Mass (2021)

Direction: Fran Kranz
Country: USA 

Mass, the directorial debut feature from actor turned director Fran Kranz, is a tear-jerking chamber drama, whose tension doesn’t come from action but rather from edgy dialogue and human expression related to a painful irreversible situation.

The film stars Martha Plimpton, Jason Isaacs, Reed Birney and Ann Dowd, as two married couples in mourning. The former two lost a son in a vicious school shooting perpetrated by the latter couple's son, a depressed and bullied boy who ended up taking his own life. In the aftermath of this tragedy, they agree to a face-to-face conversation in a church meeting room. 

Playing like a therapy session, the discussion is filled with emotional ebbs and flows. It’s a heartbreaking situation for both couples who attempt to turn their grief and negative emotions into forgiveness and heal. On one hand, we have an unbearable sense of injustice, resentment and anger; on the other, there’s self blame, confusion and disillusion. 

The dynamism of the camera, whether through medium shots or closeups, captures the characters’ sorrows with clarity. However the dialogue is not always convincing, feeling calculated or contrived in many spots. This film is provocative for the strength of the script and its topics, not so much for how it was conducted, regardless the dedicated performances of the four leads. With that said, the finale is brutally relieving, but not without a shocking disclosure.

Dramarama (2021)

Direction: Jonathan Wysocki
Country: USA

The refreshing if somewhat obvious comedy-drama Dramarama takes the coming-of-age topic to a positive payoff, going from silly at the kick-off to genuinely affecting, without ever seek sentimental manipulation. The feature debut by Jonathan Wysocki, who demonstrates a gentle sensibility and firm hand in making movies, chisels away the cynicism and goes directly at the heart while depicting a group of Californian theater students gathered for a murder mystery slumber party before departing to college. None of these persons dated anyone in the last four years of high school.

The sensitive Gene (Nick Pugliese) has important confessions to make that may upset his Catholic buddies; the whimsical Rose (Anna Grace Barlow) debates with the observant Amy (Danielle Kay) the uncomfortable situations that weakened their relationship; the puritanical Claire (Megan Suri) has a secret crush on one of her buddies; and the lively Oscar (Nico Greetham) seems to be hiding something that embarrasses him.Their game is interrupted by JD (Zak Henri), a presumptuous and judgmental colleague who appear unexpectedly to deliver pizzas. 

The movie captures the youngsters’ childish side but also their ability to deal with obstacles and insecurities. It will appeal to teens because it understands, sympathizes and ultimately attenuates their problems by valuing true friendship. In the end, I was not blown away but was satisfied enough with the outcomes of a film made appealing by the charm of its story and the sensitive talents of its actors.

Lamb (2021)

Direction: Valdimar Jóhannsson
Country: Iceland 

Blending Icelandic folk and family drama, Lamb doesn't measure up to the best of psychological thriller/horror films. 

In his feature-length directorial debut, co-writer and director Valdimar Jóhannsson focuses on a married couple of farmers - Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) and Maria (Noomi Rapace) - living in an isolated mountainous region in Iceland. Apparently, they live in peace and quiet, but an unseeable turmoil afflicts their souls - they are unable to have children. That pain ceases when they adopt this bizarre newborn creature - half-lamb, half-human - as their own child. The hybrid living thing fulfills their lives in a freakish way, but their happiness is disturbed not only by the arrival of Ingvar’s sly brother, Pétur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson), but also by the ewe that gave birth to the creature.

As the absurdist story unfolds, you'll more likely to shrug than gasp with awe. The surreal elements set against the realism of the environment soon collapses and never rises above its premise. The only aspect I was truly impressed with was the arresting cinematography by Eli Arenson. 

At the heart of the film's failure are the shortage of interesting twists, a lazy storytelling, the lack of allegorical energy, and a ludicrous conclusion. To me, this was an emotionally obtuse experience, ridiculous enough in its very existence. 

Even showing signs that he may one day make a rich film combining key ingredients from Yorgos Lanthimos and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s universes, Jóhannsson wastes the chance of turning Lamb into something actually creepy or substantial.

