The Notebook (2013)

Directed by: Janos Szasz
Country: Hungary / others

Movie Review: “The Notebook”, Crystal Globe winner at Karlovy Vary film festival, is a grim tale of survival based on the first part of Agota Kristof’s war trilogy, published in 1986. Set in 1944 Hungary, the story follows two inseparable twins who learned how to survive when they were left in a countryside farm at the care of their hostile grandmother, in order to escape the horrors of WWII. The bitter old woman, accused of having poisoned her husband, was constantly punishing the boys with no reason. The artful twins, focused in staying strong and keep on studying as their parents recommended, started training their bodies to endure pain, cold, and hunger. During these harsh times, they become friends with a strange Nazi officer, and with a retarded thief girl who lives next door. Some powerful scenes remain in our heads, like when the twins meet an insensitive anti-Jew woman who takes an erotic bath with them, or when they drag the prostrated grandmother through the snowy fields. However, other situations are a bit strained, particularly when trying to accentuate the boys’ determination (the fight with their mother’s new man didn’t convince) or their abrupt changing in the relationship with grandma. With sharp images composing the expressive cinematography by Christian Berger (Michael Haneke’s regular choice) and a mysterious score that sets an intriguing atmosphere, “The Notebook” is an interesting psychological study that evinces pure darkness hidden behind naive faces. A good time is guaranteed, despite the less successful aspects mentioned above.

Grand Central (2013)

Directed by: Rebecca Zlotowski
Country: France / Austria

Movie Review: Rebecca Zlotowski’s sophomore feature, “Grand Central”, is certainly not referred to the Grand Central Station but to a nuclear power plant in the suburbs of France, where Gary Manda (Tahar Rahim), an outcast even in his own family, finds the love of his life, Karole (Léa Seydoux). The problem is that Karole is the future wife of Toni (Denis Ménochet), one of the leaders of the plant, and a dangerous love triangle will be formed. The situation is aggravated when Karole gets pregnant, knowing that Toni is unable to have children according to his medical report. Divided and confused, she seems truly in love with Gary but at the same time keeps some kind of ‘loyalty’ to Toni, to whom she says she wants to marry. Apart from this ‘radioactive’ romance, French helmer Zlotowski, who co-wrote the script with Gaelle Macé (“Bélle Epine” was their first collaboration), plays with a series of dangerous accidents in the plant that puts everyone’s lives in danger. Some anxiety is drawn by these fatalist situations, while the romance frequently feels dry as the Sahara desert, even considering the accomplished performances by Rahim and Seydoux. In spite of the soft approach, the scenarios and characters felt real, and the idea showed potentiality, but never attaining sufficiently deep proportions and a solid development. In the end, I remembered to have thought: ‘and then what?’ I believe that “Grand Central”, similarly to its neglectful protagonist Gary, didn’t show enough qualifications to be a reference.

Frequencies (2013)

Directed by: Darren Paul Fisher
Country: Australia / UK

Movie Review: With the original title “OXV: the Manual”, Darren Paul Fisher writes, directs, and produces his third feature film, the best so far, after the first two disastrous experiences on comedy with “Inbetweeners” (2001) and “Popcorn” (2007). This time he conceived an inventive romantic/sci-fi story set in a strange futuristic reality, curiously depicted with no special effects. It focuses on the peculiar relationship between Marie (Eleanor Wyld), an extremely ‘high-frequency’ girl unable to feel any empathy for anything, and her opposite friend Zak (Daniel Fraser), a genial ultra ‘low-frequency’ boy who falls in love with her and becomes obsessed about the frequency mechanism imposed on the humans. After several years separated from each other, Zak returns, claiming he could help changing Marie’s frequency, in order to make her more human. His strategy consisted in stealing frequencies from the ones who have more than needed, balancing the universe and allowing communication between them. With a dreamlike ambience and an appropriate atmospheric score by Ben Mowat, “Frequencies” let me down in its last part, despite the daring concept. The theories behind the experiments are baffling (mind manipulation or side effects?) and the film could have placed a little more stimulation in several scenes. However, regardless the disappointing conclusions, it’s undeniable that Fisher created an auspicious, charming independent film that is a lesson for all the unoriginal Hollywood attempts in the genre.

