Critical Week: Do some digging

Awards season continues to surve forward, as I work to catch up on contenders. Jodie Foster stars in the French-language comedy-thriller A Private Life, an engaging mystery with a terrific all-star French supporting cast. Josh O'Connor leads Kelly Reichardt's delightful comedy-drama The Mastermind, about a quirky art theft and the unexpected fallout from it. And Wagner Moura leads the Brazilian offbeat thriller The Secret Agent, an involving epic packed with comical moments and wonderfully colourful characters.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Hamnet • Pillion
Wake Up Dead Man
The Secret Agent • Eternity
The Thing With Feathers
Zodiac Killer Project
ALL REVIEWS >

Even more epic, Filipino master filmmaker Lav Diaz's gorgeous biopic Magellan traces the life of the 16th century Portuguese explorer (played by Gael Garcia Bernal) from a surprising point of view. And then there was Oliver Laxe's Spanish adventure Sirat, which takes us far into the North African desert and leaves us changed. Yes, it's that good. I also caught two animated films: this week's release Zootropolis 2 (aka Zootopia 2) is another extremely lively madcap, action-packed romp; and Little Amelie is a beautifully bright-hued trip into the mind of a cheeky little Belgian girl growing up in Japan. I also somehow found time to attend three live performances: Ballet Black: Shadows at Sadler's Wells, Growled at the RVT and The Magic of Christmas at Brick Lane Music Hall.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the mega-sequel Avatar: Fire and Ash, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Square Pants, Jim Jarmusch's Venice-winning Father Mother Sister Brother, Fred Hechinger in Preparation for the Next Life, Agniezka Holland's Franz, Brazilian drama Manas, the documentary Cover-Up, and the premiere of Fallout season 2, plus three live holiday-themed stage performances: Ebony Scrooge at Sadler's Wells East, Beauty and the Beast at Charing Cross Theatre and The Great Christmas Feast in West Kensington.

Venezia79: Take in the scenery

The 79th Venice Film Festival moves into its final half with most of the big names under its belt. Stars still pop up everywhere. I watched Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson masterfully play the red carpet last night, while this morning I brushed past Penelope Cruz and Luis Tosar on their way into a press conference. Despite ongoing predictions of thunderstorms, the skies remain clear, so the sun is very hot. While some of the screening cinemas feel like an icy Arctic wind tunnel. My schedule slows down as the week goes on, but not quite yet. Here are some more highlights...

The Banshees of Inisherin
dir-scr Martin McDonagh; with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson 22/Ire ****.
With its focus on seemingly tiny, inconsequential events, this witty Irish drama is a sometimes startlingly vivid look at human interaction. Writer-director Martin McDonagh has an uncanny ability to sharply capture the ways people connect in small communities, while echoing much larger themes. So the characters and situations in this often absurdly funny film have continually surprising textures and weight, with a literal civil war taking place in the distance. And the contained story at the centre is almost criminally satisfying.

When the Waves Are Gone [Kapag Wala Na Ang Mga Alon]
dir-scr Lav Diaz; with John Lloyd Cruz, Ronnie Lazaro 22/Ph ****.
Filipino maestro Lav Diaz takes on his nation's shift after the 2016 election of Rodrigo Duterte. Filming in his usual silvery black and white, this three-hour drama feels almost brisk by Diaz's standards, with an extended length that weaves various story threads together into a pointed odyssey. At its core this is a moving take of redemption that's unblinking about the self-proclaimed guardians of morality. And as the plot's thriller angle develops, the film tightens its grip.

In Viaggio
dir-scr Gianfranco Rosi; with Pope Francis 22/It ***.
While this looks like perhaps a glowing doc about Pope Francis, master documentarian Gianfranco Rosi is too clever to play his hand. Using only archival footage, the film follows the pontiff as he crisscrosses the globe spreading a message of hope and pleading for justice and peace. But the editing and juxtapositions suggest a darker, much more provocative truth. How an audience member reads this material will depend perhaps on their preconceptions. But open-minded viewers might be in for a thoughtful surprise.

Wolf and Dog  [Lobo e Cão]
dir-scr Claudia Varejao; with Ana Cabral, Ruben Pimenta 22/Por ****
Set in the Azores archipelago, this strikingly visual slice of life is artfully shot in Academy ratio by cinematographer Rui Xavier, capturing gorgeous colours and textures. And writer-director Claudia Varejao assembles the film in a way that feels almost accidental, capturing tiny moments that add up to tell a larger story. This means that the narrative feels meandering and elusive, with only a few sharply pointed events. But this also offers the space for us to put ourselves into the situations and consider our reactions.