The French Dispatch (2021)

Direction: Wes Anderson
Country: USA

The cinematic world of Wes Anderson remains fascinating, abundant in detail and eccentrically rich. All of these factors contribute to make The French Dispatch, a literary avant-garde anthology comedy whose skillfully constructed stories form a love letter to journalists, one of his best film in recent years. 

From an insane cast to a spectacular staging and dynamic backgrounds, Anderson gives us a slice of journalistic life of other times with his peculiar comic touch. It’s a keenly affecting and visually ravishing homage to the weekly American magazine The New Yorker, in particular to its co-founder and lifelong editor-in-chief Harold Ross and the journalists that followed him.

The film is structured with four stories, the first of them linking to the other three via Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray), an indefatigable editor-in-chief who gathered a group of expatriate journalists to bring news from the fictional French metropolis Ennui-sur-Blasé to Kansas via The French Dispatch, the magazine he founded when he was a college freshman. Each of the other three stories feature a journalist and one of his/her highlighted article.

The first of these, an unhinged account about a genius painter and dangerous psychotic inmate (Benicio Del Toro) who uses a sculptural female guard (Léa Seydoux) as his artistic muse, is narrated by writer J.K.L. Berensen (Tilda Swinton) during a talk. The painter is made famous by another inmate (Adrien Brody) with an eye for the modern art business.

Simultaneously romantic and tragic, the following story connects the respected journalist Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) to a revolutionary student (Timothée Chalamet), while the last article is described by the reporter Rombuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) during a TV interview. It features an animated sequence as climax and involves two policemen - a lieutenant/chef (Stephen Park) and a commissaire (Mathieu Amalric) whose son is kidnapped.

Curiously, the antique visuals lead to a contemporary greatness, and Anderson’s filmmaking accuracy leads to a charming film that works pretty well in French and English.

The Beta Test (2021)

Direction: Jim Cummings, PJ McCabe
Country: USA / UK 

This labyrinthine comedy thriller written, directed and starred by Jim Cummings (Thunder Road, 2018; The Wolf of Snow Hollow, 2020) and PJ McCabe (in his directorial debut) may not provide an abundant share of nail-biting moments but the often amusing, occasionally annoying central character is something to go for.

The talented Cummings gives a wild 'n' crazy performance of rancid single-mindedness as a soon-to-be-married Hollywood agent who receives an anonymous invitation for a sex encounter that leads him to a hotel room, blindfolded. After the experience, he looks happier and energetic, yet recognizing that something is wrong. Paranoia and suspicion make him a moody fellow who can’t help but embarrassing himself.

Played with wit to match its conviction, this film is as sly as it is discerning, but falters when it goes for too much manipulation. Significantly stronger during the first half, this satire is so awesomely far-fetched you'd have to be in the right mood to enjoy it.

There are lots of new wrinkles to ponder about scams and technology today but The Beta Test works better as a mystery than a mystery solve. When it works, it really works, and those strong moments overcome the so-so ones.

Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2021)

Direction: Kazik Radwanski
Country: Canada

In this winningly assembled account directed and co-written by Canadian Kazik Radwanski, an overburdened 27-year-old daycare worker finds an uncommon way to release the daily pressure caused by a challenging work environment, personal social discomfort and continuous emotional tension.

Co-writer and leading actress Deragh Campbell is excellent as the intriguing Anne who became addicted to skydiving immediately after experiencing it for the first time. Like magic, this liberating practice alleviated considerably all her constraints in life, and she even starts a new relationship with Matt (Matt Johnson of The Dirties), whom she met at her best friend’s wedding party. 

What begins as a dispassionate look at a young woman's erratic mood and behavior against her professional life and close relationships (including her mother) soon becomes something far more stirring and emotional. Genuine moments are captured through numerous close-ups and handheld camera, and the story develops intimately like a documentary, with Campbell channeling that typically controlled sense of not-belonging that can explode any time.