Mea Culpa (2014)

Directed by: Fred Cavayé
Country: France

Movie Review: Film director Fred Cavayé is automatically associated to French action-thriller cinema, with three feature films, all belonging to the mentioned genre. If “Anything For Her” and “Point Blank” still provided some credibility and enjoyment, “Mea Culpa” failed to convince, mixing crime thriller and family drama in a mediocre way. Simon (Vincent Lindon) and Franck (Gilles Lellouche), two good friends and partners in the police of Toulon, are tired but happy after finishing another tiresome mission. When driving home, they have a car accident that victimizes two persons, one of them a child. Simon who was driving under the effect of alcohol is arrested and forced to abandon his career, while Franck continues being a cop. Years later, Simon gets out of jail, realizing he has nothing left – no job, no family. Divorced and disoriented, he decides to make an effort to bond with his 9-year-old son, Theo, who accidentally becomes witness of a dreadful murder perpetrated by the Mafia. A terrible situation, since the gang comes after the kid, a new target to wipe out, and Simon will have to do the impossible to protect his family. The busy yet unoriginal script, didn’t present anything we haven’t seen before, while the execution, relying on agitated action scenes that revealed to be merely baits to catch the eye, adopts an overused Americanized style that Cavayé should avoid in the future. With such a bustle, there was no space left for a decent suspenseful atmosphere, and “Mea Culpa” loses itself in its huge ambition for becoming spectacular. A disappointment both as a thriller and family drama.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Directed by: Doug Liman
Country: USA / Australia

Movie Review: Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt starred in sci-fi action film “Edge of Tomorrow” from the acclaimed director Doug Liman, most known for having started Jason Bourne adventures in 2002 with “The Bourne Identity”. Cruise plays major William Cage, a confident US army officer who is perfectly aware he’s not really a soldier but rather an advertising strategist. Used to other kinds of battles, and regardless the fear and inability to deal with guns, Cage is forced to go to war against the invaders, intelligent alien forces and time manipulators known as ‘mimics’, ending up dead in the battle field. For his surprise, as awakened from a dream, he’s transported to a previous point in time where he will have the possibility to repeat everything again and learn until being succeeded in the mission. This faculty of dying and reborn, which they call ‘the power’, is also shared by Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Blunt) who sees Cage as the key element to solve the perpetual lost offensive. The screenplay, based on Japanese novel “All You Need is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, was written by the Butterworth brothers, Jez and John-Henry, who already had worked with Liman in “Fair Game”, in collaboration with Christopher McQuarrie (director of “Jack Reacher”). The impressive scenarios and special effects will be a delight for the sci-fi aficionados but I didn’t feel any special vibrancy in “Edge of Tomorrow”, an invariable combination of “Alien” and “Elysium” with time-shifts. At least, both Liman and Cruise were far better here than in their last incursions on sci-fi, with “Jumper” and “Oblivion”, respectively.

The Sacrament (2013)

Directed by: Ti West
Country: USA

Movie Review: “The Sacrament” is a found-footage horror film, directed, written and edited by Ti West, an American filmmaker dedicated to the horror genre (“The House of the Devil”, “The Inkeepers”). Joe Swanberg’s participation as actor wasn’t so surprising, since he and West had worked together before in “Cabin Fever 2” and “Drinking Buddies”, while producer Eli Roth joins the team for the first time. The rest of the cast includes AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz and Gene Jones who undoubtedly had the strongest performance as a persuasive and confrontational spiritual guide. The plot is based on an obscure, closed and well-guarded commune known as ‘Eden Parish’, established in the middle of the woods by a mysterious man who everybody calls ‘Father’. Patrick is a professional photographer whose sister joined the commune right after finishing her drug rehabilitation. He will be welcomed in the place, together with two journalist friends whose objective is to conduct an interview with the leader and document the life style and opinions of the parish members. As expected, the non-violent principles of the group that sacrificed comfort for humanity, was nothing what it seemed, and the end takes crazy proportions – confusion, fear, manhunt, immolation, murder, and mass suicide, are some of the elements used to forcibly shock and create chaos. The adopted strategies were taken a bit too far and you’ll need a strong stomach for some of the unsettling situations. Insidious, outrageous, and unpleasant, “The Sacrament” has Jones’ memorable performance as its stronger element.

Willow Creek (2013)

Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait
Country: USA

Movie Review: American actor, comedian, screenwriter and film director, Bobcat Goldthwait, makes an incursion into found-footage horror film with “Willow Creek”. The story is centered on a young couple in love, Jim (Bryce Johnson) and Kelly (Alexie Gilmore), who set out to the woods near Willow Creek, the Californian place where the mysterious creature got famous, in searching for Big Foot. While Jim is a believer, Kelly makes fun of Big Foot saying there’s no possibility for it to be real. For their report/investigation, they start shooting short interviews with experts on the matter as well as witnesses of unexplainable happenings involving a strange creature. Despite the warnings to stay away from the woods where the famous Patterson-Grimlin film was shot in 1967, the couple decides to camp exactly on that site. Uneventful until reaching this part, Goldthwait embarks in a different posture to create fear – a very long shot of the protagonists inside a tent in the middle of the night, with the outside noises becoming more and more intense. Jim tries to stay strong, expecting something to happen, while Kelly has a panic attack, which is intensified in the morning when they try to leave the place but start walking in circles. The dialogues, despite dull in many ways, seemed pretty natural, and both the steady and hand-held camera shots were decent enough. The problem here was the totally expected outcomes after a long-wait where nothing special happens. I found Alexie Gilmore’s performance convincing, but regarding this Big Foot, I’m definitely a non-believer. “Willow Creek” was not so scary and is recommended only for fans of the genre.

Tim's Vermeer (2013)

Directed by: Teller
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Tim’s Vermeer” is a documentary directed by the multifaceted artist, Teller (illusionist, magician, director, actor and comedian), and co-produced by his partner on stage Penn Jillette (the entertainment team is known as ‘Penn & Teller’), featuring Tim Jenison’s project based on several experiments to prove a theory consisting in that Vermeer used a mirror and a lens from a camera obscura to create the perfect light/effects in his extraordinary paintings. In a mix of art, madness and technology, he’ll try to demonstrate this concept by painting a Vermeer himself. Tim’s obsession becomes more interesting when we realize he’s not a painter, but rather an ingenious man, acquainted with new technologies and evincing a natural curiosity on how things work. However, what is shown here in more than an hour, could have been told in a few minutes. The film definitely stands out from the usual procedures of a common documentary but won’t be a piece of entertainment for everybody, even considering the plausible techniques and conclusions presented. There were moments when my curiosity was put on hold due to an exhaustive exploration of the methods. Not always exciting, “Tim’s Vermeer” failed where Peter Greenaway succeeded with “Rembrandt’s J’Accuse”, his intriguing study about the work of another Dutch master painter. The continuous sound of a classical piano follows the images, in a film that makes controversial revelations and promotes Tim’s intellectual capacities.

Maleficent (2014)

