The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)

Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Country: USA

Review: The anticipated return of Derek Cianfrance two years after the sensational “Blue Valentine”, ended in disappointment. Although interconnected, the film presents three distinct and uneven parts. The first part was definitely the strongest, telling the story of a stunt motorcyclist who decides to rob banks to support his baby child. Magnificently performed by Ryan Gosling, this part has everything to grab the viewer; an interesting and mysterious character, tense moments, accelerated motorbike scenes, and a surprising conclusion. The second part was moderately interesting and follows a rookie cop who was involved in the first occurrences. Bradley Cooper did a decent job, unmasking high corruption practices in his Police Department and dealing with his own conscience problems. The third part was a total disaster, overturning what had been made until then. It depicts the fortuitous encounter between the sons of the main characters portrayed before. Uninspiring and too calculative, it was frustratingly unstable, ending in a naive way. In resume: every part was weaker than its previous one, making the film lose a lot of strength and balance. If only had been the other way around…! I have no doubt that Cianfrance is a gifted film director. It’s just a matter of returning to uncomplicated screenwriting.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Country: USA

Review: Antoine Fuqua continues his persistent incursions into poor action, with lots of noisy splurge and meaningless results. “Olympus Has Fallen” is a cartoonish farce that even the staunchest action fans must be tired of. The story consists in a North Korean terrorist attack to the White House, where the president was made hostage along with several Governmental workers. What the terrorists didn’t know is that Mike Banning (Gerald Butler), the Presidential security guard was inside the building, ready to save his fatherland and become a new hero. While Banning was gaining ground inside the building until reach the president, the negotiations continued between the leader of the bad guys and a group headed by the acting president Speaker Turnbull (Morgan Freeman). The usual clichés, irksome violence, and basic dialogs, were set just to help filling a plot full of holes. Everything was ridiculous, starting with the tortures imposed to the hostages and ending in the body-to-body fights decorated with the stamp of Bruce Lee (nose wipe with thumb). With a tasteless direction, this is a case to say: Fuqua has fallen.

Sightseers (2012)

Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Country: UK

Review: After a dense experience on horror with “Kill List” in 2011, English filmmaker Ben Wheatley exceeds the expectations with his new indecorous comedy “Sightseers”. The film skillfully mixes dark humor, lurid crime, and an inviting weirdness, to depict an overwhelming love story stained by blood. The adventure begins when Tina decides to leave her senile mother alone for a whole week, to go in a caravan trip with her boyfriend Chris. What seemed to be normal holidays with normal people, soon turned out in a killing marathon with such naturalness and relaxation that I couldn't stop being perplexed. The faultless performances by Alice Low and Steve Oram (also screenwriters), helped create a new couple of freaks capable of standing side-by-side with other famous compulsive killers, such as Bonnie and Clyde, or the Knox couple from “Natural Born Killers”. Their characters slowly showed how dangerous they might be with their immature, capricious, and obsessive personality. The plot emerges in a crescendo towards the staggering last moments, which expressed as much of cold cruelty as intense relief. Wheatley shot it beautifully, using unpolished images to depict tense moments and composed frames for the leisurely ones. “Sightseers” was able to spread tension throughout every scene, being visually and emotionally provocative, and representing one of the cleverest pitch-black comedies of the last times.

Foreign Letters (2012)

Directed by: Ela Thier
Country: USA

Review: “Foreign Letters” depicts a beautiful story of friendship between 12 year-olds Ellie and Thuy. They met for the first time at school in US, right after Ellie has moved from Israel with her parents and little brother. Feeling completely lonely in a strange city, she and her family suffer in silence as they try to adapt to a new life. Vietnamese Thuy, on the other hand, was living in the US for quite a while, being acquainted with the American procedures, and above all with the English language. The two friends will learn how to accept their limitations, needs, and personalities, to maintain their friendship. The film was able to convey very clearly the cultural gaps and distinct manners of facing life. Ellie was relaxed, open, and accessible, while Thuy was more unavailable and demanding with herself, basically living for her studies and future success. “Foreign Letters” was enjoyable in its nostalgic and innocent mood, but presented some weaknesses related with the acting and dialogs. If the acting was unnatural in a couple of situations, the dialogs revealed an automated weird tone, even when a plain English was used. In turn, its sincerity combined with the funny situations created around the English teaching for foreigners brought good results. In the final, we got a positive balance for this sensitive coming-of-age story, based on the filmmaker’s own experiences.

