The Look of Love (2013)

Directed by: Michael Winterbottom
Country: UK / USA

Movie Review: Winterbottom’s “The Look of Love” is a biopic of UK's strip club pioneer, publisher of soft porn-magazines, and visionary real estate entrepreneur, Paul Raymond, who would become Britain’s wealthiest man and celebrity, being constantly sought by the press. After his daughter’s death of a heroin overdose in 1992, he became less and less sociable. The way Winterbottom addressed the story didn’t please me, giving us relevant info mixed with not so crucial scenes, causing the film to drag for several moments. The structure in its backs and forwards seemed to tremble, reinforced by a character whose life didn’t show to be so interesting or worth much attention. The most curious fact in the film was Raymond’s ex-wife becoming his model for a magazine, many years after their separation. He also tried to turn his daughter, performed by Imogen Poots, into singer/producer of his most expensive show, but her lack of talent just wasn’t enough. Steve Coogan’s performance was good without being memorable, being its fourth appearance in Michael Winterbottom’s films, following “The Trip”, “Tristram Shandy”, and the superb “24 Hour Party People”. Uninvolving and lacking some artistic artifacts, which I attribute to the filmmaker’s aptitude for independent productions instead of this kind of biopics, “The Look of Love” revealed to be disappointingly weak considering the calibers of its main actor and director.

The Act of Killing (2012)

Directed by: Joshua Oppenheimer / others
Country: Denmark / UK / others

Movie Review: “The Act of Killing” is a hard-to-watch documentary about a bunch of Indonesian executioners (gangsters or free men according to their explanation), who were responsible for the death of more than one million people during the 1965-1966 anti-communist purge. They were supported by the Government and protected by a dangerous right-wing paramilitary organization called ‘Pancasila Youth’. Since most of them showed no regrets for thousands of deaths, boasting themselves with the crimes committed against innocent people, I wonder what these men are made of. The objective here was to make them recreate their own past actions, including interrogatories, torture, and consequent extermination of people they accused to be ‘communists’, nothing more than opponents of a corrupt and intolerant regime. Excited to be in a film representing their dirty work, the men revealed to be ignorant in many aspects, cruel executioners, and money extorters, making this film risible and appalling at the same time. Their performances have the same effect of a bizarre circus, recreating horrible methods of torture with an easiness that is quite shocking.  With illustrious documentarians such as Errol Morris and Werner Herzog as executive producers, “The Act of Killing” discloses scandalous truths that won’t leave you indifferent. Former assassins Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkadry were the main protagonists in a film that gathers all the madness associated to its characters, proving in a cynical, yet exceptional manner that pure evil really exists. Essential viewing!

Don Jon (2013)

Directed by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Country: USA

Movie Review: Dramatically thin and set in humorous tones, Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut depicts the life episodes of Jon (Gordon-Levitt), an Italian American porn-addict and women’s conqueror who lives a carefree life till bump into Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a woman who seems to have everything he is searching for. When everything seemed perfect, Barbara finds out Jon’s addiction and breaks up with him. Desolated and feeling guilty, Jon tries to find solace in his daily praying, weekly confessions at church, and in a strange and sad woman named Esther (Julianne Moore) who will become his confident, lover, and kind of a sexual therapist. The film starts with Jon carefully explaining us all his motivations that boost him to watch porn videos on the Internet. In opposition to this, every time he goes to the movies with Barbara, he finds the chosen romances predictable, and that was exactly what I felt watching “Don Jon”. Not only one single move surprised me, and I didn’t find the film so funny or deep as I was expecting it to be. I remember to have laughed with Jon’s bossy father (a model to his son in terms of dressing) and hysterical mother, and not much more. “Don Jon” provides an unagitated watching with its mildly entertaining approach and despite clear in its message, its final result ended up being a contrived study on the undesirable effects that watching porn might have in real life. For a bold experience about the same subject matter, I would recommend Steve McQueen’s disquieting “Shame”.