Anne at 13,000 Ft. is a smartly written, keenly observant, occasionally hilarious and ultimately moving indie drama that arrives with a refreshing energy, leaving a trail of realistic experiences behind. Having Radwanski and Campbell cramming impressive amounts of characterization and awkward situations into 75 minutes, the film may be small, but I felt it as both emotionally honest and meaningful.

Hive (2021)

Direction: Blerta Barsholli
Country: Kososvo

Based on a true story, Hive is immensely respectful of its subject. The first feature from writer-director Blerta Barsholli crafts the portrait of a hardworking woman and mother of two who achieved her position amid blatant sexism in a repressive patriarchal village consumed by gossip and fear of shame. 

In a desperate attempt to unburden financial difficulties and provide for her family, Farhide (Yllka Gashi), whose husband is missing since the war in Kosovo, learns to drive a car and starts a small business with other widows from the village of Krushe e Madhe. In this Eastern corner of Europe, any kind of ambition and self-initiative coming from women is not favorably accepted and rather handled with severity and disrespect. 

Sporting a great ring of truth, the film manifests crudity when it comes to exposing the effects of patriarchy. However, the strong and resolute woman at the center is an example to follow as she keeps her head up in the face of hostility.

In her first leading role, the Albanian, Kosovo-born actress Yllka Gashi makes her character pretty believable without milking the part for pathos and tears. She conveys what this life story needed in order to show the world that there’s still hope for women willing to fight male dominance. 

Hive’s familiar tone could have been exchanged for a more art-house approach with longer contemplative takes, as well as having its furtive gestures better molded on the surface. Nonetheless, this simultaneously sad and inspiring post-war account deserves our dedicated attention for what it entails.

The Last Duel (2021)

Direction: Ridley Scott
Country: USA 

Revisiting the topic of honor by judicial duel offered in The Duellists (1977) - his debut feature - and evoking the combat thrills of his widely-known Gladiator (2000), Ridley Scott conceives another epic medieval knight tale with The Last Duel. The film stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer in the leading roles. Ben Affleck, who co-wrote the script with Nicole Holofcener (Please Give, 2010; Enough Said, 2013) and Damon, also plays a supporting role. He and Damon haven’t collaborated on a movie script since Good Will Hunting.

Based on true events, the story unfurls in three chapters, each of which reveals the truth according to the protagonists. Set in France, it tells how the valiant knight Jean de Carrouges (Damon) and the squire Jacques Le Gris (Driver), once best friends, became fierce enemies in a dispute that only a duel to the death can settle. 

Slightly better than Driver here, Damon brings enough gravitas to his role, endowing his wife (Comer) with trust and support in the grave accusation of rape she brings to the fore. 

We’ve seen this before, and yet, Scott handles everything with assured know-how, signing a dark picture whose pace becomes slackened in the third version of the happenings. At this point, the film takes us into a state of nearly exhaustion, but then comes the thrilling and ferocious duel, pumping the adrenaline in our bodies.

Adapting Eric Jager’s 2004 book of the same name, this is a decently executed film that entertains without dazzle.

Benedetta (2021)

Direction: Paul Verhoeven
Country: France / Netherlands

No one can deny that Benedetta - a psychological, religious-themed biographical drama directed and co-written by Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven - is a shocker. The story, loosely based on a non-fiction novel by Judith C. Brown, takes us to Tuscany, Italy, in the 17th century, as the young Benedetta Carlini happily joins the convent headed by a materialistic abbess (Charlotte Rampling). She arrives by the hand of her thankful father who offers her to God for her miraculous born. 18 years later, Benedetta (Virginie Efira), who considers herself the spouse of Jesus and gradually earns the reputation of a miracle-maker, is haunted by wild erotic dreams, carnal desires and chilling premonitions. Is she really blessed or possessed? 

The film satirizes religion as a form of power, burning in carnal pleasures, punishment, blasphemy, fervent devotion and dubiousness. It doesn’t pretend to give many answers, but it's curious and inevitable for us to ask them. Everything here is the antithesis of piety, and the experienced Verhoeven explores that to the limit by poking, provoking and leaving us in permanent doubt until the very end.