Twice Born (2012)

Directed by: Sergio Castellitto
Country: Italy / Spain

Review:“Twice Born” is an Italian drama set amidst war in the Balkan Peninsula. Penelope Cruz stars in the main role, in her second collaboration with film director Sergio Castellitto, eight years after “Don’t Move”. The plot was based on Margaret Mozzantini’s novel with the same name, and describes the complex story of Gemma, whose unexpected trip to Sarajevo, will make her remind the years in which she gained a son in anomalous circumstances but failed to keep the love of her life. By diving in Gemma’s past, we get to know the difficulties she went through until go back to Rome with a child in her hands. The direction was tolerable, yet the film exhibits some senseless situations that left me perplexed. Sometimes these situations were so ridiculous or inept that I was completely left adrift, trying to seize what Castellito wanted to show with them. We have the example of a psychologist who starts to cry after a child has been refused to Gemma for adoption, or a friendly soccer game in the streets that suddenly becomes aggressive, or even some emotional bursts from the characters that seemed completely overdramatized and out of balance. This indulgent posture, even if occasional, removed any possible impact when weighty revelations were made. Despite the auspicious story, “Twice Born” was never catchy, showing lack of strength in the most fundamental moments.

All That Matters Is Past (2012)

Directed by: Sara Johnsen
Country: Norway

Review: Sara Johnsen’s third feature-film had a promising start, but in fact did not provide us with a great storytelling. It reconstructs the happenings that led to a double killing, involving William and Ruud, two brothers who hated each other since childhood, when they both moved from Sweden to Norway and fell in love with the same girl, Janne. The latter, as only witness, will clarify the story, which was oddly narrated by the policewoman responsible for the investigation. Using frequent flashbacks to their youth, the plot was a prolonged mess of encounters and separations, jealous situations, abandoned babies, illegal immigration, kidnaps, and sexual abuses. The incidents, presented in a confusing order, diverted our attention from the story’s center. Actually, the film drags for long periods, evincing a slowness of processes that never pushed me to care much about its characters. Using a tragic soundtrack along with a sorrowful narration, “All That Matters Is Past” is a bleak tale that often uses unnecessary scenes to impress (like a childbirth or a goat’s slaughter) and almost never shakes the viewer for the right reasons. Merely a promise…

Offline (2012)

Directed by: Peter Monsaert
Country: Belgium

Review: “Offline” is an interesting drama about a shattered family. The story focuses on Rudy, a quarrelsome ex-con, who returns to Ghent after seven years in prison to establish contact with his dejected daughter Vicky. The only way he has to do this is through the Internet, since someone told him she was working in a porn-chat website. It was noticeable that he wasn’t very welcome in town; his wife didn’t want to see him and his older friends became unfriendly. The exception is Rachid who often trusts him his computer without having any idea of what he was doing with it. During great part of the film, it is inevitable to wonder why Rudy had been arrested, but the plot will reserve the answers for the right moments, unveiling terrible family secrets. With a consistent camera work and good performances, Monsaert's most accessible movie, addresses a current topic but moves in well-known territories. The characters showed to bear a great heaviness on their shoulders and every contrariety could degenerate into irretrievable fatality. The end was left open, in a despairing story about giving a second chance to someone who has made huge mistakes in the past. "Offline" was capable of arousing curiosity, even when in needing of a bolder move to better stand out.

Modus Anomali (2012)

Directed by: Joko Anwar
Country: Indonesia

Review: “Modus Anomali” is a perfect example of a great idea wasted by its execution. It tried to disorient and induce paranoia with its claustrophobic scenes and almost experimental approach, but revealed a sort of amateurism both in direction and acting. The story begins with a man asking for help after having escaped from being buried alive in a secluded forest. He seemed to be searching for his own identity and family, but after a while we get to know that the reality was very different from what appeared to be. Despite the surprising conclusion evidenced by the plot, the struggle to find some comprehensive guideline among the incoherent signs and situations, led me to exasperation. The visual aspect didn't help, when unattractive dark plans were used to show the overnight manhunt, creating an almost imperceptible environment that couldn't be less scary. The film plays more with disturbing sounds, attempting to pass a sensation of being lost in the immensity of a forest. Once in a while, these sounds are interrupted by screams and questions thrown in the air in order to increase thrill. Imaginative Joko Anwar didn’t reveal enough skills as director as showed as a writer. Hardly frightful and impaired by Rio Dewanto's awful performance, “Modus Anomali” proved to be obtuse in many ways.

