REVIEWS. CINEMA. 7ART
'Conclave' - Review by António Lourenço, 17th November 2024 - *****
NOS Audiovisuais
Director Edward Berger, following the immense success of the Oscar-winning 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (2022), returns with his gripping new film, 'Conclave'. The cast is led by Ralph Fiennes, who portrays Cardinal Lawrence, a key figure tasked with overseeing the election of the new Pope after the sudden death of the previous pontiff. Alongside Fiennes, the film stars Stanley Tucci, John Lightman, and Isabella Rossellini, who plays a Vatican official.
Based on the bestselling novel by Robert Harris, and adapted for the screen by Peter Straughan ('Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'), 'Conclave' immerses viewers in the high-stakes and secretive world of papal elections. The story explores the centuries-old process by which the College of Cardinals gathers in conclave to choose a new leader for the Catholic Church, following the death of the Pope. The tension is palpable as the world anxiously watches for the white smoke to rise from the Vatican’s chimney, signaling the election of a new Pope.
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo’s 'Last Judgment' fresco towering above them, the Cardinals are locked away from the outside world, their every move and vote scrutinized in silence. The film captures the solemnity and intensity of the papal election, where both politics and faith collide.
As the conclave progresses, Cardinal Lawrence begins to unravel a disturbing mystery—one that could challenge the very core of the Church’s power and authority. The suspense builds as hidden secrets, moral dilemmas, and political intrigue threaten to destabilize the Vatican, leaving Lawrence faced with a choice that could forever alter the course of history.
'Conclave' is a riveting exploration of power, faith, and the inner workings of one of the most influential institutions in the world. With a stellar ensemble cast and a taut, suspenseful narrative, the film promises to be a cinematic thriller that blends historical drama with contemporary relevance.
'Le Théorème de Marguerite' - Review by Ricardo Martins, 8th November 2024 - ***
Pris
Le Théorème de Marguerite is a movie that had its first showing at the Cannes Film Festival last year, and the protagonist played by Ella Rumpf had a great deal of praise winning a César award early this year as Best Female Revelation.
Marguerite is a brilliant young college graduate that is working on a demanding thesis about the Goldbach’s conjecture, one of the oldest unsolved problems in number theory in all mathematics. When she is interviewed at the beginning of the story we get a gist of the girl: glasses, nervous, socially awkward, always with slippers on her feet because she says “they are more comfortable”.
When her thesis is contested in her presentation by a young attractive boy that is the new star of the math department she develops a grudge against her mentor Professor Werner. She leaves college and tries do erase her identity by working in a sports store as a seller and moving in to an apartment with a cool if freeloading dancer called Noa. She then discovers the world of mahjong, in which she uses her math skills to win and will help her pay the bills of the house.
When she is contacted again by her old mentor Werner and by Lucas the boy from her thesis presentation, she decides to go back and give another go at the Goldbach. In the mean time she falls in love.
Film about mathematicians is not usually the most cinematic thing to see on the big screen. There were some good movies in the past such as “The Imitation Game” or “A Beautiful Mind”, although they were based in true fact they were filmed as thrillers, so kind of kept us glued to the screens. “Le Théorème de Marguerite” has a lot of beautiful blackboard and chalk shots, but for people who are not math masters it might get a little long-winded and overwhelming.
The most valuable thing is the casting, all the actors are very good, specially swiss actress Ella Rumpf - she makes Marguerite a relatable nerdy young girl that is discovering sexuality and the world around her, we really wish her to succeed at the end of the story.
'Vogter' - Review by António Lourenço, 28th September 2024 - ****
Alambique
The film "Vogter," directed by Gustav Möller, stands out as an intense and thought-provoking cinematic experience that delves into complex themes such as morality, justice, and the echoes of the past. With an impressive performance from Sidse Babett Knudsen, the narrative unfolds within a prison environment that serves as a microcosm of tensions and power dynamics.
Eva, portrayed by Knudsen, makes the bold choice to infiltrate the prison’s most violent wing to confront her own demons, revealing an emotional and ethical depth that captivates the audience. This audacious decision highlights the limits of compassion and forgiveness, offering an intriguing glimpse into the human condition.
Möller, already acclaimed for his work on "Guilty," reaffirms his ability to craft psychological narratives that engage and challenge. His meticulous research into the prison system not only enriches the story’s authenticity but also provides a multifaceted view of the lives of both inmates and the guards operating within this hostile environment. The inclusion of mindfulness sessions for the guards is an innovative approach that underscores the importance of self-care in high-stress scenarios, suggesting that even in adverse circumstances, there is room for introspection and mental well-being.
Set to premiere on 3rd October, "Vogter" promises to be more than just a psychological thriller; it invites deep reflection on the ethical implications of the characters' actions. Möller avoids the common pitfalls of superficial thrillers that exploit horror in a simplistic manner, opting instead for a more profound treatment that examines the nature of sociopathy and the nuances of morality.
This thematic richness provides an enriching cinematic experience, prompting the audience to contemplate the complex interactions between guilt, redemption, and Eva’s internal struggle. What Möller presents is not merely a film, but a journey that provokes reflection and emotion, challenging us to feel and think rather than simply be entertained. "Vogter" positions itself as a relevant and impactful work in the landscape of contemporary cinema.
'Memory' - Review by Ricardo Martins, 22th August 2024 - ***
Films4You
Memory had its premiere at Venice Film Festival in September last year, where actor Peter Sarsgaard won the Volpi Cup for Best actor for his touching portrayal.
The movie deals with early onset dementia and past trauma. Sylvia (Jessica Chastain) is a single mother and social worker that tries to makes ends meet by working in a home for people with mental disabilities. She’s a former alcoholic and attends regular AA meetings, we sense many demons still haunting her. During one of her former high school reunions she leaves early and is stalked home by a silent bearded man. The next day she notices he spent the rainy night sleeping outside her door, and learns that he is being taken care by his brother and niece. He has dementia that makes him forget where he lives. They have a talk at a public park where Sylvia makes very serious accusations – she claims he raped her when she was just a pre-teen. We later find out that she was mistaken and confused him with another older boy of that time. When the relationship with Saul improves she is asked to work as a caregiver for him which she reluctantly accepts. The relationship slowly begins to change from a friends-only basis to a romantic one and the two damaged souls try to find some happiness in this cold world.
This is an interesting drama written and directed by Mexican Michel Franco. There is much potential here some of it succeeds. The menacing way Sylvia makes the accusation of rape which we later find is a false memory, makes us wonder if the alcohol fueled past has damaged permanently her brain. Maybe her memory is even worse than Saul’s. I found that moment very interesting and disruptive as we find we cannot completely trust Sylvia.
Nevertheless with only 99 minutes I found the movie too short for the drama it needs to convey. At the present time we go to the cinema to watch Marvel and DC movies that are 3 hours long with endless CGI special effects, I feel “Memory” needed more time to tell its story, we should have seen more of the consequences of the romance, a romance that was neither wanted by Saul’s or Sylvia’s families.
'Kinds of Kindness' - Review by Ricardo Martins, 6th August 2024 - ***
NOS Audiovisuais
The new dark comedy by Greek film director Yorgos Lanthimos is a strange journey through the lives of people where happiness seems elusive and kindness is nearly extinct (the title is largely ironic).
The movie is divided into three parts—three different stories, to be exact—in which the actors play various roles. In the first story, Jesse Plemons portrays a man who works for the millionaire played by Willem Dafoe, who controls his employee in every aspect of his life. Dafoe’s character dictates when he should have intercourse, what he should read, and even orders him to crash his car at a specific time to attempt to kill the other driver, RMF (the only constant character in all three stories). Dafoe’s obsessive-compulsive control over his employee could be interpreted as a commentary on different social classes and how millionaires treat their staff as modern-day slaves.
In the second story, Jesse Plemons is a police patrolman who begins to behave erratically at work. He is traumatized by mourning his scientist wife (Emma Stone), who went missing with her team in a shipwreck. When she reappears alive and well, he becomes convinced she is not his real wife but a very similar replicant. He starts making increasingly bizarre demands, particularly concerning food, but I will stop here to avoid spoiling any surprises.
In the third story, Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons play individuals who leave their homes and families to join a cult. The cult leaders, portrayed by Willem Dafoe and Hong Chau, instruct their followers to find someone who can bring the dead back to life. Thus, Plemons and Stone visit morgues, searching for the “chosen one” who can reanimate a corpse. I recommend staying a while after the credits start rolling.
What could the stories mean? How are they related? I could not find a clear link since the actors portray very different characters in each story. Perhaps it is just a sick joke from director Lanthimos, suggesting that human beings are ridiculous and lost as a race. His way of mocking people is reminiscent of Luis Buñuel's films, characterized by an absurd sense of humor and surreal situations the characters find themselves in.
Lanthimos’ movies are never conceptually easy to grasp but are always worth watching.