Directed by: Robert Stromberg
Country: USA

Movie Review: Angelina Jolie returns to the screen after four years, fitting as a glove in the role of Maleficent, a betrayed fairy, with horns and wings, who decided to curse a young princess in order to take revenge of her father, the insatiable king Stefan. In their youth, Stefan and Maleficent were in love, but his huge ambition to become king and her incapacity to understand greed and envy in humanity, took them apart. Years later, when the conflict with the humans intensifies, Stefan will vacillate between his love and the necessity to kill Maleficent to fulfill his dream of becoming king. Unable to kill her, he cuts off her wings. From this moment on, the new king won’t have peace and Maleficent, together with her subdued crow-man, Diaval, will create her own kingdom of darkness, targeting Stefan’s newborn daughter, Aurora. The script, written by Linda Woolverton (formerly associated with Disney features and plays), was inspired on “Sleeping Beauty” but told in a different perspective. Unfortunately, it didn’t show enough adroitness to match the magical scenarios, losing steam as it moved forward. The film wasn’t sufficiently dark to surprise and didn’t have the smartness to get rid of that happy magic associated to Disney, which frustrated all the possibilities of a better success in the fantasy-noir genre. Without surprise, “Maleficent” went through a direction that was too lukewarm to enthrall or provide fun. Director Robert Stromberg tried to explore this last aspect with the presence of three neglectful pixies that were supposed to take good care of Aurora, but with insipid results. A limited fairy tale!

Lucky Them (2013)

Directed by: Megan Griffiths
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Lucky Them”, a dramedy with alternative rock infusions, is the fourth feature film by Megan Griffiths, filmmaker from Seattle who became known in 2012 with a not so impressive thriller entitled “Eden”. Her new film follows Stax Magazine’s rock critic, Ellie Klug (Toni Collette), who was given the mission of finding a long-unseen local rock-star and ex-boyfriend, Matthew Smith (Johnny Depp), in an attempt to overcome the deep creative crisis she’s immersed for some time. On the road, she will be followed by Charlie (Thomas Haden Church), a former businessman and peculiar thinker who hates music and is giving his first steps on documentary film. From this moment on, we enter in a timid detective investigation scenario. At the same time, the emotionally vulnerable Ellie makes a mess of her emerging relationship with the talented street musician Lucas Stone (Ryan Eggold), who fell instantly in love with her after a prohibited first kiss. Griffiths makes use of an indie style and delicate approach to guide us through some smart observations, making us sense right away the presence of a sensitive feminine hand behind the sweet n’cool characters – the semi-autobiographical script was inspired on co-writer Emily Wachtel’s experiences. “Lucky Them” couldn’t beat the inspired musical romanticism of “Once” or the power of “High Fidelity”, but Collette and Church’s performances add charm and enjoyment whenever was needed, making us forget the fluctuations of the script.

Some Velvet Morning (2013)

Directed by: Neil LaBute
Country: USA

Movie Review: Neil LaBute is a filmmaker with a lot of missteps in his directing career. If “In the Company of Men” and “Nurse Betty” were sympathetic starting points, “The Wicker Man”, “Possession”, “Lakeview Terrace”, or “Death at a Funeral” were inconsistent flops. With “Some Velvet Morning”, LaBute tries a totally different approach, which is entertaining at first but ends up tripping again in a pointless game filled with dialogues that never entered on the right track. LaBute, who also wrote the plot, is no Richard Linklater, and the advances and setbacks during the long conversations never convinced me. The story, despite very simple, adopts some strategies to makes us believe it’s complex. Fred (Stanley Tucci) is a successful attorney who leaves his wife to go living with a much younger woman whom he insists to call Velvet (Alice Eve), although she doesn’t like. When he rings the bell loaded with luggage, Velvet seems to be surprised and uncomfortable, saying she has to go out for an unmissable lunch with Chris, Fred’s son. From this moment on, Fred adopts a pushy attitude, showing to be picky and possessive, while Velvet oscillates between submissive (she even offers herself to do him a blow job) and intractable, saying for several times he has to go away. It was perfectly clear that something was not right with this theatrical story marked by discussion, irritation, and threats. The performances were passable, but “Some Velvet Morning” became an unnecessary and often vulgar game of actors playing actors, where the finale stupefies more than satisfies.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Directed by: Bryan Singer
Country: USA

