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All of Us Strangers (2023)
WHEN SADNESS AND LOVE COME TOGETHER ON A HIGHER LEVEL.
With this new film "Haigh" presents us with a sort of dreamlike extension of his rightly celebrated "Weekend" (2012).
It is a painful and relentless, romantic and thoughtful film which flourishes in the mysterious and the poetic, on the themes of mourning and love (family, sentimental, sexual).
It's a somewhat confusing and tangled emotional puzzle, but there are matters of the heart that reason doesn't understand: We can simply let go and enjoy it like a metaphysical hug. A refined cocktail of melancholy and romanticism with fantastic actors, washed down with the enveloping music of "Pet Shop Boys", "Frankie Goes To Hollywood", "The Housemartins", "Fine Young Cannibals", "Alison Moyet"...
I found it very beautiful... And I didn't need to rationalize and understand it (even if in the end I did). The great pleasure that this work gave me is due to the quality of the dialogues between the characters ("I know how easy it is to stop taking care of yourself"), to the music, to the images, to the looks (and what looks!) and the gestures that accompany them.
The film deals with the pain of loss, the relationship with parents, self-acceptance, the unresolved trauma of the threat of AIDS in sexual awakening and unhealed fears and wounds. But the most important theme addressed I believe is eternal love. A love that happens in the universe, when you are no longer there...
Thanks to moving cinematography and masterful performances from the star couple, Andrew Scott (Adam) and Paul Mescal (harry) as well as "Jamie Bell" and "Claire Foy" (Adam's parents), the film plunges us into a torrent of emotions, from joy to sorrow, leaving us to reflect on the fragility of existence and the importance of cultivating meaningful relationships. In the end, he leaves us a moving message: loneliness kills us, let us let ourselves be loved and fight for love, because it is in the embrace of the other that we find true fulfillment and happiness. Sense of belonging in this tumultuous world.
Veneciafrenia (2021)
Venice more red than blue
The Spanish director is very critical this time and he is fundamentally right: Venice, this jewel, has become an amusement park; it is the tragedy of mass tourism that is being targeted. Hence the idea of making Veneciafrenia, a slasher, this subgenre of horror in which the murderer, generally with well-founded reasons for having become one (or, at least, with some defense for his revenge), kills by the most savage methods young people who only think about having fun, fornicating, drinking and taking drugs, without looking for a moment at the environment in which they live or at the people or things that surround them. A slasher which, as the genre dictates, has the main aim of entertaining.
However, the film only half succeeds. The contrast between the classic Venice of the carnival, baroque, colorful and disproportionately brilliant, and the vulgar attitude of this gang of thirty-something Spaniards, three women and two men with youthful pretensions and adolescent stupidities, who stumble upon the worst journey of their lives, is too strong for us to believe it. Giallo's notes in the treatment of colors and the nuances of certain characters, confer a certain welcome ghostly vision to the whole with the obvious reference to the great "Don't turn around" by "Nicolas Roeg" from 1973, as a model to follow to present not a beautiful, sublime city, but a city that is frightening, because it is old, ugly and decadent.
"Veneciafrenia" ends up failing on both fronts: that of the rejoicing of terror, and that of the critical vision of the fact of society which was nevertheless an excellent starting point. This does not prevent some beautiful flashes like the opening credits, truly magnificent. The terror based on Opera with the excuse of the character of Rigoletto was also seen well. The black humor works at times but is poorly balanced with the terror of the Giallo. All of this lacks relevance and ambiguity: the general tone is strange due to the different parts that never really stick together (between the half-funny gore slasher and the satire-criticism with a certain message) and a disappointing ending.
It's well filmed, we recognize the touch of "De la Iglesia", but the film lacks a little this frenzy which, ironically, sometimes blurs certain works of this author. The protagonists are walking clichés. The villains much more interesting.
Barely an amusing film where we feel that "Veneciafrenia" is missing out on something that could have been memorable.
