Venezia79: Staring at the sky

The 79th Venice Film Festival is holding its final screenings today before handing out awards tonight. I'll report those here tomorrow, along with my own best films of the festival and a report on my immersive/virtual reality experience here. But I'm now done with screenings, and I certainly won't miss having the opening of each movie interrupted by restless and late-arriving audience members who clamber over you right when the lights go out without warning (I have actual bruises) then refuse to settle down or sometimes carry on chatting at full voice. While the ushers shine flashlights in your eyes. In other words, it will be nice to once again be able to settle in and watch how a movie starts. Here are my final films...

The Listener
dir Steve Buscemi; with Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Hall 22/US ***
Anchored around a sensitive performance by Tessa Thompson, with no one else on-screen at all, this is an engaging look at the life of a helpline operator. It's also directed by Steve Buscemi to be achingly picturesque, while Alessandro Camon's script is somewhat overwritten, making each character perhaps too articulate. Combined with the film's cozy production design, this makes everything feel somewhat artificial. But even if the big emotional beats in a series of phone calls are perhaps too tidy, there are continual points of resonance. [Closing film of Venice Days]

The Hanging Sun
dir Francesco Carrozzini; with Jessica Brown Findlay, Alessandro Borghi 22/UK ***.
Based on a Jo Nesbo novel, this British-Italian production is a dark drama with subtle undertones of a thriller. A solid cast brings intriguing textures to the characters and situations, while director Francesco Carrozzini maintains some gently gnawing tension and an earthy sense of connection between people in a community that seems to sit right on the edge of the world. So it's a bit frustrating that Stefano Bises' script never digs very deeply, and also simply abandons at least one major plot thread along the way. [Closing film of Venezia79]

Pearl
dir Ti West; with Mia Goth, David Corenswet 22/US ***.
There's an outrageously heightened style to this bonkers horror comedy, which is a prequel to filmmaker Ti West's previous movie X, this time cowritten with star Mia Goth. The film harks back to classics from The Wizard of Oz to Psycho, but everything is drenched in Technicolor hues. As a story of a young woman who feels trapped by her life, there's some emotional resonance along the way, but the seriously grisly nuttiness continually undercuts this. What remains is an entertainingly nasty tale about the birth of a killer.

No Bears
dir-scr Jafar Panahi; with Jafar Panahi, Vahid Mobasheri 22/Irn ****.
Despite being banned from making movies, master filmmaker Jafar Panahi continues to tell powerful stories about life in Iran. This hugely involving film uses wry humour to capture the absurdities of culture as they have an enormous impact on two love stories. It's also a knowing glimpse into the art of making a movie in such a convoluted place, as well as a deeply personal exploration of the situation for people who are struggling to survive when traditions and borders turn them into desperate refugees.

Full reviews will be linked at Shadows VENICE FILM FESTIVAL page, eventually!  It may take awhile to catch up.

LFF: Power to the people

The 64th BFI London Film Festival kicked off today with a flurry of sold-out screenings around the country for Steve McQueen's film Mangrove. I tried to get a cinema ticket, but they were gone within minutes, which meant I watched the film in an online virtual press screening, the way I'll see all of the festival's movies. Which kind of removes even the slightest sense of this being a festival. There's also no printed programme, no press credential, no parties. Basically it's a two week web-based movie glut. But these are some of the best films of the year, so it's worth the effort. Here are some highlights...

Mangrove
dir Steve McQueen; with Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes 20/UK *****
This British drama recounts the first legal case that acknowledged racial bias in the London police force. With his fine artistic eye, Steve McQueen assembles this in period style, taking an everyday kitchen-sink approach that feels like a vintage soap opera, complete with flashes of sharp wit and dark emotion. This story is urgent and involving, moving at a quick pace as it follows engaging people through a jaw-dropping trial... FULL REVIEW >

Kajillionaire
dir-scr Miranda July; with Evan Rachel Wood, Gina Rodriguez 20/US ***.
Another absurdly offbeat comedy from Miranda July, this wilfully wacky movie centres on a family of dysfunctional crooks who pull one tiny hustle after another. The plot defiantly refuses to travel in expected directions. And amid the nuttiness, this becomes a remarkably sensitive coming-of-age for a 26-year-old who is only just beginning to understand who she might actually be. This is a bold, bonkers movie with a warm, beating heart... FULL REVIEW >

Honeymood
dir-scr Talya Lavie; Avigail Harari, Ran Danker 20/Isr ***.

Set over one long night, this Israeli romantic-comedy superbly navigates a range of earthy emotions as a couple faces the first hours of their marriage. It's an entertaining, surprising film, shifting from funny to thoughtful as it explores issues of relationships and interconnections from a variety of resonant angles. The plot meanders and is sometimes a bit too pointed, but it's both engaging and provocative.

NB. My anchor page for the LFF is HERE and reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries.