LivraisonduCinémaFilm reviews

Lifeforce by Tobe Hooper A sci-fi horror by Tobe Hooper, the perennial master of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is nowhere near the glory of Massacre or Alien (Ridley Scott remains the benchmark for all extraterrestrial horror). Story- and period-wise, I would rather compare it to John Carpenter’s sci-fi films from the eighties, like They Live or Prince of Darkness, yet without their signature creepy, phantasmagoric ambiance — and neither anywhere near the Italian giallo-style zombie holocausts in terms of gore and violence. Not memorable. Ссылка скрыта

Roter Himmel by Christian Petzold A lovely, sad and pensive tale of insecurity by the sea and in the sea of a raging forest fire, this film was so unlike my perception of Petzold’s cinema I would’ve never guessed he made it. Yet what it reminded me of most was Maren Ade’s absolutely classic Alle Anderen — an erratic holiday home romance, one of the best German movies of our time, on par with Petzold’s best like Barbara, Phoenix and Transit. And is Paula Beer his second muse after Nina Hoss? It sure looks like it, and she does wear these shoes with subtlety, grace and almost enigmatic attraction. Curly hair under the flakes of ash, or the face of pure, nearly militant disillusionment when she read the novel she never liked. A muse indeed. Ссылка скрыта

To Have and To Hold by John Hillcoat It’s very strange that, in almost 30 years since its release, today was my first time watching John Hillcoat’s second movie (after Ghosts… of the Civil Dead) — despite my love for The Proposition. What’s even more surprising is that the soundtrack to To Have and To Hold, composed by Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave, and Mick Harvey, has been one of my absolute favourites for decades — I know every tune by heart. What I didn’t know, though, is how Hitchcockian this Australian / New Guinea film is — all centred on a disturbing search for a woman long gone, in a steamy, malaria-ridden jungle. A lady in red indeed. And to echo the recently watched Benny’s Video — damn, this is Jim and Rose’s video. Cinema buffs must find time for it. Ссылка скрыта

The Virgin Spring by Ingmar Bergman Probably Bergman’s best, a film that never gets old, that benefits greatly from being watched on the big screen, a movie of unrelenting intensity. Watched it for the third time, and I’m certain it isn’t my last. Ссылка скрыта

The Naked Gun by Akiva Schaffer 2/10 When liberal filmmakers (what else to call them if they made SNL in the past, ugh) try to re-launch old commercially viable jokes about LA police and stuff — they just aren’t funny. Or mostly, they smother and kill it all. Devote liberals, they try to keep the stupid gags from the ’80s, but all previously cool politically, sexually, and racially incorrect jokes (the ones that today would be considered non-woke and not acceptable in Hollywood’s towering all-seeing eye of Sauron), those they cut. When you focus on a random progressive person’s endless sensitivity and are afraid to offend his grandmother’s feelings, all you get is a crappy film with mediocre (if not pathetic) jokes focused on founders of electrical car makers. Yikes. Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker surely do not approve of this woke hymn, a pop song for the sterilization of comedy. Defund Hollywood. Ссылка скрыта

The Circle by Jafar Panaji Jafar Panaji’s first ever political film, a cry for women’s rights, a winner of the Golden Lion and yet banned in Iran, The Circle feels maybe a notch less polished stylistically than Panaji’s more recent endeavours made after This is Not a Film, when Panaji achieved universal recognition as the country’s most known dissident filmmaker. To me, The Circle is raw and not even close to the warmth of Taxi, and I yet to see his latest It Was Just an Accident, his Cannes triumph. Prepare for a slow one with this one. Ссылка скрыта

The Forgiven by John Michael McDonagh I could probably write a long-form essay why I found this film boring and not worthy of two hours of anyone’s time … but I think that short summary of my essay fully suffices. Ссылка скрыта

Benny’s Video by Michael Haneke Bravo! Made in 1992, before the original Funny Games, Haneke’s Benny’s Video firmly sets the cinematic benchmark for meaningless middle-class violence and cold blooded murder. Now, why on earth haven’t I watched it before? Surprised I missed it in the 90s. Arno Frisch was brilliant and very brave. I don’t think he had much of an acting career after these two films, as they certainly leave the audience traumatized. In the long run, I’m certain that Haneke’s films of the 90s and early 00s are like Bergman’s movies of the 50s - where all the medieval violence acquires more and more grandeur as time goes by. Ссылка скрыта

Rumours by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson Wow. The latest film by Guy Maddin is an apocalyptic theatrical rollercoaster. Maddin excels not only in his unique filmmaking (closer in color and style to his early work), but together with the Johnson brothers he delivers a truly Vladimir Sorokin-esque movie: an absurdist, surreal, satirical horror about G7 leaders trapped among the decomposed walking dead. It feels uncannily like the opening chapter of Sorokin’s Dr. Garin, if you catch my drift. Maddin himself texted me on Instagram to say he’d never read that book —and Dr. Garin hasn’t even been published in English. Oh well, great auteurs sometimes stumble onto the similar ideas, I guess. Brilliant and breezy, Rumours is much lighter than Maddin’s recent works like The Forbidden Room, less raw and avant-garde than Cowards Bend the Knee or The Green Fog (both reviewed earlier here). It pulses with energy, and has an all-star cast of Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Alicia Vikander, and even Zlatko Burić. Bravo! Ссылка скрыта