Out of Darkness (2022)
prehistoric survival
A monster film 45,000 years BC shot with three francs six cents but which ultimately holds up rather well, the filmmaker knowing how to exploit semi-desert landscapes, disturbing forests and dark caves. Excellent work of the soundtrack since until the revelation of the "beast" 20 minutes it is the only element indicating its presence. Therefore this journey through the highlands is credible and relatively tense.
In reality it's almost a survival story with an unexpected final twist (and which allows you not to strain the budget...), but which poorly explains the injury of the destroyed body, the only special effect in the whole film..
It is anthropology, not violence, that provides the final touch, a thought-provoking climax:
The inevitable lessons learned in this mossy, frigid wilderness continue to have modern resonances: about fear, intolerance, superstition, survival;
He has a lot to say about the slow, steady evolution of man, reflecting all the myriad divisions of the world today, from Brexit to Biden's America.
A Resilient Man (2024)
A sublime ode to self-reconstruction of a talented artist
At the height of his fame, Steven McRae, a brilliant principal dancer at the Royal Ballet in London, injured his Achilles tendon and collapsed on stage. His career seems over. However, after 2 years of absence, accompanied by his coaches and the company's medical team, he is following a special program to return to his highest level. Despite adversity, Steven McRae intends to return to the stage and dance the most prestigious roles in the repertoire again.
Unknown in France STEVEN MCRAE is a star in England.
He grew up in Australia, in the suburbs of Sydney. His parents are mechanics and his father is a drag racing fan.
He is a little red-haired boy, puny, shy. It evolves in this
world of cars, car races, oil smells,
of roaring engines... He even imagines becoming
pilot one day as he loves speed. But, by going to look
her sister in a dance class, it's a revelation. Like a
call. He wants to dance!
"It was the first time I felt that way. It was extraordinary and I didn't want it to stop. Ever. Dancing was freedom."
10 years later, at 17, he won the Lausanne prize, the most
big dance competition for young dancers. At the end of
competition, the director of the prestigious Royal Ballet school
from London asked him to become his student...He moved to London where he worked hard until he became the star dancer of the "Royal Ballet".
The filmmaker met him for the first time somewhat by chance in 2011 and the project of making a film about the dancer had been on his mind for a long time...
The right moment arrives when Steven gets injured, a taboo subject in dance circles. The idea for the documentary is there and Steven agrees. They exchange, get to know each other, sympathize.
The filming without embarrassment and without modesty goes deep into Steven's intimacy and sensitivity without ever sinking into voyeurism.
Steven Carrell shows and tells the fragility of life, the vulnerability of a man but also his ability to get back up with this strong story, with powerful narrative forces and dramatic issues worthy of fiction:
"I want to make a particularly beautiful film, print the body and mind of Steven McRae on film. I want to follow him as closely as possible when he dances. Feel him breathe. Experience every emotion with him. Dare to use framing that borrows heavily from photography."
I like to frame at shoulder height, or leave the frame empty around a character. Filming very graphic lines to give breadth to the image, to question, and above all to accentuate the idea that we don't tell one story like any other."
Some training or dancing scenes or "Steven Mcrae is alone" are incredibly beautiful and nothing to envy of "Black Swan".
By the way, if you thought like me that classical dancers are all skinny, you will be surprised, "Mcrae" looks more like a Rugby player all in muscle and power.
Obviously the soundtrack of the film is essential and it magnifies the emotions (There is music, symphonic music obviously but also string quartet and electronics)
It's a favorite that I highly recommend even if you know nothing about classical dance, which is my case.
Venus (2022)
COSMIC SLEEP
An argument that doesn't seem to be where it's going, and in fact it doesn't know where it's going.
It's the first, bad version of a script that a teenage film student would write in a weekend.
Of course, the ending is not at all predictable, but if it is not at all it is unfortunately for the wrong reason: It is without a doubt the worst part of the film.
It's a bad student scenario.
