Starring: Vladimir Cruz, Jorge Perugorría, Mirta Ibarra
In 1979 Havana, two men meet. One is straight, idealistic and a strict communist while the other is and gay, individualistic and liberal . The two men eventually forge a close friendship, and the film tackles politics, LGBT rights and sexuality. If some of the ideas and conversations about sexual politics and patriotism seem a bit dated now (not criticism – the dialogue is affecting and well-written), for its time and place the film was cathartic in its frankness about gay rights in Cuba. It remains the only Cuban film to be nominated in the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars.
Daniel Auteuil plays Victor, a depressed ex-comic book artist in a marriage very much on the rocks with Marianne (Fanny Ardant). Guillaume Canet is Antoine, an entrepreneur whose company allows his clients to go back to the era of their choice – like a big movie set, where all details of the era are recreated and actors portray whatever fits what their clients have chosen. Auteuil is offered the chance and decides to go back to the 70’s at what was his favourite spot: La Belle Époque, a pub where he met his long-lost love. Very funny, charming and smart film with a few twists and surprises that avoids the usual clichés and instead offers incredibly strong performances and a super tight script. I must confess that I’m usually sold in advance with this type of story (there’s no reason why anyone should have seen Midnight In Paris, for instance, as often as I did) – but I’d still recommend this to anyone looking for 2 hours of intelligent and especially comic escapism – in that respect it’s a small gem of a film . Watch the trailer here.
Starring: Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko
I went to see this at the Cinematheque yesterday thinking I was re-watching a classic film I’d seen a long time ago. After a few minutes I realized I hadn’t seen this masterpiece at all. It was about time…! What to say about it that has never been said before? A guide, known as a Stalker, leads two men, a professor and a writer, to The Zone: an area sealed off by the government which has a room that supposedly grants wishes – your biggest true desire. The three make their journey and along the way unfolds an incredible existential piece of art, complete with long takes, sepia-toned film and dialogue about life, art, contentment – the meaning of life, really, if I were to push it further – but there are countless analyses on Stalker. It’s worth noting that many of the cast and crew, Tarkovsky and its lead actors included, died young as a result of the film’s shoot using toxic locations – spilled chemicals and toxic poisons in abandoned industrial areas. I know it’s a cliché to call a film a unique experience, but this one is. The trailer will explain it even better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ianfGdmZOc
Starring: Enrique Santisteban, Reynaldo Miravalles, René Sánchez
An aristocratic lady on her deathbed confesses both to a priest and to her nephew that she could not bear giving up all of her wealth to socialist revolutionaries in post-revolution Cuba, and hid jewels in one of twelve identical chairs that were hers. The chairs have since been nationalized and are in the possession of various people. Separately, and unbeknownst to each other, the priest and nephew set out to find the chairs to locate the jewels. This is the first film by Alea that I’ve seen. It’s an entertaining satire on capitalism and greed, with some funny moments and a particularly great ending. What I enjoyed about it more was that, in a way, it worked as a time capsule having been released only 3 years after the Cuban revolution and provides insight into how people were acting and thinking following Castro’s takeover. Later remade in 1970 by Mel Brooks, it appears this Cuban original has not been seen much outside of its homeland: imdb.com counts just over 200 votes on this one. Worth seeing if you can find it.
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Penélope Cruz
Antonio Banderas plays an aging film director plagued with health issues (as well as severe anxiety and depression) who decides to reconnect with an old friend/actor (Asier Etxeandia) he had a falling-out with over 30 years ago. As this happens, we are given flashbacks of his childhood. What I’ll say is this: this is as fragile and profound as I’ve ever seen from Almodóvar. It’s also a work of great restraint: just when the film (hilariously) finds Banderas and a completely charming Etxeandia reconnecting and taking drugs together, the film almost steers towards bromance comedy which (thankfully) never happens. Almodóvar maintains his film as one of deep meaning: one about aging, mortality, family, friendship and, of course, cinema. Banderas, by incredible vulnerability, probably gives the best performance I’ve seen from him (I’ve tried but I can’t see anything in his filmography that beats this, including prior Almodóvar films – no wonder he won Best Actor at Cannes for this). And what I wouldn’t give to get my hands on this film’s wardrobe. Dolor Y Gloria has been selected as Spain’s entry for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Oscars. I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes the cut.
Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis
I remember when I was a kid, looking at the box of the VHS of this movie at the video store. It looked so impressive and scary. I knew that De Niro was supposed to be a great actor, but asides from that, there was a lot to learn about movies – and this one I wasn’t allowed to see just yet, at the tender age of 8 or 9. Well, I’ve seen it a few times since, but today must have been the first time in over 15 years since the last. It hasn’t lost its intensity. A remake of the 1962 film of the same name, De Niro plays a recently released convicted rapist/pedophile out for revenge by terrorizing the lawyer who represented him and the lawyer’s family while slowly seducing their 15 year old daughter. De Niro’s performance is batshit crazy and totally worthy of its 1991 Best Actor nomination. Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange are incredibly solid and convincing as the terrorized husband/lawyer and wife, but it is Juliette Lewis who blows them out of the water: at 18 years old when this was released, it’s mind-boggling to see how nuanced and convincing she is in such a difficult role. No wonder it ended up turning her into a household name (she was nominated Best Supporting Actress). As for Scorsese, you have all the typical touches here you know him for (no Rolling Stones in the soundtrack though!!), but with a twist: the editing, cinematography, music and direction all have nods to classic 50’s and 60’s Hollywood suspense movies. The score, by Elmer Bernstein, was a reinterpretation of Bernard Herrmann’s original score for the first film, and that movie’s 2 stars, Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum are back here, albeit in supporting roles. What’s interesting watching this so many years later is that despite all of Scorsese’s classic touches (no small feat considering his own typical style is retained), this also feels pretty close to a Brian De Palma thriller in its camera angles and lighting especially. Still great 29 years later (!).
‘What the hell did I just watch?” cinema at its finest. 7 schoolgirls retreat to an (evil) aunt’s house for their summer vacation and of course it is haunted. Now, imagine the haunted house movie made in the style of Japanese pop culture. One where there’s a piano that eats people, a main character called Kung Fu, a demonic cat, amazing/kitsch animation, a soft-pop/rock soundtrack, a severed head that bites someone in the ass and then throws up. It’s also really, really funny and appears to laugh at pretty much all types of films. A life experience. Find it and watch it. Check out the trailer as this is a tough one to put in words:
Five men; close friends in a small town with very different personalities, have trouble getting their lives together in order to really grow up. The film has the underlying themes and tone of the Italian Neorealism wave, during which it was released. Fellini’s casual dialogue, humor and incredible visual style (though not yet as “Fellini-esque” as he will be known for) makes his 2nd film a total pleasure. Unpretentious and real. Recommended.
Louis Malle is one of my favourite filmmakers and I have to say I wanted to like this more than I did. An interesting mix of Alice in Wonderland-influenced surrealism, social commentary and purposely incoherent dialogue – but the Luis Buñuel influence doesn’t quite suit Malle (Joyce Buñuel wrote additional dialogue here, being the wife of Luis Buñuel’s brother – it kinda gives it credibility and makes me second guess my own opinion). Interesting imagery and metaphors commenting on women’s rights and sexual liberation (a black unicorn? An actual war is waged between men and women or is it all in the main character’s head?). Other than that, I didn’t quite “get” into this one although I know I will want to see it again to make sure.
I wanted to create a very simple blog: I watch a film, tell you what it is and give you its main details (title, year, country, director, main actors/actresses) and then I’ll write a few thoughts about the film. Nothing elaborate, just main key points that came to mind during and after watching. Kind of like bullet points in a Word document, only without the incredible sophistication of said bullet points.
“But why?”
Because it’s a pretty easy New Year resolution.
“Your sarcasm is incredible. Please go on.”
I’ve been wanting to keep up with one of my favourite arts and hobbies which is being eaten up by countless TV shows that drag on forever. Although there are some excellent ones and I ain’t bashing it, I will always favour cinema. But this is also a way to share. I’m hoping you share your thoughts on these films too. I’m hoping maybe you discover something that interests you. Or maybe you’ll make me discover a film that interests me. Maybe you’ve seen it already and you think I’m totally wrong? That’s cool. Comment. Let us engage in dialogue through this information superhighway over metaphorical cocktails. Let’s give this a shot.
Cinema Del Peppel 