Farewell, My Queen (2012)

Directed by: Benoit Jacquot
Country: France / Spain

Review: “Farewell, My Queen” is a solid drama set in 1789’s Versailles, right after the taking of Bastille, when the French people were asking for the Government’s fall as well as the aristocrats' heads. Queen Marie Antoinette didn’t hide her love for the Duchess Gabrielle de Polignac and set up a plan to save her from slaughter. With this purpose in mind, she will use her passionate reader Sidonie, who will do everything to prove her true and secret love for the queen. This is a movie that lives of small enthralling details. I think that its images' grace overcomes the plot itself. The light was used in a very attractive way and the dialogues were smart enough to make the typical gossips work fine. Competent direction by Benoit Jacquot and firm performances by Lea Seydoux and Diane Kruger.

Sister (2012)

Directed by: Ursula Meier
Country: Switzerland / France

Review: After "Home" (2008), “Sister” is another impressive movie directed by the Swiss-French Ursula Meier, revealing a well-designed story and compelling performances. Set in the Swiss Alps, it unveils the sad reality of a kid who sells stolen skis to make some money. That money often goes to his careless older sister with whom he has a relationship that will make you confused at first. In fact, the reality is very different from what we were imagining, with surprises popping up slowly but in perfect time to make it work throughout the steady rhythm of the story. “Sister” sticks in your head and will make you ruminate about rejection, exploitation and unwanted burdens in similar relationships. The final scene shows how much these two people are apart from each other. “Sister” hits the target, confirming Ursula Meier as a creative writer and influential contemporary filmmaker.

Relevant awards: Berlin; Athens.

Amour (2012)

Directed by: Michael Haneke
Country: France / others

Review: Getting old and sick can be frightful. Michael Haneke shows exactly that with “Amour” – the deserved winner of this year’s Palme D’Or in Cannes. It is amazing how Haneke could make such an intense movie with so little (almost totally shot from inside a house with basically three actors). The bitterness felt for being a burden is very alive in the film, as well as the transformations that can occur on the person who commits to take care of the one in need, regardless of their closeness. The story goes through moments of intimacy, caring and patience, changing unexpectedly to coldness, irritation and aggression. The last 30 minutes were both brutal and poetic, and certainly will affect your mind, shake your feelings and cause you unease. Trintignant and Riva were splendid, in another masterpiece from a genius filmmaker.

Relevant awards: Cannes; European Film awards.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Directed by: Stephen Chbosky
Country: USA

Review: Directed by Stephen Chbosky, also author of the novel, “The Perks Of Being a Wallflower” seizes the spirit of the High School’s students without introducing anything really new or noteworthy. The movie tells the story of Charlie, a shy and lone freshman, who becomes friend with two seniors, Sam and Patrick. Charlie was the most interesting character of the film, creating some empathy due to his melancholic personality and some unpredictable behaviors. As for the rest, the movie flows in tones of comedy and drama, delivering sensations of déja-vu with its problematic romances, parties, fights, friendships and betrayals. Not deep enough to be memorable, this movie will probably work if you are looking for a laid-back session or a movie not to think about.

Trouble With The Curve (2012)

Directed by: Rebert Lorenz
Country: USA

Review: 1993 was the last year that Clint Eastwood acted in a movie from a director other than himself. He did it again in “Trouble With The Curve”, the directorial debut from Robert Lorenz, who in turn is a longtime collaborator in the movies directed by Mr. Eastwood (frequently as producer or assistant director). The result did not match my expectations. It reminded me the plot of “Moneyball”, where technology is discussed among baseball scouts and managers, mixed with a small taste of the grumpiness shown by “Gran Torino’s” main character. However, it does not share the quality of those two noteworthy films. The story is feeble, wrapped in sentimentalism and making use of a romance condemned to banality. So, the trouble here isn’t with the curve, or with Clint Eastwood, or even with Lorenz… is the weak plot.

A Royal Affair (2012)

Directed by: Nikolaj Arcel
Country: Denmark / others

Review: The title "A Royal Affair" could not have been more clearer about the essence of this story: a forbidden love affair wrapped in conspiracy and set in 18th Century's Danish Royal Court. It unveils the torments of a beautiful English woman, who became queen of Denmark, after having married with the crazy and childish king Christian VII. Her grief will be attenuated when she starts a passionate romance with a libertine doctor and freethinker, who additionally had become her husband’s best friend. The plan sequences are slow, frequently lacking intensity, while the content is too dense and lengthened. I could not feel any pity of the characters in this cold representation of Christian VII’s reign. Rasmus Heisterberg wrote the screenplay (also for “The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo”), based in the novel by Bodil Steensen-Leth.

Relevant awards: Berlin, Philadelphia.