Violeta Went To Heaven (2011)

Directed by: Andrés Wood
Country: Chile / Argentina / Brazil

Review: “Violeta Went to Heaven” is a penetrating biopic about Chilean songwriter, folklorist, and visual artist, Violeta Parra. Some events and important songs may have been left off, but the film gives a solid idea of Violeta’s work, personality, beliefs, and struggles. The cadence is captivating and the structure goes back and forth in time, focusing her unhappy childhood, the first steps on music and the interest in old songs from her culture, the successful years of recognition and acceptance, the passionate and unstable relationship with the Swiss musician Gilbert Favre, and finally her decline years when her artistic tent (also used for political activism) became increasingly without audience. Violeta ended up poor and lonely, but always faithful to her beliefs. The story was reconstructed in an intelligible way, showing the impulsive personality, resolute temper, and creative genius of this iconic woman, who always preferred the poor to rich, and the sincerity to cynicism. The plaintive yet powerful songs had a big influence in the way I felt the movie, especially “El Gavilan”, which motivated uncommon sensations along the poignant final moments. Some softening was detected somewhere in the middle, but this film deserves to be seen for what it represents and for Francisca Gavilán’s incredible performance.

The Grandmaster (2013)

Directed by: Wong Kar-Wai
Country: China / Hong Kong / France

Review: Cult filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai is back, bringing with him Tony Leung and Ziyi Zhang as stars. We cannot find many movies with the elegance and passion of “In The Mood For Love”, but “The Grandmaster” brings to our mind some of its best moments, adopting the same poetic approach to depict another impossible love. The novelty here is the addition of some action through martial arts, since the story was inspired in Yip Man’s life, the kung-fu master who would come to teach the legendary Bruce Lee. The film covers three different periods: 1930’s Foshan in China where he was recognized as a master, the difficult life in Hong Kong after the Japanese invasion, and finally from 1952 till his death in 1972. We also get to know the sad fate of Gong Er, a master's daughter who became secretly in love with Yip Man after a challenging fight. Kar-Wai’s camera work remains very strong where the richness of the plans and aesthetical care were crucial to catch our eye. To tell the truth, the visual aspect was much stronger than the story itself, which despite being interesting didn’t reveal the mystique of previous adventures. “The Grandmaster”, not being a masterpiece, is a sumptuous accomplishment that puts together a dissimulated love, revenge, sacrifice, and martial arts in the form of floating dances (preferably in the rain).

Dreams For Sale (2012)

Directed by: Miwa Nishikawa
Country: Japan

Review: “Dreams For Sale” is nothing more than a dark tale about money and greediness. The story follows a strange couple, Kanya and Satoko, who lost their successful restaurant in a fire, deciding to work in a solution to extort money for a new one. The plan emerged by chance when Kanya brought home a large amount of money after a one-night stand with a drunken woman he met in the subway. After making her husband confess what had happened, Satoko got to know that the woman who has given the money was vulnerable and deprived of her true love. Since then, they decided that Kanya will seduce and scam women who got lonely, desperate for love, or even sick. As the scams were happening, we were able to gather more information about the personality of these two crooks. Kanya revealed to have a heart, often feeling badly and regretting his behavior, but was never able to stop. Satoko, in the other hand, showed her cruelty, tenacity, and indifference regarding the victims. The tale itself intends to show something meaningful and the character studies are well conceived, but the film has its faults. It was extremely long; I wouldn’t be exaggerating if said that at least 30 minutes should be cut off. Other negative aspect was the silly side presented in some moments, leaving us between the gravity of the emotions and a sort of misplaced comedy.

The Hunt (2012)

Directed by: Thomas Vinterberg
Country: Denmark

Review: After the immediate success of “The Celebration” in 98, Thomas Vinterberg has been lost in mediocre plots. Finally, with the gripping “The Hunt”, he shows once again what he is capable of. The story, written by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm (“R”, “A Hijacking”), depicts two hellish months in the life of Lucas, a divorced daycare worker who is struggling for his son’s custody. The troubles start when a little girl, who also happens to be the daughter of his best friend, tells the daycare director that Lucas showed his penis. When the director called him, he seems not to give much importance to the case or even try to defend himself. This scene intentionally aims to bewilder us. In a blink of an eye, Lucas loses his job, is abandoned by his new girlfriend, becomes threatened in many ways, and ends desperately alone. The film is filled with tension and is done in such way that the doubt persists till the end. It was incredible how many times I convinced myself that Lucas was innocent, but then some behavior or conversation made me go back again in my opinion. Mads Mikkelsen and the young Annika Wedderkop had first-rate performances, while the direction was very effective and determined. The heaviness of the matter was handled thoughtfully, provoking a variety of intense emotions, and making “The Hunt” one of the most gratifying experiences of 2013 so far.