Movie Review: Bryan Singer directs his third X-Men, and best so far, “Days of Future Past”, having another one already announced for 2016 with the name “Apocalypse”. The screenplay was entrusted to Simon Kinberg (also co-producer) who already had worked in two previous X-men sagas: “The Last Stand” (as writer) and “First Class” (as producer). In order to combat the implacable robot-soldiers known as Sentinels and preserve their own existence, the X-Men reunite to find the best way to deal with the situation. The solution adopted was to use Professor X’s telepathic powers to send Wolverine to the past. The mission consists in convincing the young Professor X itself, as well as Erik Lehnsherr (future Magneto) to help him to save Sentinels’ creator, Dr. Trask, a huge brain in a small body, who is the key to spare both humans and mutants from suffering terrible consequences in the future. The story, despite not really outstanding, was well written and told in a fast pace, managing to keep a beneficial balance between the action scenes packed with special effects and a perceptible narrative. Some heroes are depicted in such a way that we want to keep following them, trying to understand their personalities, as well as the motives and motivations behind their actions. I particularly liked Magneto and Mystique, but the stirring happenings were not always neat, placing “Days of Future Past” slightly below “Captain America: the Winter Soldier”, this year’s best Marvel flick. The fantastic cast includes: Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy.

Underdogs (2013)

Directed by: Juan José Campanella
Country: Argentina / Spain

Movie Review: Acclaimed Argentinean helmer, Juan Jose Campanella, who brought us wonderful films like the comedy “Son of the Bride” or the praised thriller “The Secret in Their Eyes”, returns with “Underdogs”, a big-budget 3D animated movie that marks a new experiment in his career. The film is structured as a story inside the story, as a father tells his past adventures to his son, after seeing his fascination for some loose figures unscrewed from an old foosball table. Amadeo is an ace in the foosball table game, being the first and unique to beat the boaster Grosso, a bad loser kid who challenges everyone. Several years later, Grosso returns to avenge his defeat, control the small village and its people, and kidnap Laura - Amadeo’s beloved girlfriend. Amadeo will get the precious help of the foosball figures, which even competing against one another to determine who is the best scorer, will join forces to make justice. The film ends up with a decisive soccer match between the dwellers and the invaders, to decide the future of the village. Impeccably illustrated with irresistible colors, “Underdogs” was very well executed but not completely satisfying in its blend of sports and romance. A few funny moments, visual creativity, and an adventurous energy, were the most positive aspects of the film, but the lack of strength in determined segments of the story, together with a finale that slightly disappoints, threw this animated feature into standard territories. It’s competent and most probably will be a success near the younger ones, but I can’t avoid asking Campanella to return to his best comedies and thrillers.

Miss Violence (2013)

Directed by: Alexandros Avranas
Country: Greece

Movie Review: Giorgos Lanthimos (“Dogtooth”, “Alps”) has another disciple in Alexander Avranas whose filmmaking style evinces the same heavy atmosphere, underdeveloped blunt dialogue and absence of surrounding music. “Miss Violence”, his sophomore feature film, opens with a birthday party in which the birthday girl, Angeliki, commits suicide by jumping out of the balcony. Welfare department starts an investigation, since there were no apparent reasons for the succeeded. Angeliki was living with Eleni, her disturbed single mother, two minor siblings, a suicidal teenage aunt, and her grandparents. Pain seemed inexistent among the family members who demonstrate to be unaffected with the death, but soon we realize they share terrible secrets. Eleni is pregnant and we never see any other men around, fact that made me instantly think of incest, while her father, a slacker who doesn’t want to work, lives exclusively to control and exploit his family. This psychologically aggressive tale about a dysfunctional family and domestic abuse can be very disturbing, but can’t compete with masterpieces such as “Dogtooth” or “Happiness”. Despite one or other new nuances in the plot, I had the impression that I had seen this before, pretty much with the same elements and mood, but much more intriguing and better told. Notwithstanding, Avranas did an appreciable job on direction (‘Silver Lion’ at Venice), while Themis Panou and Eleni Roussinou were absolutely terrific and convincing as father and daughter.