Laurence Anyways (2012)

Directed by: Xavier Dolan
Country: Canada / France

Review: Xavier Dolan’s previous movies were directly related to homosexuality (“I Killed My Mother”, “Heartbeats”). This one reveals substantial differences, changing the subject matter to transsexuality and becoming the most ambitious of all three. Dolan smartly played his trumps, managing to intrigue us through the complex emotions reflected by the two main characters along several years of connection or absence. With a great sense of directing, where the colors and the music play a major role, “Laurence Anyways” didn’t stop to surprise me during its nearly three hours long. A few needless scenes could have been avoided with a better editing, yet most of its intentions were accomplished with mature determination.

Relevant awards: Cannes, Hamburg, Toronto, Cabourg.

Life Of Pi (2012)

Directed by: Ang Lee
Country: USA

Review: The use of technology along with the power of a great story, did wonders in “Life Of Pi”, a big production directed by Ang Lee (“The Ice Storm”, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Brokeback Mountain”). The simple tale contrasts with the large number of fantastic imagery, touching on topics such as faith, religion, family, hope, nature and survival. A real spectacle for the eyes (3D is recommended), which also has merit in the way that conducts the narrative, making it always interesting and never losing direction. Emotion is a constant, while humor is present in a subtle but engaging way, cheering me up in such manner that Bengali tiger Richard Parker has a new fan in me. Believable fantasy or unbelievable reality… "Life of Pi" is another example of magical cinema.

In Another Country (2012)

Directed by: Hong Sang-Soo
Country: South Korea

Review: Adopting the same style evinced in his preceding films, Hong Sang-Soo creates three different stories about a French woman who is visiting the same coastal town in South Korea. Each story has a different development, but all of them share a few common elements: Isabelle Huppert as the French visitor, a beach lifeguard, a film director, a missing lighthouse and a white umbrella. Romance is the basis for a set of different encounters and experiences, where jealousy comes to surface somehow and the language issues often function as a comical factor. “In Another Country” features the lightness and charm of “The Day He Arrives” (Sang-Soo's masterpiece) but without the consistency of its plot. Even so, agreeable moments of cinema are assured.

11 Flowers (2011)

Directed by: Wang Xiaoshuai
Country: China / France

Review: Wang Xiaoshuai is associated with the sixth generation of Chinese filmmakers, also working as actor, screenwriter and producer. “Beijing Bycicle”(2001), his better-known work, was an international success and “11 Flowers” has everything to follow the same steps. The story consists of childhood recollections of Wang Han during the years of Cultural Revolution in China. Beautiful details are shown under the communist party’s revolutionary songs, denoting significant aptitude for image composition. The recreation of childhood is attractively accurate (the children’s activities or the struggle of Wang Han to have a new shirt for school), without leaving aside the political criticism and social considerations of those years. This is a powerful and sensitive film.

Kotoko (2011)

Directed by: Shinya Tsukamoto
Country: Japan

Review: “Kotoko” is a horror tale with touches of art-house, directed by the unconventional Shinya Tsukamoto, who also participates as an actor. It tells the story of a young mother (played by the singer Cocco) struggling with depression and self-contempt and whose child was taken away due to suspicion of abuse. She truly believes she’s a bad person and ends cutting herself with a razor just to feel alive. Her mind doesn’t rest as she imagines things associated to whatever she might see on TV or in the streets. The portrait is well set, yet there are also some volatile situations during the movie, including a peculiar relationship with a novelist, always maintaining the ambiguity that suits its baffling intentions. This severe disturbance of the mind will please the fans of psychological horror but not those who are looking for a good story.

Killing Them Softly (2012)

Directed by: Andrew Dominik
Country: USA

Summary: A man is hired by the mob to find the culprits of a heist.

Review: The third feature film from Andrew Dominik (“Chopper”, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) is about a heist planned by three thugs, with prejudice to the local mob and subsequent retaliation. Brad Pitt, teaming up with Dominik for the second time, plays decently the mob’s avenger who works in the shadow but the real deal here is James "Soprano" Gandolfini playing a drunken hitman. Exhibiting a slow pace painted with dark tones, “Killing Me Softly” had potential to be even better. With a very simplistic plot and well prepared dialogues, it tried a smart move by linking the story with the US economic slump, fact that by itself doesn’t make it more special. A "clean" job, nonetheless.

Rust And Bone (2012)

Directed by: Jacques Audiard
Country: France / Belgium

Summary: A single father helps a whale trainer to regain the will to live after a terrible accident.

Review: I watched “Rust and Bone” with perplexity. Marion Cotillard plays a whale trainer who had lost both legs in a work accident, passing through a deep depression. That’s when her new friend Ali, regardless of his cold attitudes and lack of sensibility, will have an important role on her return to a normal life. His way will change too, when facing difficulties with his son. The good and bad incidents were well weighted to provoke our senses - tough moments, rudeness and disillusion are balanced with tenderness, hope and regret, in a movie that is engrossing most of the time, despite of trying to gain notoriety by lingering on not so crucial aspects such as the street fights.

Relevant awards: London, Valladolid, Cabourg.

Lincoln (2012)

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Country: USA

Summary: The struggle of Abraham Lincoln to wipe out slavery.