Having worked with the director in Elle (2016), Efira exceeds expectations here and delivers a tour-de-force performance, splendidly supported by Rampling, Daphne Patakia and Lambert Wilson. 

Pulsing with discomfort and mysticism, this tale poses moral and spiritual challenges, but can also be a bit ludicrous sometimes as with the cathartic street scene that precedes the finale. At the age 84, Verhoeven is not only in top form but equal to himself: controversial and gutsy.

The Velvet Underground (2021)

Direction: Todd Haynes
Country: USA 

This documentary about the iconic American rock band The Velvet Underground was put together with imaginative visual collages by the renowned director Todd Haynes (Far from Heaven, 2002; I’m Not There, 2007; Carol, 2015), but it’s marred by basic flaws.

Mounted with a well-calibrated mix of archival materials, interviews, audio recordings and artful graphic mosaics, the film will mostly please the ones exceptionally familiar with the group, leaving the remaining viewers adrift. The reason behind this, is that the interviewees - author/film critic Amy Taubin, enthusiastic musician/fan Jonathan Richman, actress Mary Woronov and philosopher/musician Henry Flynt, only to name a few - are not properly identified as they detail several episodes that marked the group’s short yet influential existence. This major setback impedes the general audience to contextualize them on the picture since they don’t know which type of relationship they had with the Velvets. 

For obvious reasons, Lou Reed and John Cale were the foremost figures of this progressive quartet and, therefore, it’s perfectly natural that more time has been given to them, as well as to the German model/singer Nico, who joined them in their first album.

Besides following the group’s story (more than their music), the film stresses the disagreements between Reed and Cale, which resulted in an early change of line-up, as well as the symbiotic relationship between the band and its manager/producer, the pop-art artist Andy Warhol, who allowed them to perform regularly in his New York City studio - The Factory. 

It’s not a great documentary, yet fairly informative and entertaining.

No Time to Die (2021)

Direction: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Country: UK

No Time to Die, the 25th installment in the James Bond/007 series and the last involving Daniel Craig as the famous British spy, is here not to please the fans but to create something anew; it succeeds in that aspect since it carves a personality of its own, depicting the agent at a mature age, more romantic than seducer but also less witty. Another fresh aspect is that the women in the film steal the show, particularly Ana de Armas playing a bold novice CIA agent in a short scene that competes with the Aston Martin’s rampage killing for the best action sequence. 

There’s no lack of style or pace from director Cary Joji Fukunaga, whose past work includes interesting films such as Sin Nombre (2009), Jane Eyre (2011) and Beasts of No Nation (2015). But the film is far from perfect, displaying a few gaps in the plot, which occasionally and unnecessarily link to the previous Casino Royale (2006) and Spectre (2015) while struggling with an extended duration. Yet, this is still a likable spy-action fun with a few unusual twists that, carrying an extra emotional charge, makes it a singular chapter in the Bond adventures. 

Craig looks cool and holds our attention while taking care of somewhat understated villains - scientist Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik), terrorist leader Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) and Spectre’s mastermind Ernest Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). He also falls seriously in love with Mr. White’s daughter Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), promptly leading to the conclusion that the irresistible Bond is tired and ready to settle down. 

Having said that, never a James Bond film was so mournful.

The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain (2021)

Direction: David Midell
Country: USA

In his assured sophomore feature film, David Midell chronicles a tragic true story that involved the White Plains police and a 70-year-old African American veteran with mental disturbances and a heart condition. The film counted on Morgan Freeman as executive producer. 

When Kenneth Chamberlain (Frankie Faison) accidentally activates his medical alert system, he was far from guessing he would be harassed by a trio of cops - the authoritarian Sergeant Parks (Steve O'Connell), the reasonable officer Rossi (Enrico Natale), and the irascible racist officer Jackson (Ben Marten) - dispatched to perform a routine welfare check on him. As the terrified Chamberlain refuses to open the door of his apartment, the tension escalates and the violence exerted by the policemen goes from psychological to physical. The film makes clear why the police needs urgent reform.