From the start it doesn't work: a gogo dancer from the "Fabrik" nightclub in Madrid decides to steal pills (the only motive of the film is perhaps to allow the fashionable actress to be sexy while time) in the nightclub where she works and abandoning her car and her cell phone about three meters from the room... to walk to a building from where, inexplicably, she never leaves. Well, after waiting a long time for something exciting to happen, more than three-quarters of the way through the movie, it looks like something is going to happen...
There's satanic cultism in the air, a full moon looks like it's about to trigger an alien invasion, a goddess of evil approaches, and then finally poops, pretty much nothing.
Nothing works, nothing is even correct, it's not horror, it's no longer a thriller, the bad guys seem to come from teletubbies, who are surely smarter!
Ten minutes before the end the heroine, a badass, exclaims: And now we're going to dance; We tell ourselves that at least these last ten minutes will turn into an effective settling of scores against the bad guys, the witches, the monstrous servant, the goddess of evil...
We are treated to a minimalist fight with one of the bad guys, and a shotgun blast at an old woman!
And the ending, yes I'll come back to it again, is so stupid that I felt embarrassed for the director. Because it's hard to believe that the director of Rec could have made such an empty film. Sometimes it's better to retire on time. With such a poorly constructed storyline, it's hard to come up with something decent that can't even be described as cheap teen gore. Another great failure of Spanish cinema which pretends to make horror cinema and puts people to shame.
Don't waste your time on this.
Saltburn (2023)
A top-notch perverse psychosexual thriller
Emerald Fennell steps up her cinematic style with a flawed but delightfully strange and quite daring drama
Saltburn is wickedly twisted, seductive and soberly satirical
"It has strength, dynamism and style, even if the scenario is classic and quite predictable. When we see it, we think of a mixture of "Return to Brideshead" by "Evelyn Waugh" (see the review of the book in this group) and the adventures of "Ripley" by "Patricia Highsmith". The film is explosive, and the result is a captivating and narratively impactful adventure.
Saltburn is a fairly long film but it's still entertaining. Fennell makes some bold decisions over the course of these two hours: in particular, a quick narrative cut at the end feels cruel but, when the sacrifice leads to the final dance sequence all can be forgiven. And certain scenes are strong enough to become unforgettable (the bathtub, the scene on the grave) which I think transcends the overly classic scenario.
Much of the key to the film's success lies in the elasticity of "Barry Keoghan": his face and eyes can move with a shadow, and it is impossible to imagine that any other young actor would look as dangerous as that. .t We are also far from the "high-class film in the English countryside (James Ivory) or films about Oxford"'), "that's not what interests the filmmaker.
Félix can point the finger at the Rembrandts and the Holsteins but the visit to the manor castle is done in 5 minutes (dizzying) and this is how the film shows the wealth of the place as it is more interested in the water of the bath of Félix in the gardens or at English picnics. What Fennell wants to dissect are these characters, "Keoghan" and "Pike" especially.
"Saltburn" doesn't have a truly original storyline, but it's the way the story is told that makes this work deliciously irresistible.
A top-notch perverse psychosexual thriller, transgressive tone and scenes about wealth, class divide and perverse desire.
#henrimesquida #cinemaandliteraturegay.
There's Something in the Barn (2023)
Finally a horror film with garden gnomes!
Knowing that the formidable "Gremlins" is going to be 40 years old, it was not a good idea to try to remake certain iconic scenes a thousand times worse and it is only when they move away from them that certain gags hit the mark .
Furthermore, it's another one of those films that doesn't know how to choose which audience to address: too violent for its very young target audience and too childish for an older audience. So it's not stupid enough (it's an adjective that is not at all pejorative when it comes to "Gremlins") and not scary enough.
The cultural gap between the American family and the Norwegians is the funniest thing in this good-natured entertainment.