'A soma das partes' - Review by António Lourenço, 14th June 2024 - *****
Directed by Edgar Ferreira. Produced by Galope Filmes and Distributed by The Stone and Plot
Drawing on unreleased archival footage and interviews with renowned musicians, conductors, and soloists, the Gulbenkian Orchestra made its debut on October 22, 1962, at the D. Maria II National Theatre in Lisbon. It has significantly contributed to the international expansion of the Portuguese musical landscape. The orchestra has recorded over 70 albums and performed concerts with some of the greatest interpreters of classical music. This approximately 1-hour documentary is narrated by Professor Rui Vieira Nery and features testimonials from notable figures such as Alexandre Oliva, Alfredo Flores, Andrew Swinnerton, António Gonçalves, Arlindo Santos, Evgeny Kissin, Hannu Lintu, Inês Tomas Almeida, Joana Carneiro, Lawrence Foster, Leonor Braga Santos, Levi Condinho, Lorenzo Viotti, Luís Tinoco, M. Teixeira, Mª João Pires, Mª João Falcão, Muhai Tang, Risto Nieminen, Rui Vieira Nery, Teresa Nunes da Ponte, Varoujan Bartikian, and Vera Dias.
Successive generations of international musicians have played a part in the orchestra's evolution into its current symphonic form. We hear statements such as:
"Art will endure if the creator is a genius and will never be forgotten. I want this music to be played as written, even though many dynamics were not indicated by the composers."
An extraordinary visionary, Dr. Madalena Azeredo Perdigão, wife of the President of the Gulbenkian Foundation, initiated the orchestra in 1958. She identified a need within the Portuguese musical scene and proposed the formation of an orchestra. Although initially rejected due to budget concerns, she managed to establish a smaller ensemble that primarily played Baroque music by composers like Vivaldi and Boccherini. This orchestra brought music to the entire country, performing even in makeshift venues until the Grand Auditorium was inaugurated. This created a magical, almost sacred space, and the orchestra gradually expanded.
The famous Gulbenkian Music Festivals emerged, marking a golden era with concerts featuring classical music stars such as Karajan, Abbado, Michelangeli, Rostropovich, and Rubinstein, to name a few. The world’s greatest symphony orchestras also visited Lisbon. As the demands increased, more musicians were hired.
Precious insights from masters discuss dynamics, tempo, harmony (which expresses the soul), and rhythm (which comes from our body) in performances, adhering to the scores. There was also a successful cycle of contemporary music, although it was heard by a more restricted audience.
Ultimately, a jewel that was previously unknown in Europe. "We do not merely accompany; we collaborate," says a Maestro. "We must get into the head and personality of the soloist, who can show us the tempo and has interpretative freedom, their vision of the work, and it is unacceptable to contradict and distort the spirit of the music."
Lorenzo Viotti (2012/22), with his youthful vigor, claims it was his first love, injecting energy and listening to the audience. Performers on stage need to share the sound with the audience until it envelops them. Now, Maestro Hannu Lintu (2023) states, "We will continue to take flight with musicians who share their lives with everyone, ultimately 'speaking' the same music so that it simultaneously lands on its feet like a cat, free from the obsession with perfection."
'The Great Escaper' - Review by António Lourenço, 25th March 2024 - *****
Cinemundo
In this biographical film, "The Actors," Michael Caine and Glenda Jacks portray the compelling protagonists of a poignant true story set in a quaint home in the serene countryside of southern England.
Directed by the talented Oliver Parker, renowned for his works such as "An Ideal Husband" and "The Importance of Being Earnest," and penned by the skilled William Ivory, the narrative unveils the remarkable journey of Bernard Jorden (portrayed by the iconic Michael Caine, now 90 years old).
Jorden, adamant about revisiting the historic site of D-Day and commemorating the anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, embarks on a clandestine voyage across the English Channel, unbeknownst to his partner. During his crossing, he encounters a fellow veteran from the Royal Air Force, sparking an unexpected companionship. Together, they find solace in sharing their experiences, memories, and the wisdom amassed over their lifetimes.
As they delve into conversations to combat the solitude that often plagues the elderly, they gradually reveal deeply held secrets—repositories of knowledge and stories that remain concealed until now, akin to precious libraries destined to vanish with the passage of time.
Amidst this captivating narrative, the incomparable Glenda Jackson (In the 60's this great actress delivered a memorable portraying of
Queen Elizabeth I), a role that adds to her illustrious career, including her final cinematic appearance. Meanwhile, the search for the missing veteran intensifies, setting the stage for a heartwarming tale of friendship, redemption, and the enduring legacy of those who have lived through history's defining moments.
'The Zone of Interest' - Review by António Lourenço, 2nd March 2024 - *****
Alambique
The film is inspired by the book by Martin Amis with the same name. It tells the story of the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, who want to build a happy life in a house next to the horrors that took place on the other side, in the extermination camp.
Showing the everyday lives of perpetrators rather than victims, Glazer's film takes a look at human beings and the 'banality of evil' and perverse, psychopathic minds. Indifferently, the woman Hedwig states that she will only get out of there, dragged.
The sounds heard coming from the other side replace the sight of gunshots, screams, and other evil, as well as the smoke from the cremation ovens. This film recalls another film, "The Children of Saúl." (2015), which, without showing us the executioners and the victims, the author Lazlo Nemes also makes us hear the death of the Jews in the gas chambers.
The black-and-white film has a colorful scene of a girl and another with the swastika cross in ice.
End with Höss's evil soul contemplating the Museum in Auschwitz; inside showcases, you can see shoes, suitcases, and various objects belonging to the victims, ending with a black void.
Zone of Interest had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the grand prize in addition to nominations for the Golden Globe and six Oscars.
'Das Lehrerzimmer ' - Review by Ricardo Martins, 2nd March 2024 - ****
Alambique
“The Teachers’ Lounge” reputation has been growing since it competed last year at the Berlin International Film Festival, and it is justified.
The classroom film is kind of a subgenre on its own, going from “Goodbye Mr. Chips”, “Blackboard Jungle”, “The Dead Poet’s Society”, “Dangerous Minds”, “The Emperor’s Club” to “Mona Lisa Smile”. It is a very relatable subject – since we all went to school and dealt with teachers – it is a type of movie that emerges from time to time.
Money is being stolen from purses in a school somewhere in Germany and a young teacher Carla Nowak (splendidly played by Leonie Benesch) decides to start an investigation of her own and catch the culprit. One day she leaves her laptop with her camera recording in the teachers lounge, and the results will make her do rash decisions…
The movie has a misleading start, when a student from an ethnic minority group is accused, and we think the movie will be about racism. The movie is actually about authority and how a naïve teacher that tries to be friends with her students will be caught in the wheels of the education system and will have to deal with a mob. First, the kids’ parents later the kids themselves turn against the teacher.
The movie is built almost like a thriller with a tense violin soundtrack. Sometimes we’re not even sure that Frau Kuhn, the lady being accused is the real thief since we see hallucinations of many people with the same shirt. We begin to wonder if Carla Nowak has lost her mind in the process.
I loved the ambiguous ending, when the kid returns the rubik’s cube to the teacher. In a way it seems to be a kind of triumph of teaching and of the education system. The kid is taken against his will by a couple of policemen, while sitting in the chair, like a king, a sovereign being taken by two slaves. The movie poses very important questions about what is education and makes us wonder if teachers have gone too soft on the students.
The movie is nominated for the Academy Award of Best International Feature Film and I sincerely hope it wins. This is indeed a very good year for the movies.
'Anatomie d'une chute' - Review by Ricardo Martins, 11th February 2024 - ****
NOS Audiovisuais
First of all, I must say that it is so refreshing to attend a movie that treats us like adults instead of the usual Hollywood garbage that fills our screens these days.
“Anatomie d’une chute” is a tense courtroom drama, the kind that American cinema used to be expert at. It is actually less an anatomy of a fall and more an anatomy of a marriage that is being dissected before our eyes.
A couple lives with their young, blind son in a remote area in the alpine zone of Grenoble. One day, the husband appears dead on the floor, soaked in blood, appearing to have fallen from the top of the house. Was the death an accident? Was it a suicide? Or was foul play involved?
We begin to see the defense strategy being devised for the wife, Sandra (magnificently played by German actress Sandra Huller). The attorney wants to explore the suicide angle, but she doesn’t want to delve into it because of trauma related to their marriage. Soon it will be clear that the legal team is right because the prosecution is exploring a very plausible theory in which she clubbed her husband with a blunt instrument, causing the high fall from the cabin.
The blind son Daniel will have a huge part in the outcome of the judgment since he remembers all the fights his parents had at home, and his testimony will have the power to determine whether his mother will be set free or prosecuted.