The Great Beauty (2013)

Directed by: Paolo Sorrentino
Country: Italy

Movie Review: “The Great Beauty” is a sharp, well-observed, critical portrait of contemporary Rome, created through the life of Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo), a 65-year-old writer who doesn’t write for 40 years when his unique novel attained fame. Since that time, his life consists of interviewing some personalities, night parties, sporadic and inconsequent romances, lively chats with his literary group of friends, and lots of gossip regarding roman society. Jep confesses when he came to Rome with the age of 26 he wanted to be the king of highlife, but lately, he is feeling old and a bit tired of the city, an emptiness that starts to get worse when he observes attentively all his friends and sees old acquaintances dying. Very artistic, both in form and content, “The Great Beauty” is a Fellini-esque satire of a man and the city he lives. And believe me, there is a lot to look at here; so many meaningful scenes and important details projected this film into the limelight. The constant visual changings made by shadows and lights, reinforced the fun and sadness of Jep’s world, with all its pleasures and bohemia. Toni Servillo, who often marks presence in Sorrentino’s films (“The Consequences Of Love”, “Il Divo”), was fantastic in this role, playing with absolute commitment the man who enjoyed life looking for the great beauty to move forward. Sophisticated and elegantly presented, “The Great Beauty” is a true gem that restates Paolo Sorrentino as the most solid representative of modern Italian cinema.

Ender's Game (2013)

Directed by: Gavin Hood
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Ender’s Game” is a flat sci-fi adventure written and directed by Gavin Hood (“Tsotsi”, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”), based on the novel of the same name by Orson Scott Card. Asa Butterfly plays the hero, Ender Wiggin, a bullied teen student who unexpectedly brings to light all the requirements to become the protégé of Colonel Graff, performed by a discreet Harrison Ford. He will join his Battle School’s training program destined to protect the Earth from Alien creatures called formics. Once there, internal issues arise involving another leader called Bonzo, but eventually Ender ends up leading is own team. Defying gravity, Ender’s training battles are nothing more than boring, floating movements and random rays traveling the air, while the computer games turned into dreams seemed too stupid to deserve some credit. Even with its (minor) twists, the story remained uninteresting and especially non-thrilling till the end. Strategies’ definition along with simulations of war continues to be presented in a dragging pace, even after the former war-hero Mazer Rackham pulls Ender to its limits with the most difficult tests. Most of the time I had the sensation that the film was deceiving me somehow, with its pointless simulated scenes and confusing, patterned, and loaded special effects that seemed more fireworks in the sky. The generally well-accepted book from 1984 simply didn’t work on film, though a probable sequel relying on these production values just doesn’t excite me.

How I Live Now (2013)

Directed by: Kevin Macdonald
Country: UK

Movie Review: Scottish helmer Kevin Macdonald has been recognized through some interesting works, not only on fiction with “The Last King of Scotland” and “State of Play”, but also on documentary, his career’s basis foundation, with “Touching the Void” and “Marley”. The brand-new apocalyptic romantic drama “How I Live Now” is perhaps one of his weakest works in terms of story and structure, along with 2011 “The Eagle”. Based on Meg Rosoff’s novel with the same title, “How I Live Now” starts with high premises but gradually falls in derivative movements that make the world threat seem a walk in the fields on a sunny day. The film stars Saoirse Ronan in the role of Daisy, a lonely American teenager who struggles with the huge amount of thoughts that keep coming to her mind, and finally encounters her happiness in England when she falls in love with her cousin Eddie. Sadly, the quietness of countryside and peace that blooms from love, are suddenly shaken with a nuclear explosion that leads to their evacuation and separation. Without neglecting the camera work and all the beautiful and clear images pulled out by Macdonald, the film failed in terms of credibility, conveying a sort of lightness that didn’t combine at all with the terror and anguish that should be present in a case of this nature. Ronan didn’t please me much here, in her abrupt transformation from a non-confident girl to a brave fighter searching for love. I’ve seen much better within the same genre than the soft existential issues and tepid romanticism depicted in this useless drama.

Hannah Arendt (2012)

Directed by: Margarethe von Trotta
Country: Germany / others

Movie Review: German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt’s biopic is a compelling drama that captivates mostly for the realistic and sober way the scenes are presented. Known to be a great thinker of her time and student of Martin Heidegger, Arendt would become a political theorist who was many times misunderstood and criticized. Her work falls on themes such as totalitarianism, democracy, and authority. This film centers particularly on Arendt’s response to the 1961 trial of former Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann, in a series of articles for The New Yorker. Arendt’s personality and ideas were depicted through conversations with her intellectual friends, or in school during her classes. Without any kind of dramatic exploitation, we get to know that this polemic woman was in a German detention camp in France, and for her the US was a paradise of freedom. Barbara Sukowa’s performance was worthy, giving the real notion of a woman who died thinking about her famous topic, ‘banality of evil’. Despite all these favorable aspects, I believe some others could have been improved. The pace was steady, while most of the scenes were cold and straightforward, sometimes lacking motion and emotion. That’s why “Hannah Arendt” wasn’t made to please everyone. Margarethe Von Trotta’s risky approach must be praised since it is anti-sensationalist, but in several moments the film fails to engage, and we absorb the divided world created by this frontal woman with a certain distance.