In this case, a simple mistake led to a complex and intolerable situation, which resonates with so many other tragedies related to police brutality in the U.S. With this in mind, and as the film plays out, it’s more than normal to be overwhelmed by anger and the frustration of not having how to stop what is coming. Unfounded suspicions, excessive use of force, and both racial and social discrimination have been commonly associated with police operations. 

Aggrandized by Faison’s focused performance, this heart-rending drama film will keep you on the edge of your seat, even when the intended authenticity weakens. This is especially true when it comes to the perplexing interactions between the cops. Yet, most of the film works fine, inviting to a compulsory viewing with dynamics that are easy to read.

Fever Dream (2021)

Direction: Claudia Llosa
Country: Peru / Chile / other

Fever Dream is the fourth feature film by Peruvian-born filmmaker Claudia Llosa (Madeinusa, 2006; The Milk of Sorrow, 2009) who was bold enough to adapt the intricate 2014 novel of the same name to the screen. On that account, she worked directly with the book’s author, Samanta Schweblin, who lent a hand in the screenplay.

Carrying a mix of spaced-out and mystified tones, the film depicts the intense relationship between two young mothers - Amanda (María Valverde) and Carola (Dolores Fonzi) - who see and treat their respective children in different ways. 

Amanda and her daughter Nina (Guillermina Sorribes Liotta) are spending a few days in a remote region where they meet Carola, a local woman who shows some reluctance in introducing them to her strange son, David (Emilio Vodanovich). Intriguingly, the film begins with Amanda in some sort of spiritual communication with David while being dragged into the woods, completely unable to move her body. 

Although shrouded in ambiguity, the film’s core and intentions are pretty clear as the lens gets sharper to identify both the artifice in human nature and serious environmental circumstances. The sensory visuals, well-tuned by the Spanish cinematographer Oscar Faura (The Orphanage, 2007; The Imitation Game, 2014), compensate the soporific narration that nearly turns Fever Dream into a one-note psychological drama. On the other hand, the restraint with which Llosa handles the story adds melancholy layers instead of the usual creepy scenes that commonly undermine this type of story. It kept me interested, leaving a slightly eerie impression in the end, but without hitting me profoundly.

Bergman Island (2021)

Direction: Mia Hansen-Love
Country: France / Belgium / other

The excellent writing and directorial skills of Mia Hansen-Love (Father of My Children, 2009; Eden, 2014; Things to Come, 2016) are put in effect again in her latest drama, Bergman Island, a sensitive if knotted fiction that chronicles the ebb and flow in the relationship of a filmmaking couple visiting the island of Fårö in Sweden - home of the masterful director Ingmar Bergman for many years. 

Leaving their daughter behind, Chris (Vicky Krieps) and the much older Tony (Tim Roth) try to keep up with work. Insecure about her ongoing script, she opts to decompress in the company of a young film student from Stockholm with whom she visits a few local places of interest. Conversely, the self-confident Tony is an accomplished filmmaker who, after giving a masterclass, experiences a boring touristic Bergman Safari. Moreover, she tells him everything about her work, whose narration he listens with indifference, whereas he is secretive about his. These aspects are indicative that the couple is gradually growing apart.

Hansen-Love manages to squeeze both honest emotion and romantic intrigue out of the plot’s provocative fuzziness. Immersed in its cinematic motivation and conducted from a feminine perspective, the story transcends linearity and jumps into the abstract when Chris discloses her script about a filmmaker called Amy (Mia Masikowsaka) who reunites with her long-time love interest (Anders Danielsen Lie) in Fårö, decades after their first affair.