Starbuck (2011)

Directed by: Ken Scott
Country: Canada

Review: With “Starbuck”, parenthood never got so drastic repercussions on the screen. David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) is a common meat delivery guy who works for his family company. Being constantly threatened by a pair of thugs from whom he received a loan, David really struggles to straighten up his life, especially after hear from his girlfriend that she was pregnant. But the real shocking news came when he received a letter saying that he was the father of 533 children, 142 of whom wanted to know who their biological father was. This was a consequence of several years donating sperm. “Starbuck” was the second feature film directed by Canadian Ken Scott, who is already working on another similar project entitled “The Delivery Man”. It was considered the most popular Canadian film at Vancouver Film Festival, revealing to be more touching than funny, and more carefree than serious. The plot took advantage of David’s “special” children (those who presented evident abilities, features, or handicaps) to create gentle and bizarre moments, which not always had the best outcome. Providing a sufficient portion of entertainment, “Starbuck” is easy watching, even if not totally satisfying with its episodic sentimental manipulations and a romantic side that turned out to be flat.

The Sapphires (2012)

Directed by: Wayne Blair
Country: Australia

Review: “The Sapphires” brings to the screen the rhythm of soul music in times of war, just as “Good Morning Vietnam” did a few years ago, although without the breathtaking effect. It also addresses racial problems in 1960’s Australia, where the aboriginals were practically ignored by the ruling white people. The story follows four talented aboriginal girls who were selected to sing in Vietnam for US soldiers. Once there, they will find a Saigon very receptive to their show, but not everything will run as planned. The internal conflicts will appear and the threats of war will cause damages. However, these two aspects revealed to be secondary compared with the discovery of love. Chris O’Dowd had an agreeable performance as goodhearted drunk manager, and certainly he wasn’t the reason why this film didn’t excel. The main reason was the overexploitation of the same romances and sentimental maneuvers, seen so many times before, to tell a story that never gave rise to great excitement. Admirers of catchy musicals may feel the rhythm beating in their hearts, while the aficionados of mild dramas shall be satisfied with the plot's denouement. But in my eyes, if the musical side was successful, the drama fell in banality through its second-hand approach and often misrepresentation of reality.

The Third Half (2012)

Directed by: Darko Mitrevski
Country: Macedonia / others

Review: “The Third Half” combines soccer, romance and war in the same package. Having been inspired on true events, it follows a similar approach used by the Serbian “Montevideo, God Bless You” from 2010, and suffers from the same commercial appeal and standardized narrative. Even trying to avoid an evident sentimentalism, the background music is there to remind us its good dramatic intentions. The plot presents three distinct sides. The romantic side is centered on the persistent love between Kosta, the striker of FC Macedonia, and Rebecca Cohen, the daughter of a rich Jewish banker. The sportive side is completely sunk in misrepresentation of the real facts; contradicting the movie, FC Macedonia didn’t win the final game against Bulgarian team Levski and was placed in second. The war side dealt with the German occupancy and should have represented the strongest aspect in the story; it gave particular emphasis on Spitz, the coach of the team, who didn’t escape to Nazis in the circumstances described here and wasn't German but rather Hungarian. In my point of view the plot didn’t gained anything by manipulating the real story, which just served to increase speculation. Considering the adopted approach, and polemics aside, “The Third Half” as cinematic experience just revealed a huge ambition and the inability to stir emotions or create much enthusiasm.

In The House (2012)

Directed by: François Ozon
Country: France

Review: With “In The House”, François Ozon still couldn’t get close to the excellence revealed in “Under The Sand” or “Swimming Pool”, yet this was his most refreshing work lately; a creative story about voyeurism, obsession, and manipulation, which also manipulates the viewer somehow. The story follows Germain, a High School teacher who is increasingly disappointed with his students. However, 16 year-old Claude will stir his curiosity with an essay about a classmate named Rapha Artole and his mother Esther. Since that moment, Germain encouraged him to continue writing, gaining an eagerness to know more about the family in question and even giving suggestions to reconstruct the story in a more appealing way. For that, Claude would have to continue going to Artole’s home and be creative. The true challenge here was to know if his detailed descriptions were real or imagination. Germain’s wife was also an interesting character. While helping to decipher Claude’s personality, she became suspicious about her husband’s involvement with him. A few turn of events were a bit strained for my taste, however the film showed a beneficial funny side, having the ability to provoke us with its inventiveness and bitter end. It can't compete with "Rear Window" or "Peeping Tom", but it may rouse some voyeuristic instincts.