The movie is written and directed by talented Justine Triet, who keeps us on our toes trying to guess what really happened—whether Sandra is guilty of her husband's death or not. We’re not really sure until the very end, since the movie sometimes adopts a more Sandra point of view, and sometimes it makes us doubt her words.
In her approach, the director also seems to be criticizing the legal system as a whole, the way it takes so long to make the cases go, and the fact that the judgment only takes place more than one year after the fateful fall. Since then, many things have been forgotten in human memories as they take place on the witness stand, and it is expected that people will remember them freshly as of yesterday. It is also expected that people will relive all the trauma dozens of times each time they are asked aggressive questions by the prosecution team. The fact that the prosecutor explores Sandra’s private life and her bisexuality as a way to paint a bad picture of her as a wife and as a mother is an unscrupulous low blow.
The film won last year’s Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and I hope it wins as many Oscars as possible. “Anatomie d’une chute” is the kind of movie that makes us think about important subjects in this century, such as modern human relationships, parenting or even if justice in court is best served in many cases.
“Autumn” - Review by Ricardo Martins, 19th December2023 - ***
PRIS
“Autumn” is a portuguese movie, that in original Portuguese is called “A Minha Casinha”, so the title is not that well translated. “A Minha Casinha” would correctly translate in something like “my little home”, and it makes much more sense since that it derives from the title of an old popular tune sung originally by Milu in a movie from the forties.
The plot regards a boy that is going away from home to study in England and what happens to the family as seasons go by. Time in the movie is divided by seasons such as Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer and then again Autumn.
The “coming of age” movie is a subgenre that is not quite well explored as it should be in Portuguese cinema. Sometimes the results are quite good (“Adeus Pai”), other times they are bland like a television movie (“Jaime”). In “Autumn” we’ve got youngsters we can relate to, their concerns, their wish for freedom and fun outside the nest. But we also got the parents point of view, and they are not tyrannical monsters as sometimes happens in stories like these – they are loving, worried of course, but they were also young once. We even see the parents in an interesting flashback sequence strolling in a beach when they were young and imagining how they would be as elder folks.
For a story such as this, when generations interact and sometimes clash, you have to direct a good cast. And the actors are all fabulous – Beatriz Frazão, Elsa Valentim, Miguel Frazão and Salvador Gil – all excel in their roles. The director António Sequeira makes the most of a commendable ensemble that look and act like a true family, even if the regional accents are not all the same, the quality of the cast makes us forget details like that.
The scenery also plays a huge part since the natural landscapes of Baião in the northern part of Portugal and the river Douro bathed margins make for a lovely place to which the actors interact. The house in which they live is a real house and it feels lived in, if it was made in studio it would not feel half as real.
The tagline in the poster of “Autumn” is “A Portuguese movie for Portuguese people”, but I reckon it can be appreciated outside of Portugal since it talks about universal feelings such as growing up, dating, family quarrels and homesickness when you go study abroad. It has made some success in other countries, such as the United States, having won the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival.
“Olhares do Meditarrâneo – Women’s Film Festival” in Cinema São Jorge - Review by Ricardo Martins, 12th November 2023 - ***
This Thursday started the festival “Olhares do Meditarrâneo – Women’s Film Festival” in Cinema São Jorge.
Originally conceived for just one edition, the festival began to influence the way we see cinema from around the Mediterranean Sea, and its importance grew as much as this year it is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The opening movie “You Resemble Me”, directed by award-winning journalist turned director Dina Amer, is a good example of a female point of view in the 21st century.
It intends to speak about the so-called first female suicide in Europe, Hasna Ait Boulahcen, although we only know that at the end of the movie.
The beginning of the film has a kind of vitality and giddiness, adopting the shaken camera and the point of view of the two little girls strolling around the streets of Paris, very much by themselves. Later, we realize that they have a neglectful immigrant mother and a sleeping or uninterested father.
They are caught stealing in the streets, and the sisters are separated from each other as they go to separated foster families.
Years later, we see Hasna as a grown-up attractive girl, working menial jobs, going to nightclubs, doing drugs, and getting abused by all sorts of men. She is guilt-ridden about being the one that caused the disintegration in her family, and the phone calls her sister doesn’t answer cause her severe anguish.
She feels as though she doesn’t entirely belong to French society and begins to contact, via social network, a cousin of hers she hasn’t met since childhood. The cousin begins to seduce and groom her to become part of a jihad against western civilization.
Near the end of the movie, we see what became of Hasna, as she became a casualty of the November 2015 Paris attacks. We see many newsreels from the time and testimonies of family members, such as her (unchanged) mother and father and her sister (the only one with any shred of guilt about what happened).
The end of the movie doesn’t entirely fit with the style of filming, and that’s a shame because it’s a movie filled with good ideas and great performances
DOCLISBOA 21st International Film Festival2023 - Review by Antonio Lourenço, 12th November 2023 - *****
Making the world fit in Lisbon 'Lisbon is a city where for 11 days the world is crossed, through 250 projected films, bringing stories from around the world. This year the guest country: Finland. Films don't end when the light is turned on, a global city. Meetings and debates and many events. filmmakers point their cameras to the time and share it wth us.
Some examples of films:
Portrait of Gina", where the famous director in the history of cinema, Orson Wells (citizen Kane), traveling through beautiful Italy, interviews the Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida and talks with the also famous De Sica and Rozzano Brazi about Italian customs. is not a documentary, but an easy reflection on Lollobrigida and not who she is in reality. This film remained undiscovered until 1986.
"All That Heaven Allowed: About Rock Hudson, a Hollywood star, idol, and heartthrob of the 50s and 60s, full of female love conquests (on screen), but who was discovered to have a secret double life. Only came to light after being diagnosed with AIDS in 1985.
"ÉTAT LIMITE- ON THE EDGE" The movie is about a 400-bed state hospital on the outskirts of Paris. Jamal Abdel Kadas is the only psychiatrist working in the hospital. Very kind and dedicated to the patients, empathic listening to their
In other words, in order to protect them from their suffering and delusion and
paranoias. However, the public service is doing poorly, and the caregivers are
under strain, understaffed, and underfunded. Doctor Jamal courageously keeps striving to heal souls, especially A film that urges us to a deep reflection on psychiatric care within the
national health service.
"La Syndicaliste" - Review by Antonio Lourenço, 24th July 2023 - *****
NOS Audiovisuais
This film is a Franco-German thriller directed by Jean-Paul Salomé. Starring with the veteran actress Isabel Huppert with a renewed image of a look that makes her dozens of years younger, with blonde hair, with bangs, invigorated and enigmatic.
It portrays a trade unionist representative who existed in real life, Maureen Kearnay, within a nuclear multinational, who courageously carries out several deadly denunciations.
She goes from being a victim to being accused of having invented an incident in which she complains, as she was attacked by a stranger in her house and raped (this scene reminds us of Paul Verhoeven's film: ELLE). Adapted from a book, authored by Investigative journalist Caroline Michael Aguirre.
There are plans to sell the multinational to the Chinese and involve a staff of tens of thousands.
Always are attacked by corrupt administrators, who use their power to negotiate with leading politicians, thus obtaining personal benefits and achieving their greed of making millions!
"L'envol" - Review by Antonio Lourenço, 1st June 2023 - *****
Alambique
Juliette, a Frenchwoman whose life we follow from 1910 to 1939. She is the daughter of the missing Marie and raised by her father Raphael, a soldier who survived the 1st World War.
A solitary young woman, who loves music and singing, will meet a strange sorceress, who prophesies that one day scarlet candles will take her away from the village. Juliette will forever believe in this prophetic idea...
Director Pietro Marcello, after his film "Martin Eden" with great versatility and talent, created a great fable from this period.
"En los márgenes" - Review by Antonio Lourenço, 28th May 2023 - *****
NOS Audiovisuais
IN LOS MARGENES by Juan/hiego Botto
The reality of evictions in Spain currently 41,000 eviction proceedings have been carried out, an average of 100 per day. Azucena (Penepole Cruz) is told that she will be evicted from the house where she lives. Rafa the lawyer (Luis Tosar) and his mother Teodora (Adelfa Calvo) are the main characters in this sociological film.
This is the debut film by director Juan Diego Botto. Nominated at the Venice International Film Festival and for five Goya Awards. Over the course of 24 hours, the lives of the 3 characters whose stories are intertwined, creating drama in their lives, trying to get the Banks to take over their homes, putting them out on the street! and, leading to the utmost extreme of life. Rafa, nevertheless, is a selfless lawyer.
Azucena only has one day to save herself from being evicted!, here Penepole Cruz has a poignant performance, and appearing with a somewhat different figure than usual. Militant film?
"Vanskabte land" - Review by Antonio Lourenço, 28th May 2023 - *****
Films4You
A Danish priest is sent to Iceland at the end of the 19th century. He is an amateur photographer and throughout the trip he photographs the lunar landscape without trees. He intends to have a church built in the middle of a remote village. Walking exhausted, he loses his sense of identity and who he really is, as well as his mission, as well as the notion of his moral and ethical duty.