Bethlehem (2013)

Directed by: Yuval Adler
Country: Israel

Movie Review: Israeli Yuval Adler has an auspicious debut on direction and screenwriting with “Bathlehem”, a thriller with dramatic tones centered on Israeli-Palestinian war. The story is centered on disoriented teen Palestinian Sanfur, whose fugitive brother, Ibrahim, is the Al-aqsa brigade leader of Bathlehem who became a symbol of Palestinian resistance after killing 30 Israelis. Unlike his brother, Sanfur is seen as a useless fighter by his father who only praises Ibrahim, and that fact is on the base of why he agreed to collaborate with Razi, an Israeli secret agent who trusts him like his own son. When Ibrahim is killed by an ambush organized by Razi, everything changes, not only in their relationship but also inside the Palestinian forces whose intern crisis triggers an intimidating conflict among the Palestinian Authority, brigades Al-aqsa and Hamas. Needless to say that Sanfur, moving dangerously on both sides of the fence, will be confronted with a final decision after has been detected as an informer – or he escapes to Israel, or he kills his agent friend to save his honor and become a martyr. Tension is everywhere and is delivered at a regular pace, while betrayals and impasses are a constant throughout the film, mirroring the huge complexity of a devastating conflict. In this aspect, we can compare it with Hany Abu-Assad’s “Omar”, which I found more involving and thrilling. In turn, “Bethlehem” is more raw and direct, and not less disturbing in its conclusions. It won six prizes from Israeli Academy, including best film, director, and screenplay.

Hawaii (2013)

Directed by: Marco Berger
Country: Argentina

Movie Review: With works such as “Plan B”, “Absent” or “Sexual Tension: Volatile”, film director Marco Berger is promptly associated to Argentinean queer cinema. His new feature film, “Hawaii”, stars Manuel Vignau, retrieved from 2009 “Plan B”, and Mateo Chiarino, as two childhood friends who meet again in their hometown, now as adults. Martin (Chiarino) came back to his village in the countryside to look up for his cousin, who disappeared without a trace four years ago. Almost by chance, he asks for a summer job to Eugenio (Vignau), a childhood acquainted who is taking care of his former house that now belongs to his uncle. Since the first minutes together, it was clear that Eugenio is physically attracted to Martin whose behavior is more ambiguous but often enters in tense games with his host friend. As the pair starts to be curious about each other’s past, some recalls from their forgotten childhood come to mind, and the doubt if they are really in love is carried out till the final moments. With a pace that was not particularly involving, “Hawaii” relies in the mood created around the relationship. There were some issues in letting the emotions come out, and most of the time the timid, reserved and cold tones weren’t enough to hold our attention. The expressive score by Pedro Irusta, who also produces, almost evokes the dramatic silent films from the past, combining with the languid progression of an optimistic gay love story, which didn’t reach so satisfactory levels as “Weekend” or “Keep the Lights On”.

F*ck You, Goethe (2013)

Directed by: Bora Dagtekin
Country: Germany

Movie Review: With a fast pace and presented with flamboyant colors, but also too forced and exaggerated to be sufficiently consistent, “F*ck You, Goethe” promised a lot in the first minutes but degenerates in uneven situations after a short period. Zeki Miller (Elyas M’Barek) is an impolite, inconsiderate, and uneducated ex-con who applies for a vacant position of janitor in Goethe School but ends up as substitute teacher. Without any interest in the job, Zeki just wants to have access to the new gym of the school, constructed precisely where his prostitute friend had buried his bag of money at the time he was arrested. Quarrelsome and impatient, Zeki will impose some respect to the rebel students by making their life a living hell, on the contrary of his colleague Lisi (Karoline Herfurth) who was born to be a teacher but doesn’t have strength to control the constant pranks of the kids. As expected, and as the film approaches its end, Zeki and Lisi help the kids finding their own way of expression, becoming ‘cool’ teachers, while true romance is inevitable. Some jokes and situations that were supposed to be funny didn’t achieve their purposes (the whimpers are so stupid that drove me nuts), while some others, despite tolerable, can be considered polemic (references to Nazism, prostitution and drug dealing). The second feature film from Turkish-German director Bogda Dagtekan, creator of TV series “Turkish for Beginners”, is a teen movie for adults with so much of ridicule that has the same effect as fast food: my stomach can’t tolerate it anymore.