My Brother The Devil (2012)

Directed by: Sally El Hosaidi
Country: UK

Review: What seemed to be a plot comparable to many others became a satisfying surprise denoting sensibility and consistency in the details. Two Londoners brothers of Arab origin will go through difficult situations in their neighborhood after getting into a gang of drug dealers. Rashid occasionally lets his younger brother Mo, deliver drug packets to clients, but at the same time tries to protect him from that perilous environment. After a friend has been brutally assassinated by a member of a rival gang, Rashid plans to avenge his death, but in the last minute he gives up, deciding to change his life and find a job. Against Rashid’s will, his brother takes his place inside the gang. Their bond will be put to test when Mo finds out that Rashid has an homosexual relationship with his new boss. The prejudice and frustration felt by Mo will make him ashamed of his brother but will he be able to ignore his own family? Despite the variety of matters involved, debutant filmmaker Sally El Hosaidi made a risky yet fearless approach, where family, biases, crime, and sexuality, were confronted in a mesmerizing manner. The plot, beyond convincing, never loses track of its purpose to show how people can learn, change, and make their personal options. After this well crafted multicultural gangland drama, I can’t wait to see what El Hosaidi has to offer next.

Me And You (2012)

Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Country: Italy

Review: Bertolucci continues to portray youth with passion, although ultimately without big success. Less appealing than the previous “The Dreamers”, “Me And You” tells the adventure of two half-siblings who will spend a week together, trying to hide themselves from the world. Lorenzo is a problematic narcissist teenager, a misfit who has given up from going on a skiing trip with his classmates just to be alone inside the basement of his building. But his quietness will be interrupted by his half-sister Olivia, a drug addict with no place to stay in town. After the initial disagreement, they start to care for each other and a strong bond will grow between them. Lorenzo’s character was much more interesting than Olivia’s, but my curiosity about him slowly vanished throughout the story. The idea of getting stuck in a basement could be uncomfortable, but unfortunately the film didn’t take advantage of any possible claustrophobia. In fact, there were several moments that didn’t work out. The two situations that could have stirred up things a bit, failed to create any impact. The first was when the siblings went to Lorenzo’s apartment to get some food, and the second when Olivia went through an hangover. Bertolucci’s skills are perceptible, but this story promised more than it could give. Didn’t its characters do the same in the end?

The Patience Stone (2012)

Directed by: Atiq Rahimi
Country: Afghanistan / France / others

Review: As already had happened with “Earth and Ashes” in 2004, French-Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi sought inspiration on his own novel to direct a movie. “The Patience Stone” is a wordy film about a silenced woman, who was left alone with two daughters and no means to subsist, when her husband was shot in the neck due to a quarrel with someone of his faction and got into a sort of coma. However, this worked for her as a kind of freedom. Encouraged by her liberal aunt, she starts long monologues in front of her husband, telling him how bad she felt in his presence and revealing secrets that would be impossible to be revealed in normal conditions. This seemed to help her soothe the pain. She even betrays him with a young soldier in unimaginable circumstances. The images are rich in colors and light, but its composition conveys the sufferings of war and the heaviness of a human being who was neglected by an overwhelming culture. The final moments were expected anytime and didn’t cause me surprise. What impressed me was the expression in this woman’s face; her final blow was sweet and cold, chillingly intentional, and one of the film's highest moments. Despite the occasional overstatements, “The Patience Stone” is a solid achievement, drawing attention to a problem that seems far from being solved.

Every Blessed Day (2012)

Directed by: Paolo Virzi
Country: Italy

Review: “Every Blessed Day” sets the story of Antonia and Guido, an unmarried couple who are together for a long time. Antonia works in a rent-a-car store during the day and sings in a bar at night, while Guido makes the night shift as porter in a big hotel. Their happiness will be shaken after they realize that having a child together is almost impossible. They decide to consult different doctors and submit to several treatments, always refusing to give up on hope. Will this struggle endure forever? Paolo Virzi’s decided for the same approach used in his previous film, “The First Beautiful Thing” (2010). Both characters' families play an important role in the story with the purpose of helping us to better understand personalities, as well as different origins and pasts. The lightness of the funny moments combined with the seriousness of real drama, sometimes showed how hard can be to decide which way to go. These momentary instabilities led to a couple of theatrical scenes that were not so favorable. Despite its ups and downs, “Every Blessed Day”, revealed to be a beautiful story, trying to show how much easier life can be, when we can face its adversities with someone we love.