Already half dead, he is taken to the home of a peasant who plays the accordion and has two daughters. This one teaches you how to drive and ride a horse. But the priest likes one of the daughters !
However, the situation dramatizes itself and after the priest's horse is killed, the film approaches a deadly ending!
This film is inspired by 150-year-old photographs found in a trunk.
"LIVING" - Review by Antonio Lourenço, 18th March 2023 - *****
This is a film adapted from the Japanese director Akiro Kurosawa.
In 1953, Mr. Williams (Bill Nighy) is a veteran bureaucrat who lives piled up in piles of paperwork in an office. He feels like someone in a monotonous existence. However, he receives from his doctor a diagnosis that devastates him. He finds that he has a terminal illness. The illness it is going to trigger an examination of the life he led. He finds that he wants to change, before it's too late.
Feeling drawn to Margaret's (Aimee Louwood), a young woman who worked under his direction it is going to help him. With one redoubled energy and filling up with strength, decides to leave a legacy in the world, a meaning to the generation to come.
This film was awarded at several festivals.The Protagonist actor Bill Nighy, was born in 1949, studied at Guidford Acting school for theater and film. He made his debut at the Teatro Nacional and appeared in several productions of Television. He interpreted Shakespeare's "King Lear" and also Chekov, withother great English actors such as: Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, etc.
I take the opportunity to remember a plethora of famous actors, who I had the happiness to see in person and on stage, the best actors in the world, who also made films, such as Laurence Olivier (at the Old Vic), Eric Porter (in Stratford on Avon), Tom Shepard, Paul Scolfield, Maggy Smith, Joan Plowright and many other unforgettable ones!
The director of Tár, Todd Field no longer filmed for 16 years, since his film "Little Children", now wrote and directed this film especially for actress Cate Blanchet to shine.
Nominated for an Oscar and who, in addition to having already won 2 Oscars, won four Golden Globes, three BAFTA and a César and two Volpe (Venice Festival), as well as several awards. He was also theatre’s artistic director.
This is the fictionalized biography of the 1st Woman to conduct the famous Berlin Philharmonic orchestra, considered one of the best in Europe! Previously only conducted by male Conductors, who have become mythical in the world of Classical music! In a conversation, Lydia Tár, speaks about these Conductors, in an ambiguous way and unknown to the public, in general, such as Furtwängler and Von Karayan. These conductors at that time were forced to enroll in the Nazi party, without having exactly conviction, consequently Tár having referring to its denazification, given the prestige and genius of the greatest Conductors in the world, such as Beechman and another ambiguous name Jacqueline du Pré (but I clarify that she was a famous cellist, married to another Conductor Barenboim, and died of sclerosis).
In one of the movie scenes, on a class room at The Juilliard School conservatory, Tár it is giving a lecture to a small group of students. During this class, Max a young conducting student says he isn’t into Bach because of Bach's misogyny. Max says that as a BIPOC - Black, Indigenous, and People of Color - he can’t support Bach's music. This kind of cancelation it is based on #MeToo and “cancel culture”. On other hand, Tár responds that she is a U-Haul lesbian and if he wants to be a Conductor he has to be immerse in the Bach's music: "You want to dance the masque, you must service the composer.” “You’ve got to sublimate yourself, your ego. And yes, your identity.” Tár says .
Now for the common public, this is used and not explained at all by Todd Field. Who are these sacred names, and ambiguous so that the public is confused, generating gaslighting! It also talks and shows the album covers of Leonard Bernstein, the Maestro who had made programs on Television for decades, promoting and explaining, in clear language, the so-called "Classical Music".
I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that in the history of music, the classical period extends to Mozart (end of the 18th century), followed by Romanticism, Impressionism, Dodecaphonic, etc. But at a certain point, we hear in the movie that Beethoven copied Mozart, as it will be the opposite, Amadeu was younger! Does all this have the intention of confusing the lay spectator of these matters?
But the mystery thickens during empty scenes of dialogue and action, this over 2.30 hours of droughts, in which a child appears that Tár shares and tells him to start a family with another woman. However, Tár is associated with a suicidal woman, not knowing the relationship between the two. Words and more dialogues, but generating a mystery, in order to hold us in the chair, until the end.
The film begins with the conductor being interviewed on stage, explaining to an audience about the importance of time in music. Time is a key element in each conductor's interpretation of a work, as well as cadence, rhythm, to conduct an orchestra that can have 100 musicians!
Then the great woman conductor, directs the orchestra in the adagietto of Mahler's 5th Symphony (the composer she loves most), beautiful music that was used in the movie "Death in Venice". Tár's narcissism is highlighted throughout the movie. This narcissism is reflected in Lydia's choice to replace the soloist, without a plausible reason, for the young beautiful Russian violinist and also her decision to replace old assistant.
The thriller scenes are when she has auditory hallucinations: a Metronome that works at night, the refrigerator, a voice that she searches for in a ruined house... The film ends with Tár conducting in an Asian country and in a sign of extravagance the audience with strange masks, from Capcom's slave series, Monster Hunter.
BABYLON Director: Damien Chazelle ("La Land")
Stars: Brad Pitt and Margot Tobbia´ Comedy-189 minutes Distributor: ' NOS Audivisuais
Los Angeles period between the years 1926 to 1952, set in the golden age of the 20s, full of ambition without limits of enrichment, shows the rise and fall of several characters, where a series of film studios were formed, which appeared on the west coast of the USA, will encompass the passage from silent to sound cinema, originating and overthrowing many silent actors, whose voices proved to be horrible and unsuitable for sound.
We often hear the famous song "Singing in the Rain" in a quote, also from the well-known Musical!
Also includes the song 'Voodoomama' by award winning composer Justin Hurwitz. The city of classical antiquity, mythical Babylon, capital of the ancient empire, gives the title to the film, in an analogy to what the bible mentions: with a tower that reaches the sky and is named
'Tower of Babel'. Babylon is a metaphor for oppression and tyranny. It lasts 3 hours, showing the old days, without shame and debauchery, because when the sound arrives, there is a great tension, confusion and destructiveness as it could be in Babel. Virginia Rappe's infamous era and megastar 'Fatty', technology breakthroughs and cocaine stacks. Many movie stars never managed to make the transition to sound!
Beautiful photography and music, fill the film, although the montage is somewhat difficult to transpose. Great saga, important for us to gain a better view of the history of Holywood.
This film it is a look that scrutinizes and investigates the perverse conduct and sexal harassment of Hollywood industry moge named Harvey Weinstein, who triggered a huge scandal, giving rise to the #Metoo movement.
Thanks to the courageous and determined work of The New York Times investigative journalist who after publishing
an article exposing one of the most powerful producers in Cinema.Denuncing the moral and sexual herassment,
he practiced on dozens of women, who wanted to succeed in the 7th Art. Manipulating and using the power to launch them as actresses. Despite a range of threats to his physical integrity, and also the demand for legal evidence and witnesses, so that it could be published.
However the were several attempts to stifle the case, through payments, black mail and various others schemes.
After a courageous victim appeared, little by little the witnesses began to emerge, thus giving the evidence made public, necessary, and sufficient enough to prosecute such a desideratum of a powerful man in cinema, leading him to have a heavy prison sentence.
Resulting in this event, a turnaround in American culture. The movie although necessary a lit long (I would like to
defend that there should be an intermission again, as was practiced years ago). The action was developed with an intense rhythm and timing in order to create an emotional state and lead the spectator to become involved, deeply in the defense of the cause!
Very good acting by:
Zoe Kazan, Cary Mulligan, Mike Houston, Asley Judd, Samantha Morten, and Andre Baugher, among others.
We strongly recommend this film, especially because it is a militant defense against moral and physical Harassment, and more!
Directed by the Mexican Director: Michel Franco, in a continuous line between his previous film "New Order" and "Sundown", this Director, winner of a Silva Lion at Venice Film Festival, on issues of violence and the way violence inflicted on usually daily life is lived in this Latin American country. The Director explores this reality and the way in which a society manages to deal with and live and accept it, being part of their lives A movie that is something premonitory in relation to Democracy.
SUNDOWN starts with a close-up of a lot of fishes breathing in extortion, passing in an ellipse to a rich family on vacation on a beach in Mexico, apparently seems to us to be a couple Neil(Tim Roth) and Alice(Charlot Gainsbourg) and a daughter and son, living in a luxurious hotel on Vacances and enjoying the sun and sea. Using a somewhat language, the film absorbs us from the first to the last image, revelling little by little who in fact the characters are, which we initially imagined would have other family ties.