Fellow Travelers (2023)
An erotic romance and a thrilling epic story
Providing a superb portrait of American society in the final decades of the 20th century, the series explores what has been called the "Lavender Terror" that shook the United States at the same time as "McCarthyism" (and closely linked to this one), who under the cover of anti-communist struggle had attacked all the "deviants" (golden opportunity to get rid of all the people who did not conform to American dogmas and conformism). McCarthy and the terrible Roy Cohn (to learn more about this sinister character see also "Angels in America" who in its 2003 miniseries version is played by Al Pacino) therefore launched a witch hunt which attacked thousands homosexuals, among others.
The survival of homosexuals during this hypocritical and disastrous period for her, when a simple look could ruin your existence, is very well covered here. It is in this detestable and dangerous atmosphere that Hawk and Tim, two men for whom it is impossible to express what they feel, but who know, accept and end up taking responsibility (for one of them it will take 30 years...) that they are the great love of each other's lives, regardless of whether circumstances separate them, sometimes for many years.
The storyline is very solid, with well-constructed characters (including secondary characters) and the perfect rhythm. Sex between men, rarely shown with as much realism as here, will shock the most prudish and in fact reveals the author's unwavering courage.
It is a pleasure to discover the work, individually and as a duo, of "Matt Bomer" and "Jonathan Bailey":
"Hawk" and "Tim" work at different levels in politics, and therefore must pay extra attention: Hawk has an official partner (Lucy), daughter of a senator for whom he works, and is quite old - and cynical - to know how to move and escape surveillance. His relationship with Tim becomes stronger and stronger, but his double life imposes limits and makes him very cruel and sometimes even hateful.
"Tim", younger, innocent and in love, doesn't know how to protect himself at all; he is noble, upright and shy but honest in his feelings and implacable in his social commitment (when he has lost his political blinders) and if he does not lead a double life, he still works for the senator "McCarthy" who he admires the bridge of being blinded.
Proof if any were needed of the intelligence of the scenario which does not hesitate to show these men with all their contradictions, which makes them not fictional puppets but beautiful, deeply human characters.
Bomer, for his part, adds an unforgettable character to his collection (just as a reminder of the excellence of his interpretation in 'the normal heart' by "Ryan Murphy"; moreover more or less halfway the series plunges into a another period just as disastrous and more focused if possible on the LGBT community: the condemnation and stigmatization of which it was victim during the epidemic of the AIDS virus.
"Fellow Travelers" with its historical dramatic context, its complex story of passion and its high-tension sex scenes is a remarkable, sensitive series, full of history and activist commitment. For demanding viewers it is proof that television can, when it wants, entertain by offering strong and potentially artistic works.
The Night Agent (2023)
A series that doesn't pretend to be more than what it is.
Good performances, murders galore, and a gripping plot about an FBI agent; you can hardly ask for more from an American spy series. It's not always very subtle and there are big clogs here and there, but it's simple, engaging and at times very effective. There's not much better in the action thriller genre. The format is very recognizable and we have already seen it in films and other series, made according to the same model, but from reading the synopsis we know where we are going to set foot and if the subject FBI - political intrigues - secret service - White House is not your thing, well, you can always choose to devote yourself to something else, but the series is what it is: action, intrigue, espionage, betrayals, chases... and in In this sense, it largely keeps its promises. No, the secondary characters are not particularly in-depth, but stop there, it's a series of actions and political intrigues and, as such, it's good, but it doesn't feel like Macbeth .
In short, a well-calibrated action thriller which will entertain fans of this genre and which will hook you if you are part of it from start to finish.
Afterwards we can find better, as entertaining and a little finer if we leave the U. S. A. I am thinking of England and in particular of the formidable "Bodyguard" by "Jed Mercutio" which with which "the night agent" seems to me to have more a common point. Suffice it to note the choice of hero, not at all calibrated with big muscles or triumphant virility: the excellent and very cute "Richard Madden" for "Bodyguard", the small and cute "Gabriel Basso", barely out of these child star roles for this "Night agent"