The film doesn’t pursue sentimental paths. It’s all nuanced, carefully presented with duality - also an indispensable element in Bergman’s work - and it doesn’t really click at the first blush. However, after a while, this imaginative dance of characters and plot ambiguities produce the desired effect. It takes time to settle but it’s ultimately rewarding as you sense the pressure of having to go through a whole creative process, the volatility of romantic feelings and the shaky balance between family and professional duties. It’s all presented under the bright light that shines over this Baltic Sea island’s countrified landscapes.

The Swarm (2021)

Direction: Just Philippot
Country: France

The Swarm, the directorial debut of 39-year-old French filmmaker Just Philippot, causes some friction with a tale that transitions from innocuous suspense to a really sad tragedy. Even flawed, this reasonably disturbing horror film is worth a walk to the theater, presenting some ferocious images supported by a decent rural drama.

The screenplay by Jérôme Genevray - who came up with the original idea - and Franck Victor, centers on a single mother, Virginie Hebrard (Suliane Brahim), who starts breeding edible locusts to save her farm from bankruptcy. Locusts are known for causing damage to crops but, in the present case, they go after flesh and blood during a deadly infestation.

The Swarm’s female characters - Virginie and her dissatisfied daughter Laura (Marie Narbonne) - demonstrate to have a similar impulsive behavior, but the mother stretches it into insanity, sacrificing herself in bizarre ways as a means of financial stability. The film also says something about contemporary farming.

It’s well done, and the comparisons with Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and David Cronenberg’s disturbing oddities are understandable, even if the film doesn’t really reach those superior levels. It’s one of those examples where the message and the execution go hand-in-hand with appreciable results.

Bye Bye Morons (2021)

Direction: Albert Dupontel
Country: France

The seventh feature from French writer-director Albert Dupontel (9-Month Stretch, 2013; See You Up There, 2017), who also stars alongside Virginie Efira and Nicolas Marié, is a goofy existentialist satire in desperate need of maturity. Although vivid in the dynamics and maintaining some interest in its inaugural part, the dramedy adheres to a screenplay with elements that have no real payoff, relying too much on the presumed comic chemistry between its co-stars.

It all begins when Suze Trappet (Efira), a terminally ill 43-year-old hairdresser, decides to go after the son she was forced to give to adoption at the age 15. Coincidentally, Mr. Cuchas (Dupontel), a savvy but overemotional security expert seems to have his days counted in the company he works for. Frantic, he decides to buy a gun but fails to take his own life. These embittered characters will bump into each other with some phenomenon. Yet, the story begins to descend into a vacuous state when they meet a blind archivist (Marié) who panics whenever the police is around.

It seems to me that the able cast certainly had more fun performing the scenes than the people watching them in the theater. Lacking ambition, Bye Bye Morons may be digestible if you just want to rest your brain with a sloppy melodrama, but it will be a disaster if you expect a clever plot with excitement and twists.

Slow Machine (2021)

Direction: Joe Denardo, Paul Felten
Country: USA

Slow Machine is a small, brazenly offbeat mumblecore film shot in 16mm and permeated with a mix of composed and experimental quirkiness. The idea matured in the mind of Paul Felten, who directed with Joe Denardo, and their risk-taking approach bore fruits. At certain moments, it feels like one’s watching an innocent Eric Rohmer tale distorted by the lens of David Lynch or Peter Strickland.

Set against the backdrop of New York City’s social and artistic life, the film investigates the life of theater actress Stephanie (Stephanie Hayes in her only second appearance on screen), whose brief, if deceitful, relationship with Gerard (Scott Shepherd), a NYPD counter-terrorism agent ends miserably. Tenacious male persuasion is everywhere, but Stephanie, who sees a possible life change in every person she meets, seems strong enough to deal with that fact. And that’s despite the traumas of her past. She also didn’t seem surprised with what she found when she moved into an upstate apartment filled with musicians. 

Mounted with oozy psychedelic zest and bursting with fragmented dialogues, the film transcends pastiche, being delivered with shades of satire in an act of cinephilic homage to the genre embraced. What the directors present here could easily have gone wrong, but an array of elements - from the performances to the narrative morphology to the power of every closeup - makes it ultimately satisfying. A peak is achieved during Chloe Sovigny cameo scene, and the film keeps surprising you whenever you think you know where the story goes. 