Beginning as a family drama ends up as a war movie. Neil and Alice are the fulcra of a family, along with the two teenagers Colin and Alexa. Everything is somewhat enigmatic under the scorching sun of Acapulco. Meanwhile, Alice receives a phone call which will trigger hear a burst of tears, triggering the need to return home but an incident occurs to Neil and lying says he forgot his Passport, not leaving with them, returns to Acapulco city and changes to a more modest hotel, and begins an intimate and sexual relationship with a native girl.
After which tensions, passions and attitudes will arise, condemnable and sensitive. But the film in a surprising subtlety, systematically reveals to us, who they really are, multimillionaire owners of slaughterhouses. The sun on the earth plays a key role, attacking in an almost aggressive way. Photography with an imperative to reflect two things: the emotional states of the characters and the violence prevailing around them. Neil hired a taxi and begin a relationship with a strange gang, drinking bear after bear and enjoying the beach. later Alice returns looking for Neil.
Michel Franco- (1979-México), has always dealt, after his film "After Lucia", which won ' A Certain Regard' prize in Cannes, with Bulling, dysfunctional families and social differences between rich and poor. After all, the main interpreter is the actor Tim Roth. who had already acted in "Chronic" (2015), a strange and rare midle aged man who awaits (but knowing secretly) that his Sundown is approaching.
With the odour of death and illness, with a protagonist who seems to carry the anguish and introspective existential burden of something painful.
With sweeping landscapes, and looking at the horizon with Margaritas, the Director does not judge but presents and unfolds slowly, the script, with contemplative tracking shots and slow motion, focused on the main character, with a mask of enigmatic and suffering anguish, grabs the viewer, as in a puzzle, in whose only apparent desires, it seems to be enjoying the sands, the sea of the famous beach, sipping beer after beer and sunbathing in the scorching sun.
Not even a murder that happened in front of him moves or arouses his emotions or feelings in him.
When a speedboat, approaches the beach, it shoots at a point-blank range and kills a poor street vendor.
Michel Franco who at that time was going through a crisis in his 40s does not judge, but warns us morosely, about the country of the Aztecs full of attractions and gangs.
Always in the face of Neil's indifferent wandering who really is carrying the burden of a lifetime, sublimating that weight with drink and unbridled sex.
Only towards the end, it is secretly revealed his physical condition. The Director always criticised the hypocrisy of the privileged classes ( Albert Camus in "The Stranger") and thus anticipates Neil, one feels closer, also a final burst of tension and assault in broad daylight!
Directed by Ruben Östlund-Palme D'or winner in Cannes
A satirical comedy, 150 minutes, with situations cynical, nihilistic against the rich, and upper classes, but without punches. With hilarious scenes, laying down and making fun of rich rants, in the worst of situations, to point out the so-called Russian oligarchs, triggered, after the end of the Soviet Union, one of those greedy brutes answering a question about what he sells, replied shit.
Östlund, in this film, without the subtle of his previous film about Art, moreover the last 30 minutes of this excessively long film could be cut!
Handsome Carl (Harris Dickinson) a model, and one of the art directors makes a comment about his "Triangle of sadness", the frowny zone just above his eyebrows. Carl, also became furious with his model girlfriend Yaya (Charlbi Dean), because after taking him to a gourmet restaurant, for rich, and very expensive, finishing the meal, she didn't pay the bill, and she had the nerve to arrange manipulative excuses not to pay it, sketching a perverse Narcissist smile.
Absurdity reigns, and laughs in the worst situations, with criticism of the ridiculous bourgeoisie. A german woman that has suffered a stroke, cannot move, and only exclaims: "In Der Wolken" (In the clouds). Yaya took Carl on a luxurious cruise where they acquainted all the dysfunctional super-rich on board. The captain (woody Harrelson) is having a breakdown and the chief steward Paula (Vicky Berlin) is like a dictator disapproving, oppressor and despot.
The survivors of the shipwreck, stay in a desert island, where they eat fish, and kill a poor donkey.
Directed by Japanese: Junta Yamaguchi- 2020 -70 minutes a science film comedy, distributed by Vendetta Films.
It is a comedy that was exhibited in Fantaspoa. A Young man named Kato that lives right above a café gets a message on his Tv, showing his one picture, but it is two minutes ahead of time. His friends play around with it in a lot of situations. Time Travel will trigger paradoxical situations. Problems of money that belongs to some gangsters.
A film of 2018 consecrated at the Cannes Festival with the award for Best Director, in 'Un certain' regard's section.
It was filmed in the Donbass Basin dived Ukraine from Russia and didn´t premiere in several counties. It is certain that the film gained an increased and brutal topicality and hence the importance and relevance of its debut especially since Sergei Loznitsa's work has been regularly publicized, whose most recent highlight was the documentary State Funeral .
Indeed accumulating episodes of life in the occupied territories of Donbass by separatists and informal Russian troops.
LOZNITZA gives us a brutal portrait of the situation that has been going on there since 2014. Between madness and grotesque, mixing comedy and tragedy, inspired by real events although being a fiction film in Donbass unfolds episode after episode in which a character from one leads us to the next and so on.
Opening in a makeup place with a full staged television report, the film takes us into a post-truth world where propaganda and lies have taken over everything.
Taken in eastern Ukraine, where a hybrid war mixes armed conflict, crimes and riots, perpetrated by separatist groups. War is called peace, propaganda is held up as truth and hate pretends to be love.
A journey through Donbass in a series of crazy adventures where the tragic and sometimes farcical mix of life and death. It is not a tale about a region, a country or a political system, but about a world lost in post-truth and false identities. It concerns us all.
Loznitsa shows in the film situations and episodes that may seem absurd like in the middle of a burlesque marriage scene followed by chairs and laughter, hearing the sound of Mendelson's wedding march.
In another scene, a guy with a written paper glued is beaten and insulted by a lot of people, who call him fascist. Bomb explosions follow and end with a strange attack on the people in the first scene, killing dozen unexpectedly!
Franco Basaglia, the main Agent who revolutionized the closing of 180 Asylums in Italy. As a result of which it has spread all over the world. As Director of the Psychiatric Hospital of Gorizia, he initiates reforms in order to transform the Hospital for the mentally ill into a healing community. In 1978 the government passed law 180 or Basaglia law, ensuring the closure of asylums and creating other services in the Community, such as, for example installing the mentally ill among the more than 3.000 vacant buildings, which turned out to be very beneficial in improving the condition of patients.
The Documentary "MATTI DA SLEGARE", made by several directors such as: Marco Belocchio, Silvano Agosti, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli-1975-140'minuts . Shot at the Psychiatric Institut in the communist province of Parma, the politic Mario Tommasini in order not to marginalize the mental patients, took people and by integrating them into society, instead of ostracizing them, so he come into contact with the famous director Bellochio who filmed this documentary with the cooperative he founded for this purpose. This film is above all a cry against the real tortures and abuses in the health systems, being analysed and experienced that contributes to the improvement of mental health.
We talk with Silvano Agosti one of the directors and also a filmmaker and philosopher, who highlighted above all a fight against real torture suffered before, in hospitals by the poor demented, who used to live locked up in prisons, sometimes for decades, as in one of the cases we have known for 35 years.
Based on a true story, it is a portrait of middle-aged individual Ulrich Mott, of initially unknown origin, wearing a false mask of seduction and false charm as an authentic social predator, whose only aim is to approach and sneak into politicians and influential people, to obtain favours and profits, not caring about the feelings and others heartbreak, he uses all the tricks and calculations, typical of a Narcissist later escalating and resulting in a true Psychopath.
The film opens showing Ulrich Mott, wearing an Iranian uniform and commanding and saluting the soldiers in the desert, then moving on to a luxurious house in Georgetown where a lavish party with guests from the high circle takes place. Mott leads his wife of 90 years old Elsa Brett (Vanessa Redgrave), they are all seduced and surrendered to Mott's charms but with the exception of old lady Amanda's daughter (Annette Bening) who complains loudly.
However, they both argue before heading out for a walk.
Everything about him is false and perverse, including Mott's ambiguous sexuality, which will be called into question, (once he said to Elsa: you smell like a coffin), latter she discovers Matt with another in the hotel bed!
The next morning an ending triggered abruptly after an angry discussion, the policy investigates...
Directed and played by Christoph Waltz
This is a film with a thesis on toxic masculinity hegemony, a metaphor for westerns. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch a figure that concentrates all masculinity, with his brother George (Jess Plemons) and son Peter(Kodismit Macphee), shy and effeminate, the opposite of cowboys, they create cattle on the ranch that they both own. The soundtrack is something chilling, it will revolutionize the western style and its brutality. The film is not intended to have any climatic ending. The writer Savage as a gay man the plot and characters on his own experience.