Review: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of US has here a representation of excellence by the hand of master Spielberg. The movie gives the perfect notion of how weighted and hard was the decision of sacrificing more lives during the last period of a long Civil War in order to achieve higher values such as the abolishment of slavery. It’s from public knowledge that Lincoln was a man of great value, devoted to his work and family and a self-thinker, but I hadn’t idea that he was a fantastic well-humored storyteller. The characterization of the president is irreproachable, while Daniel Day Lewis counts another performance for Oscar in his career. For all that “Lincoln” lacks in emotion, it compensates with objectivity, simplicity of structure and historical portrayal.

Fat Kid Rules The World (2012)

Directed by: Matthew Lillard
Country: USA

Summary: Troy is a fat kid with suicidal tendencies. His life will change with a new friendship.

Review: A suicidal kid starts a bond with the guy who saved him from being hit by a bus. His life will change when he was challenged to start playing drums in order to form a punk band with his new popular friend. Adopting a slow indie style that pleases me, the movie turned out to be a disappointment, revealing flabby and uneven situations that didn’t enhance the plot in any way. I can cite two scenes in the situation described above: the opening scene – the miraculous saving, and the ending - where the fat kid’s dad arranges to kidnap his son’s friend from the hospital to make the final concert possible. Despite the effort, this wasn’t a strong start from Matthew Lilllard as director.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild (2012)

Directed by: Benh Zeitlin
Country: USA

Summary: Hushpuppy and her dad are forced to leave their flooded home.

Review: This is an amazing story seen through the eyes of Hushpuppy, a sweet little girl who lives in the woods of “Bathtub” Island, Louisiana, with her sick dad and a bunch of animals that she called “pets”. After a rainstorm they are forced to evacuate to a hospital in the city, where the doctors will try to “tame” them without success. The concept of home and survival are magnificently portrayed and connected, where the chaos is everywhere, not only throughout the island but also in the Hushpuppy’s mental considerations about the universe. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is a must see, visually astonishing, surprisingly emotional and filled with many unforgettable moments. One of my favorite movies of the year.

Relevant awards: Cannes, Seattle, L.A., Sundance

Coud Atlas (2012)

Directed by: Tom Tykwer / Andy and Lana Wachowski
Country: Germany / USA / others

Summary: An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future.

Review: Three hours were needed to connect six stories to each other. Each story share common characters along past, present and future, whose actions will have influence in their next lives. Adapted from David Mitchell’s novel, “Cloud Atlas” manages to blend the futuristic action of “Matrix” with the anxiety of “Run Lola Run”. And this wasn’t by chance, since the directors of this movie are the same of those cited above. But an important aspect that the movie can’t achieve is to find an efficient way to make a clear transition from story to story and finally connect them through a final coup. With a big and luxurious cast, “Cloud Atlas” keeps you alert but it isn’t more than a mechanical movie, which only survives due to its agitated motion and accurate imagery.

Paradise: Love (2012)

Directed by: Ulrich Seidl
Country: Austria / others

Summary: A 50-year-old woman makes a vacation trip to Kenya.

Review: New feature-film from Ulrich Seidl is the first part of “Paradise” trilogy (Love, Faith and Hope). Teresa is a 50-year-old Austrian woman searching for love in a paradisiacal place in Kenya. It’s excused to say that local men don’t want anything to do with love but with money, trying to get from tourists whatever they can. Seidl follows the same approach used in his previous film “Import/Export”: bizarre plans, depressing images of nude bodies and evident loneliness, showing a desperate and naive search for love. Realistic and precise, “Paradise: Love” has in the exhaustive repetition of its ideas, its main weakness. In my opinion it should have been shortened for at least 20 minutes.

The Imposter (2012)

Directed by: Bart Layton
Country: UK

Summary: A documentary about a man who impersonated a missing 16-year-old boy.

Review: I just couldn’t believe in this real story. How can a Texan teenager who was reported missing for 3 years, suddenly returns from Spain with completely different features (including brown eyes instead of blue and a different accent), being claimed by the family as legit and ending up with a valid passport emitted by the US authorities? The answer should be: it’s impossible! But the truth is that a French guy named Frederik Bourdin did it. By using a false identity, he impersonated the missing teenager (and hundreds of other people along his life) and took his game too far. The movie narrative focuses on the motives of the imposter but also hides a sinister side involving all the family, increasing its impact.

Relevant awards: Grand jury prize (Miami).

The Forgiveness Of Blood (2011)

Directed by: Joshua Marston
Country: Albania / others

Summary: An Albanian family is torn apart by a murder.

Review: Some traditions are difficult to understand. This movie shows one of them, applied in Albania, regarding rival families involved in a blood feud. After a killing, Nick as the elder son of the aggressor, quickly becomes a target for the victimized family, having to remain in his home as a way to show respect. The movie clearly shows what was supposed to: the lack of freedom, the eminent security threat, the economical issues, the sacrifice of school in favor of work, etc., but some questions started to arise. What happened to the family in punishment? They will have to live that way forever? Regardless all the doubts, you can’t help thinking about this odd culture, even if the story never get us out from its routine.

Relevant awards: Special mention and best screenplay (Berlin).