Full reviews will be linked at Shadows VENICE FILM FESTIVAL page, eventually! 

LFF: Stay safe

There was an actual red carpet premiere at the London Film Festival last night for the lucky few who managed to get tickets to the socially distanced screening: that's writer-director Harry Macqueen and actor Colin Firth (briefly removing his mask) presenting their British drama Supernova. It's looking increasingly like I won't get to attend a single in-person event at this year's festival, but at least most of the films are screening on the press portal. Better get back to watching them! Here are a few highlights for Monday...

Supernova

dir-scr Harry Macqueen; with Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci 20/UK ****

Beautifully photographed by Dick Pope, this British drama unfolds as a travelogue both through the countryside and within a long-term relationship. It may have a few big topics at its centre, but it's a sensitive, intimate film brought to life in deeply felt performances from Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci. Writer-director Harry Macqueen lets the story unfold in a refreshingly open-handed way, with added moments of unfiltered emotion... FULL REVIEW >

200 Meters

dir-scr Ameen Nayfeh; with Ali Suliman, Anna Unterberger 20/Pal ***.

There's an everyday authenticity to this Palestinian drama, about a family divided by a series of degrading obstacles. In its specific story, the film reflects difficulties of normal life in this part of the world. Both the family drama and a harrowing road trip are thoroughly engaging, even if plot points and issues are sometimes over-egged. With his first feature, filmmaker Ameen Nayfeh clearly has a lot to say... FULL REVIEW >

Genus, Pan

dir-scr Lav Diaz; with Don Melvin Boongaling, Nanding Josef 20/Ph ***.

At two and a half hours, this is almost a short for Filipino auteur Lav Diaz. Shot in his usual silvery monochrome in extended busy takes, this is an insidiously vicious allegory about primal behaviour with a deliberately circuitous story structure. And it isn't particularly hopeful, either. So perhaps it's intentional that it's difficult to sympathise with characters who try but fail to be human to each other... FULL REVIEW >

NB. My anchor page for the LFF is HERE and full reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries. I'll get there eventually.

Venezia 73: Far from home on day 9

The 73rd Venice Film Festival is entering its final days, so talk is turning to who will scoop up the awards? Will it be an old favourite filmmaker or a rising star? Will a known name like Timothy Spall or Natalie Portman take an acting prize over someone unknown and devastating? Everyone has an opinion. And the first flurry of jury prizes will be handed out tonight, while the rest come tomorrow. Here's what I've seen in the last day or two (that's Charo Santos above)...

The Woman Who Left [Ang Babaeng Humayo]
dir-scr Lav Diaz; with Charo Santos, John Lloyd Cruz 16/Ph ****.
At nearly four hours long, you'd think this Filipino epic would try the patience. But you'd be wrong. This is a riveting odyssey that tells a straightforward story of revenge and redemption with strong echoes of life anywhere on earth. It may feel a bit like binge-watching an entire miniseries, but Lav Diaz's filmmaking is worth experiencing on a big screen, as he shoots in a style that's deceptively rough and old-fashioned, but is packed with skill, wit and some big surprises.

Planetarium
dir Rebecca Zlotowski; with Natalie Portman, Lily-Rose Depp 16/Fr **
A baffling story set just before WWII broke out, this lavishly produced film looks great, and has a lovely central performance by Natalie Portman. Alas, the plot simply never comes into focus, veering all over the place, complicated by flashbacks, framing scenes, dreams and visions, plus a film-within-a-film motif. but none of this resolves itself into anything terribly coherent.

On the Milky Road
dir-scr Emir Kusturica; with Monica Bellucci, Emir Kusturica 16/Ser ***
Veteran Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica is back with another lively, cacophonous romp through his nation's history, this time centring on the 1990s war. The film's first half is a joyous depiction of the experiences of a rather wacky group of characters, including several animals. Then the film takes a hard swerve into violence and fantasy that may gel for Serbian viewers, but leaves everyone else in the dark.

These Days [Questi giorni]
dir Giuseppe Piccioni; with Maria Roveran, Marta Gastini 16/It **
It's not easy to work out what this Italian comedy-drama is all about. It's a road movie that neglects to show us the journey, following a group of lively characters who never do or say anything amusing. Romances are thin and unfocussed, and the plot itself is only a hint. There are some intriguing ideas swirling around, but over two long hours filmmaker Giuseppe Piccioni never quite finds anything to make the movie either meaningful or entertaining.

Only a few films to go now, including Denzel Washington in The Magnificent Seven, Mathieu Amalric in Never Ever and the Aussie drama Boys in the Trees.