The action takes place in the year 1925 and the Burbank brothers in their ranch, in Montana, especially Phil creates fear around them, he meets a widow on another ranch Rose Gorden (Kirsten Dunst) they fall in love and married. Later Phil will treat Rose very badly, with bulling as consequence she becomes alcoholic. In another scene Peter is looking at pictures of naked men that he discovered in Phil's stash, later he also watched Phil bathing naked, after this incident, they establish a strange friendship and Peter in a moment of tenderness reveals to him that has found his father died from suicide, Peter dark and ambiguous intention, manipulating Phil to get rid of him, false sense of companionship, Peter is making a rope that will play a role in the end. We know that Phil promised protection to his mother and has medical knowledge that Anthrax bacteria in the dead cattle could kill!
In the end, Peter is seen reading the Bible- Psalm 22, inferring the power of the dog title name and that Rose or even Peter himself is darling being delivered by the poising plot.
George got married with Rose.
Directed by Iranian Director Asghar Farhadi was awarded the Palme DÓr at Cannes, as well as nominated for the Golden Globe in the category of best foreign-language film.
Opens with superb photography of the Tombe of Xerxes. Set also in the historical city of Shiraz , we see Rahim the hero, in prison arrested for debts, having been denounced and accused a friend of the ex-brother in law. After having 2 days of provisional leave, he will try to sell a bag of golden coins, pretending that he had found it even though it was his girlfriend..
He gives the prison telephone number, generating a wave of admiration.
The Director always starts from a plot in which the characters will suffer the consequences of their errors, getting involved in a web of complications motivated by their mistakes. Putting also the spectators deeply involved. Meanwhile, someone doubts the veracity of Rahim. For Iranian honour and shame are crucial in their lives!
A British-American film directed by the famous director Joe Wright and written by Erica Schmidt, based on the book "Cyrano de Bergerac" by the writer Edmond Rostand and a 2018 musical.
In this version, the great curiosity is that the usual Cyrano with a big nose deformation (one film was interpreted by Gerard Depardieu) but hear the protagonist is distinguished by his structure (Peter Dinklage) playing a genial poet (who others call freak) not the nose! He was enabled to appear before his beloved Roxanne (Harley Bennet) that nevertheless falls in love with his verses, which were spoken by a handsome friend that replaces Cyrano presence. I emphasized that the scenarios are fabulous, with stupendous aesthetic care, in each frame and also good photography. Concerning the singing voices since it is a musical and not an Opera, nice voice of lyrical soprano Roxanne, however, the voices men's are recited, with ugly intonation but not lyrical.
Some time ago we watched a play in the principal Thater in France: La Comédie Francaise the protagonist was Michel Vuillermoz, being Cyrano de Bergerac is one of the most famous plays for posterity, with dramaturgy by Emmanuel Bourdieu who went to directed five films and is also the author of three plays with mise enscène by Denis Podalydes.
Between dreamed reality, romance or imaginary tale, of pure romantic ideas and shadows, the suffering, the dark areas of reality, History and the fantasy of people invention and the contact with real. The solution in this film version is very creative to replace a Cyrano with a monstrously large, unhabitual nose into a being that was called ' a freak'!
Roxanne will be a symbol of those who loved in the other, especially, the spiritual side, more than the physical being something superfluous. Cyrano likes a D.Quixote who far from living the illusion, intends to submit reality to his perfect love, Knight of the sad figure!
Directed and starring by Kennet Bragnag in Hercule Poirot, based on the book by the famous police writer Agatha Christie (who wrote 33 books with this detective).
Starting with a prologue in the black and white scene in Belgium 1st world war, showing young solder Poirot in french, that is going to save the lives of his fellow, solving an attack, evidence from the outset insight and wit, out of the ordinary. The film then changes to colours with the detective displaying a large moustache that has a purpose (?),
after presenting as a detective to a sophisticated people that makes a cruise, always with impeccable clothing.
Fantastic photography with the actions passing in the magnificent monuments of Egypt. Meanwhile, several deaths happen and the suspects follow. There is an important and faraway temple where one of the actions happens ABU SIEBEL ( the complete monument was transplanted 300 meters above, stone by stone, in order to be saved from flooding).
Poirot perspicacity and deep gaze will solve the crimes.
Directed by Xavier Giannoli
A period drama from the 19th century.It is a story of the young Lucien (Benjamin Voisin) who comes from the provinces, with great hopes, illusions and ambitions to enter aristocratic circles, as a poet for whom poetry was a religion, initially the sophisticated society will refuse him mocking for his poem "Daisies" and nicknamed him with the same name.
Through a journalist(Vincent Lacoste) that introduced him to a newspaper milieu, and met another(Xavier Dolan) where publishing is a real business and the editor (Gerard Depardieu) doesn't even know to read.
Between a society that he discovers a world submissive to a law of profit and pretence and perverse human games!
Lucien becomes the lover of an older aristocrat and letter with a boulevard actress who aspires to represent classic theatre -Racine, where the cheerleader will determine the acters that will be applauded or brooded, accordingly to who pays the most.
Xavier Giannoli won the Palme d'Or for his short film, as well a César in 2006, in 2016 he directed "Marguerite"- Florence Foster Jenkins out of tone lyric singer, following in 2017 " La Apparition",
" Illusion Perdu" Adaptation of the famous masterpiece with the some name " Lost Illusions" writen by Honoré de Balzac( "La comedie Humaine").
It is a beautiful film , that even makes us immerse ourselves in it, forgetting its long duration of more than two hours!
Comedy Directed by Léon Aranoa and starring Javier Bardem. Spanish film selected and nominated for the international feature film for the 94th Oscar.
In a subtle caricature of a Scale factory owner, who tries to show and practice an image of a fair boss, helping and empathizing with his employees like a father. In the meantime, it collects awards from the Regional Government.
what's going to go wrong is, that in addition to having hired a somewhat seductive intern, it's firing a former employee however, a drama emerges, which will unmask the true perverse manipulative nature of the subject.
Xavier Bardem subtly interprets a satire, metamorphosing into the role of a patronage that feeds on corruption.
As far the Oscars, there is talk in other films, such as : "C'Mon C'Mon" by Mike Mills, with Joaquin Phoenix and "L'Évenemént" by Audrey Diwan. Let's wait looking forward!
The story of Alana Kane, 25 years old, and Gary Valentine(15 years old), crowing up, running around and taking place in California, San Fernando Valley, in 1973.
Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson: Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood (Silver Bear) , 2012 -The Master (Silver Lyon Venezia).
Stars: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, Ben Safdie.
One dialogue: Alana asks: "What does your penis look like"?-Gary answers: "circumcised", Alana: "then you're fucking Jew". Romance, comedy, drama, some sexual material and some drug use.
Interweave several stories in the same plot-long takes through travellings use and sound and music. It's just a series of events unrelated to each other without getting anywhere, why is the movie called "Licorize Pizza"?
Cinematic influences:: Stanley Kubrik, Blake Edwards, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese, Robert Altman, Jacques Tati, Sidney Lumet and Jonathan Demme.
This is a film that surprises us greatly, for many other happenings. Owing to a discovery by an astrologer (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his fellow (Jennifer Lawrence) about a big comet that will destroy our Planet within six months, causing the Universe to disappear. After informing the President(Merryl Streep) that give no attention to it.
Throughout the film, we are seeing the raw and a lot of truths denounced, like the ever-widening gap between riches and the poor gap between riches and poor, all of which are reported with a sense of humour, the multiple alienations of current lives of the human drama, especially the manipulation, who initially are not taken into consideration. Portraying a President who will react and take action in accordance with polls and elections, forgetting human interests and only the cry coming from the deep soul of the astrologers warning of sociopaths, fascists between us and the quality of the pink magazines and television channels, the ilusion and false sedution to capture votes.
An excelent direction of actors, making us vibrate intensly.
A Life portrait of Iranian women
By Directers: Behtash Sana Eeha and Maryam Moghaddam.
Is a Powerful portrait of a woman, in Contemporary Iranian society. Her life is turned upside down when she discovers that her husband was innocent of which he was sentenced to death, and executed. She will fight against a cynical and perverse system. Telling the story of those who suffer human injustices!
The 83-years-old Dutch director Paul Verhoeven active both in Netherlands and Hollywood will now premiere a highly controversial film "BENEDETTA"!
Director, screenwriter and producer, graduated from the University of Leiden his filmography covered 26 Films, of different kinds somewhat violent, erotic, satyrical and science fiction and dramas.
The best known: Robocop (1997), Total Reccal (1990). Starship Troopers (1997). Basic Instinct (1992), Turkish Delights (1993).
With his movie "Showgirls" he become. a "Cult" having won also with this movie "The Golden Raspberry" award in addition to being nominated by others.
Got a "Cesar" for ELLE (2016) a "Golden Globe",(2016) and "Saturno" (1987).
BENEDETTA (Virginia Efira) will only now appears, after two years of delay due to Verhoeven's disease and the Pandemic. Tells the true story of a legendary nun set in the 17th century leaving in a Convent in Pescia, it was adapted from the book "The Life of a Lesbian nun in Renaissance Italy" by Judith C. Brown, inspired by the dramatic events that took place inside the Convent. It was considered by the director "a damned film. yes. made with honesty".