Go for Sisters (2013)

Directed by: John Sayles
Country: USA

Movie Review: American independent film director and screenwriter, John Sayles, noted by works such as “Matewan” and “Lone Star”, and other minor deeds like “Casa de los Baby”, returns with “Go For Sisters”, a drama-thriller combination that features LisaGay Hamilton, Yolonda Ross and Edward James Olmos in the main roles. Bernice (Hamilton) and Fontayne (Ross) were close childhood friends who cut ties some years ago, coming across again in a totally different circumstance that finds them in opposite sides in life. Fontayne is a former drug addict recently coming out of prison, while Bernice is her parole officer. A strong bond will be established again, when Bernice asks for Fontayne’s help in order to find her missing son, near the Mexican border. Detective Suarez (Olmos), a retired SDPD cop with good connections and an expert in finding people will join them in a risky adventure to the ruthless world of illegal immigration. Along the two hours of Sayles’ methodic filmmaking, we can note Mason Daring’s non-intrusive original score, and an aptitude to naturally extract some mystery from the characters and dialogues, rather than thrill us with the dangerous situations depicted. In terms of mood, “Go for Sisters” reminded me Jim Jarmusch’s “The Limits of Control”, getting me curious about how the story will evolve. Another positive factor was the realness of its three main characters, which in any moment gave the sensation of being fabricated. Solid enough for a good watching!

The Dance of Reality (2013)

Directed by: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Country: Chile / France

Movie Review: “The Dance of Reality” marks the so much awaited return of distinguished Chilean-French filmmaker, screenwriter and producer, Alejandro Jodorwosky, after a layoff of more than two decades. This autobiographical film showcases his turbulent childhood in Chile, where the traumatic episodes, most of them involving his Jewish-Ukranian parents, follow one another. The last part of the film left aside the young Alejandrito, happily living in his hometown Tocopilla with his melodious mother, to focus on Jaime Jodorowsky, a father whose arduous path in life transformed him from a tyrant atheist-communist to a God-devotee and zealous family man. All the elements that made the filmmaker famous in the past - surrealist scenes, bizarre characters, intelligent symbology, an imaginative yet aggressive way of exposing the facts, lyricism and poetry, politics and religion - are present to give its precious contribution to the artistic outcomes. The ingenious narrative was never unstable and in its own way, the film shocks us as much as seduces us, just like “The Holy Mountain”, “Santa Sangre” or “El Topo” did, yet without achieving the same impact as those ones. Alejandro’s son, Brontis, was fantastic in the skin of his own grandfather, whereas the score, cinematography, and remaining production values were first-rate. There’s no age to be creative and that’s why we want more from Mr. Jodorowsky!

Salvo (2013)

Directed by: Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza
Country: Italy / France

Movie Review: Winner of the critic’s week grand prize at Cannes, “Salvo”, the debut feature from Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, tells us a standard story of crime and romance set in the torrid Palermo, presenting it in a non-standard way. Salvo (Saleh Bakri) is a quiet, determined and unmerciful hitman who works for the Sicilian mafia. When trying to ambush a traitor inside his house, he bumps into Rita (Sara Serraiocco), the blind sister of his target. Salvo, accomplishes his task, killing the man, but in a mix of pity and admiration spares Rita, keeping her hostage inside the house. An act of compassion that, going against the mafia rules, consequently puts both their lives at stake. It was interesting to notice that Salvo, visibly tired of living in the shadows, was starting to humanize himself – his love for Rita made him a better man and he seemed enjoying that beneficial effect. This notion was observable when he returns the kindness of his landlords for the first time. The film plays with a variety of atmospheres, in which the use of light, sound, and silence, have preponderant roles, at times causing claustrophobic sensations. Its minimal dialogues and decelerated pace can be an obstacle for some viewers, and the love story never transcends itself into something memorable, but in the other hand, the sensorial experience provided and the changeable moods through a different way of filmmaking, worth the ride.