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Reviews
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)
Coulb be better
Another important story to tell but the film itself is lacking some of that connection I'm expecting to feel.
The choice to weave Nan's personal, artistic and activism journey all together is an interesting but risky one because it weakens the delivery on either one of them.
Personally, it feels like the film is putting Nan on a pedestal, instead of where she was most of her life, the dark, dirty and forgotten edges of the city. As a result, her on screen persona sometimes feels even more out of touch than a fictional character.
For what it's worth, the film comes back to the title in the end where it ties All The Beauty And The Bloodshed that Nan has seen throughout her whole life with who she is and what she is trying to achieve now. But it's just a little bit too late for my liking.
The Menu (2022)
Fight or Flight?
"Fight or Flight?" This is the ultimate question one would ask themselves when their freedom is not guaranteed.
A tortured chef who's trapped in the vicious loop of dedicating his whole life's worth to serve pretentious, ungrateful even abusive people night after night, decided to fight. He planned his revenge into a degustation menu ending with melting everyone (including himself) into s'mores. But there's one outlier.
He chose to give Margot, a girl who also dedicated her life serving men who only know how to take and take, a chance to flight. It wasn't part of the plan but somehow they understood each other through a cheeseburger.
Maybe cooking the cheeseburger and seeing Margot's joy of having the first bite reminded the chef of the very reason that he chose cooking as a career at the first place, but it was all but a bit too late.
Margot took the burger to go and got on the getaway boat. The boat lost power halfway in the middle of the ocean. Seconds later, the restaurant exploded behind her. She looked back and took another bite of the burger, and for the first time of the night, she was able to smile.
Freedom is a privilege that not everyone of us get to enjoy. Those of us who have it need to fight so that those who don't will have a chance to flight.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
It's funny because it's true
In the very first sequence, a group of ethnically diverse male models who somehow still look pretty much the same (see the irony?) was auditioning for a fashion campaign. Then there's this casting director who had the audacity to say "fashion is not about appearance anymore, it's also about what's inside" (lol) then asked Carl (portrayed by Harris Dickenson) to add some "groove" in his walk. Then we cutaway to a runaway show where Carl's girlfriend, Yaya is working in. The show starts with all the empty slogans that those brands are using these days like "everyone's equal", "act now, love now", etc.
That was only the first 10 minutes. The fire power of the director/writer Ruben Ostlund's sarcasm only grew stronger and stronger in the remaining 2 hours. The movie was divided into three acts, and each of them focused on a different issue in the society and was able to simultaneously add some emotional depth to the title "Triangle of Sadness".
The story seems a bit ridiculous but the shots taken on privileges were unbelievably accurate and on point. There were countless examples that I seriously cannot list one by one as it probably is going to take me a whole day. If you, like me, are so sick of those privileged people claiming to be inclusive, you will find this movie extremely satisfying.
There's just one more thing that I wanted to point out, and it is the brilliant ending scene. Carl was running through woods, desperately trying to find out Yaya's fate, with the perfect song, "Marea (we've lost dancing)" by Fred again... & The Blessed Madonna playing in the background.
Dancing represents the raw emotional pleasure that we human beings get to experience, but all those problems in this world are making it hard for us to do so. Nevertheless, just like how the survivors finally found out that the "deserted island" actually has a luxury resort, and just like how the song goes, if we can somehow live through this, what comes next will be marvelous.
Lonesome (2022)
Aesthetically satisfying but that's it
Well, I'm always excited to see queer stories to be told on the big screen. But sadly, this one just missed the mark.
Videography was on point, both landscapes and people were shot to match the vibe of the scene. Sex scenes were also well choreographed and pleasant to watch. However, rather than helping it grow, the stunning visuals overshadowed the story.
Firstly, the acting was off. I don't know if it's from the director's instructions, but the long pauses between each line made the whole film off-paced. The most convincing acting was probably the actors' orgasm faces.
Secondly, the story just wasn't working. It wasn't developed organically, but instead, I got the feeling the plot points were inserted way before the story was even written, which made the story feel forced.
Thirdly, what's with the Stranger Things music constantly playing whenever there's a cutaway?
In all, with the problems in acting and the story, although it came with stunning visuals, Lonesome is only good, if you think of it as an art house porn.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
To liberate one's body, one must liberate their mind
Although it would be great if there's just a little bit more depth of the character, Leo Grande, nevertheless, it was a delicately made, liberating feel-good movie.
The script is well written that I believe everyone can much or less find themselves in the two characters. And Emma Thompson gave the performance of her career, effortless yet convincing. The chemistry between the two actors are awesome and the director did a good job in creating the sexual tension.
For me, I found a lot of myself in Nancy, who 1. Likes to overthink things and like to have a plan so there's nothing unexpected, even if it's with sex; 2. Was not confident with her body at all and constantly worries about being off-putting to someone as hot as Leo Grande; 3. Hasn't enjoyed the pleasure of sex because she was busy feeling ashamed of having sexual desires.
Meeting someone like Leo Grande, who is charming yet patient and understanding, is definitely a liberating experience for Nancy and me. He made us realize that everyone is beautiful in their own ways, and there's absolutely no shame whatsoever in wanting anything for yourself.
Most of the time, overthinking is what keeps us within those boundaries that we set for ourselves and keeps us from getting what we really want. In order to finally be able to reach whatever it is that one wants in life, in Nancy's case, having an orgasm, one needs to clear all those little noises in their heads and try to enjoy the moment.
It's a long way to go, but we at least owe ourselves an opportunity to try, don't we?
Close (2022)
A story that needs to be told (but I kinda wish I haven't seen it)
The story was simple and tragic: the breakup of a beautiful friendship due to toxic masculinity and homophobia. It's a story like this that reminds us of how much work we still have to do to make sure this world is a place where everyone can get to be truly themselves.
The movie is beautifully shot, with great acting. However, the main plot twist felt somewhat sudden and staged, and it's kind of off-paced at some parts. But that's not the reason that I wish I hadn't seen this one.
Out of all the characters, the one that I'm related to the most was Remi's mom. It just tore me apart once I started to think about what's happened from her point of view.
You never would expect your 12 year old (ish) son would kill himself all of a sudden, just like you never would expect that his best friend, the boy who you treated as your own son, would be the one who broke his heart.
But what can you do? They are only kids, they didn't know better, and deep down you knew that this is not really anyone's fault. You are the adult, even though you're hurting like hell inside, you're supposed to be the one who keeps it together and make the rational decisions, otherwise you're going to hurt another innocent little boy. In the end, all you could do was just leaving this place that brings you so many memories and trying to move on with your life, because there is just no other way.
See? I really wish I hadn't seen this movie but I did. I guess I'll just have to continue to be adult and move on with my life, just like Remi's mom.