The Wall (2012)

Directed by: Julian Polsler
Country: Austria / Germany

Movie Review: A fantastic surprise coming from Austria, “The Wall” is a poetic and very human essay on isolation and survival. It was based on Marlen Haushofer’s novel with the same name, and directed by Julian Polsler who gives here his first step out of the TV scope. A woman (Martina Gedeck) gets mysteriously trapped in a delimited mountain area that became surrounded by a transparent, preventing her from any human contact. Assuming the rest of the world is dead, her only companies were animals: Lynx, a dog that belonged to her compulsive collector friend, Hugo; Pearl, a cat that appeared in a rainy day; and Bella, the cow that helped her to survive with its milk. Her concern for the animals took a considerable weight from her back, since she didn’t think so much in herself or in the abominable situation she was. In order to help her state of mind, she decided to create a kind of report where she annotated all the relevant occurrences that might happen. Her voice and occasional excerpts of Bach’s classical music were the only break of the forest’s heavy silences. Efficiently narrated and acted by Martina Gedeck, and dazzling us with its sharp cinematography, “The Wall”, created a prison that made me feel frustrated rather than claustrophobic. I was absorbed during all the film, which only came to an end when the paper was over and Gedeck was forced to stop writing. This lyrical mystery tale, winner of Ecumenical Jury’s prize at Berlin, comes with the stamp ‘required watching’.

We Are the Nobles (2013)

Directed by: Gary Alazraki
Country: Mexico

Movie Review: “Nosostros Los Nobles” a.k.a. “We are the Nobles” is a Mexican comedy that was turned into a top box-office in its origin country. Gary Alazraki’s directorial debut gives us the story of a rich family that suddenly became poor, in a stratagem of Germán Noble, a protective father and owner of a well-succeeded company, who made all the arrangements to teach their three slacker children a lesson on how tough life can be. Javi works with his father but only wants partying and is lost in ruinous business ideas; Barbara is the most spoiled and arrogant, willing to marry an opportunist who tries to pass himself as Spanish; Carlos, in turn, is a zen guy who makes part of an anti-capitalist group and is having an affair with his teacher. Therefore, no other option is available for them than start working hard in order to have some food at the table. After create this pretended situation, even Germán will understand that he himself has many things to learn about their children. Eased by the solidly built characters, the cast did a good job, helping to turn this social criticism in a watchable film, even considering its familiar tones and here and there some exaggerated situations. Adorned with warm colors, and more moralistic than really believable, “We Are the Nobles” gains in entertainment what lacks in originality, becoming the second comedy coming from Mexico released this year, along with “Instructions Not Included”.

Big Sur (2013)

Directed by: Michael Polish
Country: USA

Movie Review: A big disappointment is what “Big Sur” revealed to be. Being a fan of Jack Kerouac’s novels and an admirer of some previous works of helmer Michael Polish, this film became a disillusion, suffering from the same problems of pace and energy, evinced in “On The Road”, other failed adaptation of the same writer, directed last year by Walter Salles. I wonder if the problem has to do with the difficulty of adapting the author’s works to cinema or if it’s the directors’ inability to deal with the written material. The film starts with a sober Kerouac, which is the same to say monotony is around, but even when he starts drinking, the somnolent narrative never gathered the right elements to drop all its torpor. The visual side was its stronger aspect, an asset in Michael Polish's attractive style, which alone was powerless to transmit the eloquence and dizziness that one may extract from reading a book such as Big Sur. The infinite words forming outbursts of elaborated speeches weren’t anything more than philosophical thoughts most of the times loose and disconnected, leaving me in a confuse state of mental dimness. This fact just proves that great books don’t always mean good movies. I was expecting something more 'out of the box', more extravagant, in order to depict an iconic work from the king of Beat Generation. Sadly, that didn’t happen, with Kerouac being vulgarized by this wishy-washy, pretentious exercise. Obfuscated performance by Jean-Marc Barr in the role of the mentioned American novelist and poet.

Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)

Directed by: Abdellatif Kechiche
Country: France / others

Movie Review: Very few films about search of identity and sexual orientation were so raw, intense, and sharp as “Blue is The Warmest Color”, a three-hour drama directed by the acclaimed Tunisian filmmaker Abdellatif Kechiche. The film, Palme D’Or at Cannes, evinces a steady but very commendable pace without never losing direction or slacking intensity on the detailed occurrences it tries to emphasize. Through a completely new approach and uncountable close-ups, the director was able to extract the exact feelings and expressions from the characters, creating the appropriated levels of intimacy. But this was not achieved without some controversy, since actresses Adéle Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux affirm they won’t work again with Kechiche, accusing him of moral harassment during the shooting of the film. Polemics aside, the truth is that every single minute felt very real, and none of the protagonists faltered even once. Adèle’s shyness, sweetness, and sadness were very well depicted, and her concern and affliction after a failed sexual experience with a male classmate was totally convincing. With an interesting dramatic side, “Blue Is The Warmest Color” stands above many other films with the same thematic, only sinning due to its overlong duration. Some will love it and say it was thoroughly designed, some will hate it and refute that sex was overmuch explicit… For me this is a great achievement of modern French cinema, portrayed with honesty and relying on an admirable ending.

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée
Country: USA

Movie Review: Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée proves his enormous quality and versatility with this 100% American film about the battle of a Texan electrician and rodeo rider, Ron Woodroof (Mathew McConaughey), against pharmaceutical companies, medical institutions, and the authorities, after he was diagnosed with HIV. In 1986 he was told he would have only 30 days to live, in a time where AIDS was practically unknown and some medicines were being tested in first hand experiments. Getting progressively worse with the consumption of AZT, the only legal drug approved by FDA and administrated in hospitals, Ron decides to try alternative treatments, following the methods of a doctor who operates illegally outside the country. The success obtained led him to the idea of opening the Dallas Buyers Club, a place where paying members could find help on these non-toxic medicines. In order to do that, Ron will have to work hard to give up his drug addiction, as well as his homophobic behaviors. Matthew McConaughey has another memorable performance, well seconded by Jared Leto in the role of a transgender fellow patient and business partner. Vallée’s direction was noteworthy and straightforward, grabbing us intelligently for an authentic story. The lack of sentimentalism was another point in favor of this engrossing drama that, regardless how slovenly its characters might be, has a lot to teach about humanity and will to live.

Aftermath (2012)

Directed by: Wladyslaw Pasikowski
Country: Poland / others

Movie Review: Written and directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski who has been dedicated to TV series since 2004, “Aftermath” is a Polish drama involving two brothers, decided to unveil a dark secret hidden by the whole village concerning the massacre of Jews in times of German occupation. One of the Kalima brothers, Franciszek, returned from America where he was working in asbestos removal and demolitions. His absence from his father’s funeral made his brother Jozef resentful, but in his rude way he will show a good side after finding some grave stones buried in an old deserted road. The brothers were not well seen by the community, a problem that came from the times when their father was alive. Technically there is not much to point here, with the film accomplishing its purposes of showing an oppressive atmosphere, but in terms of story and dialogue I was disappointed. The story drags itself for long periods, evincing sluggishness on the moves and methods that made me stop searching for the secret and boringly wait for the revelations, which were not surprising at all. Several times, a false tension was created without consequences, while in other situations the absence of that tension was unjustified and even required. Set up with dark tones and with a photography that remind me the 80’s, “Aftermath” never impressed, ending up in a sentimental family fuss that, once for all, thwarted its possibilities of success. It was considered best feature film at Jerusalem Film Fest.