At its heart, Slow Machine is a character drama, but it’s also about the dynamics and strange encounters in the city of New York. If mumblecore is not your thing, just back off. If that's not the case, don’t sleep on this movie.

Labyrinth of Cinema (2021)

Direction: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Country: Japan

The idea for Labyrinth of Cinema, the swan song from the late Japanese helmer Nobuhiko Obayashi (House, 1977; Sada, 1998), was stimulating but the results, not always consistent over the course of its 179 minutes, may leave some viewers grappling with a sense of disarray. This is a direct consequence of the film being a mixed bag of ideas and genres (musical, romance, drama, animation, yakuza film and slapstick comedy are some examples) assembled with insouciant gestures and a frenetic pace. 

Guided by the poems of Chuya Nakahara, Obayashi found a jocular way to discuss serious matters, creating an anti-war manifesto that also shows his deep fondness for cinema. The first part was too pathetic and wacky to get my appreciation, but the film improves gradually, and despite prolonged beyond the reasonable, ends up within satisfying limits. 

Hence, we have heavy topics such as noxious patriotism, misogyny, the massacre of Okinawans by the Imperial Japanese army, guns vs. swords, numerous references to Japan’s warfare, and the Hiroshima atomic bombings, all contrasting with the beauty, power and magic of the cinema, often summoned through stylized images that resemble 3D collages.

There’s an experimental vein here that is more than welcome, but it’s not by chance that the word labyrinth is in the title. At least, it was all engendered with a better future in mind, which was Obayashi’s noble last wish and intention.

The Night House (2021)

Direction: David Bruckner
Country: USA

Rebecca Hall delivers a breathtaking performance in The Night House, a measured combination of mournful drama and psychological horror directed by Dave Bruckner (The Ritual, 2017) who worked from a screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski.

Carrying the film on her shoulders, Hall reflects the negative mental state of the protagonist, Beth, who deals with resentment, depression and shock after the unexpected death of her husband by suicide. She finds herself alone in the isolated house he built in the woods, descending into hell as she gradually unwraps uncomfortable facts about his recent past. Hurt but not defeated, and sometimes sarcastic, she proves to be courageous in the face of the supernatural forces that haunt the place, giving her nightmares.

Although the film may prevent greater involvement from the viewers - especially in its last third - it’s impossible not to admire how the film was mounted. A restless exercise that never really gets under the skin but gets us minimally interested throughout. This is far from something to be remembered but it will serve the ones intrigued by the forces of darkness and the inaccessible corners of the mind.

Titane (2021)

Direction: Julia Ducournau
Country: France

Titane is a shocker of a film, yet more dejected than astute. This French psychological body horror film seems self-satisfied about selling a paroxysm of violence and artsy gore and mixing it with a sense of emotional degradation. 

Julia Ducournau's sophomore feature - following the controversial Raw (2016) -  attempts an ambitious combination between the sci-fi horror of David Cronenberg, the neo-noir underworld of Abel Ferrara, the dark inner burdens of Nicolas Winding Refn and the maddening dysfunctional families of Takashi Miike. Not only the film fails to reach their qualities but also becomes ridiculous whenever it tries to alleviate the pressure accumulated by the two protagonists. They are sick, repulsive characters who bond at their own convenience. 

Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) is a nightclub dancer turned psycho killer who was implanted with titanium in her head as a result of a car accident, and Vincent (Vincent Lindon) is a delusional firefighter commander on steroids. As the police tightens the circle to catch Alexia, she finds the perfect hideaway by disguising herself as a man and assuming the identity of Vincent’s missing son. They play this stupid game for a while, but worse than that, she’s about to give birth to something grotesque, the fruit of a ludicrous sex episode with… a car?! 

Whether in agony or incomprehension, I resisted until the end, just to conclude that this indigestible film - assembled with an array of sordid, pretentious and imbecilic ideas meant solely to disturb.