Benedetta, later mother superior, ho was possessed with mystical, visions with Christ, and arising with bloody stigmata, although it was self-flagellation,(later it was discovered that was self-inflicted) stressing human and special female sexual desire. after inviting a young brown girl (Daphne Patakie) with whom it comes to engage in a romantic relationship, voyeurism, sadomasochism, repression and rebellion against an obscurantist society. At that time the Church is going to investigate the fact of such "Miracles".
We can see in a scene a woman appears extracting some milk from her breast in presence of the Nuncio(Lambert Wilson) lubricious gaze(that was called to investigate). Every scene is surrounded by artistic beauty from the paintings, tapestry, to the furniture, creating a superb atmosphere, from the old masters. Cinema is endowed with a great cultural and psychological load! often understood as softcore, but wrongly because in Verhoeven there is a huge refinement and a great artistic beauty of scenes, especially that we should never confuse with the current trend, of other films, the abuse of erotic scenes for other purposes...
At the premiere in New York, it happened a demonstration and protests against the film by a group called "America Needs Fátima"!
A movie that praises and fulfils the pleasure of watching the Cinema-the 7th Art!
The authentic and original south Korean film Director, Producer and screenwriter, reveals himself in contemporary cinema, intelligent and emotional, sometimes with biting humour and emphasis on strong social components, raising questions and social inequalities, GENRE-MIXING, BLACK HUMOR, AND SUDEN TONE SHIFTS.
Considered one of the best directors, especially after winning Cannes Palma d'Or, in 2019. It addresses family and drama with contours of the psychological thriller and suspense. A journey in search of that point, metaphorical which can erase the traces of pain.
Bong shows the Korean actors, constantly eating (as they are endowed with excellent cuisine) and disabled young people also appear, by creating false and metaphorical situations in order to provoke violent actions, sometimes with blood, and using flashbacks between the plans, not revealing the happened crimes, he let us get involved and causing the spectators anxiety and some anguish and reflections, letter involved in the riddle, whose criminal is it (?).
FILMOGRAPHY
BARKING DOG NEVER BITE=Flandersui Gae- (2000) is a black comedy. We are advised at the beginning that "no animal was harmed during the filming.
MEMORIES OF A MURDER=Salinui Ghueck- (2003)- crime thriller (one of the best)! ,
THE HOST (2006)- the monster film,
Tokyo (2008),
MOTHER=Madeo-(2009)- Corajouse mother to prove is sun was not guilt,
"SNOWPIERCER (2013)- Science fiction action film,
ONJA (2017)-a super pig,
PARASITA (2019)-Oscars 2020- Academy Awards: best picture, Best Director, International Feature Film and best original screenplay.
All the action takes place in a dystopian future and is related to climate change.
The inability of human beings and groups to act, in the face of the unknown.
The experience almost ending with the world population, except for the inhabitants of Snowpiper.
An extensive railway engine, that circulates throughout the Planet, via a railway.
After the disaster, the train is divided into two social classes: the front occupied by the privileged class and the tail by the working and poor classes.
It was decided to organize a revolution in order to take control of the machine!
In Fake Famous, journalist and writer Nick Bilton carries out a social experiment that proposes to make three young adults from Los Angeles with no discernible talent illustrious influencers on Instagram, making them artificially "famous" in order to assess how their lives might change. An informative and enlightening documentary that questions the culture of appearance and the new "values" without so much value of the notorious new world of "notables" of social media.
In times gone by, to achieve fame you had to have talent, unusual skills, intelligence, merit and a good capacity for work (and sometimes even sacrifice). Above all were famous people like actors, writers, musicians, people who distinguished themselves in their field by the merit of what they did. Fame usually ended up being a consequence of talent, of work that was recognised as being of value, quality or originality. Nowadays, and especially after the phenomenon of reality TV has definitively installed a new model of notoriety, you can be famous for nothing, without having done anything noteworthy to deserve it, without having any distinctive characteristic, but simply because you are "noticed" in any audiovisual space with good audience levels that favours media projection. And fame has also become the goal itself, fame for fame's sake, as in the myth of Herostratus (an obscure citizen of the ancient city of Ephesus who set fire to the Temple of Diana with the sole purpose of inscribe his name in history and become "famous", even if at the expense of the most infamous of acts).
This idea of the "banality of notoriety", in which it is enough to "appear" in a "channel" that allows visibility, has created popularity phenomena that are not sustainable for anything substantial, authentic vacuities fed by narcissistic vanity, a kind of beautiful packages with almost nothing inside, or the equivalent to advertising campaigns that are set up without there being any product or service really worthy of that name to sell and that are built from the outside in a kind of almost fetishistic dynamic of belief on the part of those who adhere to and believe in the "product" that end up creating reality – in a strategy somewhat identical to the "fake it until you make it", like a Pinocchio who wants and pretends to be flesh and blood so much that he ends up being it. In other words, you start with nothing, and with so much wanting and pretending you end up creating a reality that didn't exist. It's a bit like having a machine that produces money and being able to have a good life without the need to work hard – the reality of all that we can have and buy with it is very real. This is in fact what happens to the three influencers "forged" by the social experiment carried out in the documentary Fake Famous, the directorial debut of Nick Bilton, former technology journalist for The New York Times and Vanity Fair correspondent with published books on the effects of technology on human behaviour.
The aim was to test and verify to what extent it would be possible to artificially create an influencer. To do so, the director and his team randomly chose three people from Los Angeles (the city of dreams, where people go to try and achieve fame), after an advertised casting session with the question "do you want to be famous?" to which five thousand people responded and which was attended by four thousand (this alone shows that fame is the new gold of modern times). Three people were intentionally chosen who had very few followers on social media (namely Instagram, the digital platform favoured by influencers), and for whom fake followers, comments and likes were bought (on specific sites that sell these services), with the aim of observing how their lives would change.
With a trivial and average personality profile, and lacking the charisma necessary to be popular, these three people are going to follow very different paths. Dominique, a young aspiring actress who works in a clothing shop, starts receiving generous amounts of free products and invitations from brands to promote them, the calls for castings increase, and even the fact that she's perceived as "famous" becomes a supplementary aphrodisiac when she meets boys. It's a real game changer, literally everything in her life changes.
With the other two participants things go differently. Wylie, a personal assistant to a Beverly Hills real estate agent, ends up panicking and eclipsing himself under the pressure of the anxiety caused not only by the boom of likes and comments, but also when he begins to be questioned about the veracity of his followers (at one point, he is unmasked by an internet user who realizes that his "explosion" of popularity was leveraged by bots, advanced algorithms that simulate real followers). Chris, a designer and songwriter, ends up realising the falseness of that virtual world and concludes that he wants no part of it.
In a world dominated by image culture (but not always with visual culture) and by societies of spectacle, more and more people are evaluated by appearances and also "obliged", by the very laws of the market, to have significant acting talent (but what is life after all if not a big stage and all of us actors with various roles to fulfil and play?) However, as Fake Famous demonstrates, much of this valuing and demanding of fame is not only a huge hassle (sometimes it can be a lot of work not wanting to have a more ordinary job) but it ends up being futile, artificial and empty. And this becomes more evident when in the final part, filmed during the pandemic, many of the influencers continue to post images of luxurious, paradisiacal places when the whole world was locked up at home – the greater or lesser falseness of a lifestyle no longer matters (because much of the glamour is manufactured), but ethical issues are raised.
The truth is that in a time when it is increasingly important to defend causes and give good examples of life many influencers promote an ostentatious and consumerist lifestyle that, moreover, only serves themselves, and even ends up contributing negatively to the mental health of many people – it's easy for someone with a less strong psychological structure, especially if they are younger and less knowledgeable, to feel themselves losers and become unhappy with the (false) perception that almost everyone seems to have a fantastic life... Fake Famous dismantles this illusion, being very informative and relying on the intelligent, pleasant and empathy-generating presence of the director. Nick Bilton debunks a good part of the work of many digital influencers, who often turn out to be nothing more than teleshopping hosts. We could say that these bots are made for shoppin'...
"Fake Famous" is available on HBO
Was an American Director, Producer and screenwriter, that studied in Germany with Bertold Brecht. Blacklisted in Hollywood, in the 1950's, he moved to Europe where he made their remainder of his films, mostly in the United Kingdom. Among successful, were the films with screenplays by the dramaturg Harold Painter. "The Servant" and "The Go-Between" (1971) , "Monsieur Klein", (with Alain Delon), won the César awards.
Losey was four times nominee for:
- Both the Palme d'Or, (winning once);
- The Golden Lion;
- And two times Bafta nominee (with Nicolas Ray), school classmates. Beginning as a student of Medicine and ending in drama.