Escape Plan (2013)

Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom
Country: USA

Movie Review: Excluding “Evil”, released in 2003, the films directed by Swedish Mikael Hafstrom’s tend to be forgetful. “The Rite” was a complete failure on horror and the new “Escape Plan” isn’t much better, being another weak blockbuster stuffed with the same stereotypes and machinations. Hafstrom tries to take advantage using two tough icons of action genre, Stallone and Schwarzenegger, fact that will certainly save the film financially, but didn’t improve a strained story depicted with a standard approach, where nothing new happens. Ray Breslin (Stallone) is a skilled expert on finding security breaches in maximum-security prisons. Known for his talent of escaping, he and his business partner will be tempted by a CIA agent to accept a last risky job. Kidnapped and incarcerated in an unknown prison, which seems more a spacecraft, he will try to escape the tight security with the help of another inmate, Rottmeyer (Schwarzenegger) who gained his trust, and the facility’s doctor. “The Escape Plan” doesn’t reserve enough surprises and its heroes adopt the same defiant pose that we are used to. With too sophisticated methods and theories, I wonder how can be possible to know so much about a place with so little observation time. Consequently, its lack of credibility instantly corrupted the idea. Among kicks, punches, and sneaky tricks, this is a narrow-minded film that only might work for fanatics of MacGyver series, so popular in the 80’s and 90’s.

All Is Lost (2013)

Directed by: J.C. Chandor
Country: USA

Movie Review: J.C. Chandor’s sophomore feature film, "All Is Lost", proved the filmmaker’s abilitiy behind the cameras, since this one-man film carried so much intensity and let us prostrate with so many frustrating situations along a turbulent journey. The simple plot covers the afflictive story of a solitary sailor, performed with sobriety by the legendary Robert Redford, whose boat is accidentally hit by a shipping container that was drifting in the Indian Ocean. Struggling against time and facing adverse weather conditions, this man will try to remain calm and use up all the possibilities to save himself from drowning. It was noticeable that Redford committed himself to this role with all his soul and the result is a real test to our nerves and comfort. Being limited in story and almost speechless, it was incredible how strong and powerful the images were, making impossible to take our eyes off the screen. Every minute was worthy and Chandor’s sense of direction was astoundingly surprising. If in “Margin Call” he employed a talkative approach to tell a story wrapped in some complexity, here the strategy was completely opposite, yet not less efficient. Even with a predictable finale, the film was rigorous in its details and realistically depressive in its calamitous occurrences, ensuring that the viewers remember it as a reference in survival genre. Mesmerizing, “All is Lost” also makes us anticipate Redford in the run for the coveted Oscar.

Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013)

Directed by: Stephen Frears
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” is an innocuous drama disguised of documentary, directed by English filmmaker Stephen Frears who gave us great works in the past, such as “Liam”, “The Queen”, “Dangerous Liaisons”, “High Fidelity”, and “Dirty Pretty Things”. The story, written by Shawn Slovo (“Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”, “Catch a Fire”), focuses on boxer Cassius Clay’s court battle against US when he refused to take part in the Vietnam war. Clay had changed his name to Muhammad Ali after embrace Islam religion, and invoked religious beliefs for his decision not to defend his country in war. This cost him his Heavyweight Champion title at the time. What Frears offers us here is more the fight among Supreme Court’s jurists, headed by John Marshal Harlen (Christopher Plummer) who, after vote to condemn Ali, decided to reverse his decision, influenced by his recently hired lawyer Kevin Connoly (Benjamin Walker). The exhibited footage of Ali’s fights and statements were the most interesting part, while the story’s recreation never created the desired impact. My interest was brought down by the way Frears chose to address and depict the matter, failing to gather the right elements to make it enjoyable. Sometimes I thought I was watching a TV movie; even when the tempers flared in the justice office, I remained comfortably sleepy in my chair. Unbalanced and devoid of any thrill, this is probably one of the weakest movies in Frears’ career.

Lost On Purpose (2013)

Directed by: Eshom Nelms / Ian Nelms
Country: USA

Movie Review: Nelms brothers, Eshom and Ian, had to ask for a financial help via Kickstarter to release their second feature film, “Lost On Purpose”, which became satisfying along the way after a boring start. The story, set in the rural Californian area of San Joaquin Valley, focuses on two brothers, Fever (James Lafferty) and D-1 (Aaron Hill), who are part of a group of five friends hired to work in a ranch owned by Ms. Liz (Jane Kaczmarek), a determined third generator farmer with alcohol problems. Struggling with health and financial problems, Ms. Liz is doing what she can to keep the ranch working properly, avoiding doing business with Delbert Furgeson (C.Thomas Howell) a greedy and successful co-op owner who wants to buy her ranch. The story, narrated by Fever, also provides us with more information about each of the friends: their relationships, frustrations, concerns, family environments, and dreams, which include to be successful with their band. We already have seen this stuff before but the truth is that the story, being simple and realistic, gets better as it reaches the end. Cinematography by Johnny Derango has some credit, as well as most of the performances, while direction was fair but not remarkable. Not everything ends up fine in this low-key independent film but one lesson can be taken: sometimes dreams don’t become more than dreams, but if you have a clean conscience and the support from your friends, life will be easier to endure. Better the story than its execution.

