not that far from the revolutionary cinematographic works of 1959.