The writer Sinclair Lewis offered to Losey his first work, written for the stage: "Jay Hawker", to directing a theatre in New York. Losey visited “The Soviet Union” in 1935, to study the Russian stage and a seminar on film, taught by the famous Sergei Eisenstein. Also met Bertold Brecht and the composer Hans Eisler. From 1946-47, he directed several plays on Broadway worked with Bertold Brecht and the actor Charles Laughton in the US. Losey went, with Both Losey and Brecht, in the House Un-American Activities Committee (anti-communist). After this, the following day he left US (the land of "Liberty")! At “The Maxine Elliot Theater”, he went on with the play "Life of Galileo". Again, with C.Laughten in the role. Losey's first feature film was a political allegory " The Boy With Green Hair"(1947). The Producer of Fritz Lang's classic "M" hired Losey to Direct a remake.
In 1946, he joined the Communist party. Meanwhile, Howard Huges began purging it of leftists and Losey ask to release him of his contract and left for Italy, after one year returned. Stelled, in London, did his first film " The Sleeping Tiger"(1954) under the pseudonym Victor Hanbury, feared being blacklisted by Hollywood, based on the play by Harold Pinter's screenplay:
- "The Servant"(1963) (forbidden by censorship in Portugal);
- "Accident" (1967);
- And "The Go-Between" (1971) with Britsh Academy Film award with Grand Prix Special du Jury of Cannes Film Festival (1967).
Joseph Losey films are naturalistic and Expressionism. Worked with the famous playwriter Harold Pinter on the Marcel Proust´screenplay, but died before. Note: Marcel Proust wrote 7 books: "A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu"(In Search of Lost Time ) considered one of the best's 20th Century writer.
In 1975, realized a film on Brecht's "Galileo" and follows "Monsieur Klein".
In 1979, filmed Mozart's Opera "Don Giovanni, shot in Italy. Following: "LA Truit" with Isabelle Huppert.(1982)Nominated Golden Venice Lion.
He died at his home, in London, on June 22 (1984), four weeks after completing "Steaming", that was made on the year after his death.
Note: Hollywood blacklist MacCarthysm make so many victims. Also, like one of the greatest screenwriters, called Dalton Trombo, who refused to testify before that American Activities committee and have to work clandestinely on major films.
While England sleeps Review by Nuno Carvalho, 6th February 2021
Written by Russell T. Davies (creator of Queer as Folk and Years and Years), It's a Sin, a five-episode miniseries from Channel 4 (available on HBO), centers on a group of friends living in a London apartment in the early 1980s, when the clouds of AIDS begin to loom on the horizon of the british gay community blown by the winds that bring bad news from across the Atlantic.
When 40 years have passed since AIDS was first recognized by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the US equivalent of the portuguese DGS), some fears and ghosts resurface that make us think of that era, if only because we find ourselves in the midst of another pandemic. Anyone who has lived through that era or read about it will recognize in It's a Sin, a Channel 4 miniseries that is available on HBO, some strange and unexpected parallels between the two epidemics, even though we are naturally talking about two very different situations.
However, just as there are coincidences between the coronavirus pandemic and that of the so-called “spanish flu” of 1918 (mainly in the fact that the second wave killed way more people than the first, and also because many people, just like now, relaxed their care due to fatigue), also the HIV/AIDS epidemic was initially marked by a lot of misinformation, rumours and speculations (as someone pointed out, fake news and conspiracy theories are not only a reality of the present time). However, although centered on the AIDS drama, It's a Sin is not just an “AIDS drama”, and that is also one of its assets – that it is not a one-tone song or a one-colour picture (the multiplicity of colours is always present).
But if the drama of 2020-2021 has as its main enemies a very fast virus and the stupid politicization that the far-right made of simple public health issues, the drama of It's a Sin, which covers a decade (1981-1991), has as its main antagonists the then mysterious virus that began killing gay men and the widespread homophobia (as we know, the press first called the disease "gay cancer", an expression that, despite the natural ignorance in the face of an unknown threat, was also unbearably homophobic and moralistic).
The story of this five-episode miniseries written by Russell T. Davies (creator of Queer as Folk), whose title comes from a well-known song by the Pet Shop Boys, centers on a group of friends living in a London flat in the early 1980s, when the AIDS clouds begin to loom on the horizon of the british gay community blown by the winds that bring bad news from across the Atlantic, while the rest of England sleeps (and will remain asleep for a long time to come, with the criminal complicity of the political establishment).
The first episode (which serves mainly the purpose of launching the characters, with the series gaining a crescendo of density and intensity from then on) begins with one of the protagonists, Ritchie Tozer (played by Olly Alexander, lead singer of the band Years and Years), aged 18, leaving his parents' house (who do not yet know that he's gay), on the isle of Wight, to go to London to study Law. Like the title of the Bronski Beat song that is part of the series' apt and accurate soundtrack, Ritchie is a typical smalltown boy who, as soon as he sees himself in the big cosmopolitan city, begins to freely explore his sexuality and flourishes in all its splendour. He is joined in the flat they christen Pink Palace by three other friends, in addition to Jill (Lydia West), his best friend and the only woman in the group: Ash (Nathaniel Curtis), a nice biracial teacher with whom Ritchie initially becomes involved, Roscoe (Omari Douglas), a construction worker who has defected from a conservative and religious nigerian family who believe he has been possessed by a demon (ah, the religious delusion, that great builder of bridges between men!), and Colin (Callum Scott Howells), a shy and more “square” but lovable welsh boy who works in a clothing shop, and who finds a mentor and friend in Henry (Neil Patrick Harris, in a brief but effective role), a kind and openly gay co-worker who has lived for 30 years with his boyfriend who will be forced by his family to return to Portugal when things start to go wrong (and, speaking of portuguese, and to give you an idea of the level of xenophobia in the days of thatcherism, at one point a portuguese man is referred to as “a bloody argie”, a derogatory english slang term that can be translated as a “damn argentine”). By the end of the first episode, the specter of the coming tragedy is already beginning to loom...
Just as, in the current field of queer cinema, it is characteristic of the New Queer Cinema to portray its characters as ordinary people (flawed people, but also people with “a normal heart”, to quote the title of Ryan Murphy's telefilm of the same name based on Larry Kramer's play), so the characters in It's a Sin are portrayed as ordinary human beings (like common people, after all), with flaws, qualities, imperfections, talents, which is to say, with everything that characterizes a human being. They are neither pure angels nor evil demons, neither stereotypical villains nor idealized heroes, neither “unbalanced” poor things nor aseptic “normotics” or “monsters” with some form of supersanity or supersanctity – they are, of course, simply people (sensitive, indeed, and sometimes even fragile, without any of this being “wrong” or “abnormal”, quite the contrary!) And there may be a lot of existential pain and suffering caused by a terrible epidemic in this series with autobiographical echoes, but there are also many moments of glorious happiness. Because, after all, the true and worst “sin” is not to live our truths and not to try to be happy.
All episodes of ‘It's a Sin’, created by Russell T. Davies, and starring Olly Alexander, Keeley Hawes, Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Fry, are available on HBO
Lonely Iris, introverted girl, and friendless. And a new student appears, saving her in the constant bullying, loneliness and humiliation.
The movie Director will cleverly profile their families. Iris repressive an religious parents with a passive father but Maggie, the new student, appears and becomes her only friend.
There's a certain atmosphere of mystery and doubt as to why they changed the cities. Iris has a psychosomatic reaction, but her "protector" will help to alter everything, creating a new creature, which was hidden inside her.
Films of this complexity and analysis are not easy to make, but they are the ones that define masterpieces.
The French Film Festival kicks off in the middle of the pandemic with a program full of previews. Inaugurated with the film "MISS", with the protagonist the model Alexandre Wetter.
We warn you in advance that the Portuguese-French director Ruben Alves "Gaiola Dourada" (2013), is not concerned with knowing the sexual orientation of the protagonist.
Beginning with a 9-year-old boy, whose wish is to become Miss France, which is received with laughter by his colleagues. Years later, Alex, after losing his country, decides to run for the Miss France contest, hiding his male identity! With moments when he falters and loses self-confidence. A film full of glamour, filled with beautiful dresses by famous costume designers.
Based in the true story of the famous Australian/American singer, Helen Rubby, that composed and sang, a hymn to the fights for feminine rights. She was born in Melbourne, Vitoria, Australia.
She married 3 times and the 2nd husband, Jeff Wald, became her manager, and with the support of him, reached a fantastic career. 10 times on top reached nº1, with her album. Helen comes from an Irish family. Now, she has dementia at 78 years old. Finished singing in 2002, and went to Australia, after singing in some musicals entered University and obtained a degree and practiced as a clinical hypnotherapist.
"I am a woman" A very good movie that absorbs us for almost 2 hours, don't lose it!