The Past (2013)

Directed by: Asghar Farhadi
Country: France / Italy

Movie Review: Asghar Farhadi’s first cinematic experience totally made outside Iran wasn’t so rewarding as his previous two masterpieces “About Elly” and “A Separation”. Set in France, there is no question about “The Past” being an adult film, but the plot didn’t shake me or intrigued me, and I felt a sort of distance towards the characters. I watched it with eagerness for some kind of astonishing revelation or a better twist, but the film let me dry in the end. The story follows Ahmad who travels from Teheran to Paris to finish his divorce procedure with his wife Marie whom he didn’t see for 4 years. He stays in Marie’s place, taking the opportunity to be with her two daughters from two previous marriages. But for his surprise, Marie is pregnant and has been living with another Arab, Samir, whose wife is in a coma due to suicide attempt. Samir also has a son, Fouad, who is showing problematical behaviors and reveals a clear need of attention. Marie’s older daughter, Lucie, becomes a key-character in the story’s climax, hiding a relevant secret that justifies her deplorable state of depression. “The Past” ends up being a modest family drama that, taking all the aspects into account, seemed more planned that complex. Nevertheless, and in the same line as his prior works, the film conveyed great simplicity of processes, composed with sharp images that were quite appealing to the eyes. Farhadi’s direction was never in cause, in a story about breaking up ties with the past, that despite likable, failed to enrapture.

Imagine (2013)

Directed by: Andrzej Jakimowski
Country: Poland / Portugal / others

Movie Review: Shot in Lisbon and spoken predominantly in English with some occasional Portuguese, “Imagine” is the third feature film from Polish director Andrzej Jakimowski, better known for 2007’s “Tricks”. The film follows Ian (Edward Hogg), an enigmatic blind teacher who arrives at a residential school for blind to make a total revolution through unconventional methods. Sustaining that blind people are able to walk without a cane, Ian will embark in an adventurous but dangerous trip into the outside world when he challenges quiet Eva (Alexandra Maria Lara) for a walk in the bright sunlight of Lisbon’s streets. Other curious young man, Serrano (Melchior Derouet), wants to follow them, showing signs of fascination by Ian’s sites descriptions and rich imagination. However, disillusion and mistrust will come up in this game of sounds, where we, viewers, also imagine and search for something well aware of our senses. Innovative in concept and very European in style, we have here a good alternative to Saramago’s “Blindness”, which cinematic adaptation by Fernando Meirelles didn’t run so well. Even if sometimes we may notice an inconstant pace and intermittent efficiency in the narrative, “Imagine” became an unprecedented experience and deserves a good, relaxed watching. Jakimowski was considered best director and won the audience award at Warsaw.

The Attack (2012)

Directed by: Ziad Doueiri
Country: Lebanon / France / others

Movie Review: Former first assistant cameraman turned director Ziad Doueiri gives us a completely different angle on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, seen from the perspective of a respected Arab surgeon who lost his beloved wife in a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, where they worked and lived. But “The Attack”, based on the novel by Algerian author Yasmina Khadra, is not as simple as that, because the said woman was accused to be responsible for the bombing and consequently for the death of 17 people. In shock and denial, Dr. Amin Jaafari (Ali Suliman), decides to search for the truth in Palestinian territory, getting exposed to perils he wasn’t prepared for. The idea wasn’t bad at all but a better success was hampered by the lack of suspense and the option to discard any type of artistic approach. Thus, the questions aroused by the sensitive thematic were depicted in a raw and talkative manner, only interrupted from times to times by Amin’s recollections of some key moments with his wife, and the sad confirmation of reality. Episodic use of handheld camera efficiently gives the sensation of despair and confusion in Amin’s head, in this thoughtful thriller, which counted with an unshakable performance by Ali Suliman (“Paradise Now”, “Lemon Tree”). Auspicious and thought provoking, “The Attack” was never totally involving, but can be seen as a movie of considerable cleverness.