Venezia83: Take care

The 83rd Venice Film Festival is crawling with celebrities, whom I'm only seeing from a distance if I happen to be walking near the Sala Grande during a red carpet moment. I haven't attended press conferences, simply due to time constraints (and they aren't a priority for my coverage). But I do have a few interviews set up with actors and directors. Watch this space. Meanwhile, here are notes on another eclectic set of five films... 

The Echo Chamber
dir Andrea Pallaoro; with Alicia Vikander, Luca Marinelli 26/It ***.
Eight years after the death of master filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, his final screenplay has been made into a film. Director Andrea Pallaoro fully immerses the audience in this exploration of dependence and absence, as three characters swirl around each other in a fractured narrative. Much of it is darkly moving, even if many of the scenes feel rather random and meandering. And where it goes is painfully bleak. 

London
dir-scr Victor Di Marco, Marcio Picoli; with Victor Di Marco, Jessica Teixeira 26/Br ****
Beautifully shot in a style that mixes colourful textures with gritty reality, this Brazilian odyssey centres around an astonishing performance by Victor Di Marco, who also wrote and directed the film with Marcio Picoli. This is an involving exploration of how we long to define our identity, then worry about being put into a box once people think they know who we are. It's gorgeously messy and also deeply moving. 

Moonfish
dir-scr Daniel Zvereff; voices Morgan Spector, Lucy Liu 26/US *****
Simple but perfectly formed, this outer-space adventure resonates with big feelings about grief, isolation and a sense of purpose. Writer-director Daniel Zvereff animates this beautifully with hand-drawn imagery in glistening black and white. And the line art ripples with tiny details that add wit and emotion to the story, plus a remarkable sense of scale. It's beautiful to look at, and more powerfully involving than expected.

Diane in the Loop [Un Détour par Diane]
dir-scr Ann Sirot, Raphael Balboni; with Ninon Borsei, Sandrine Blancke 26/Bel ***.
Kicking off with a very cheeky dance number, and continuing with offbeat Wild West touches in present-day Belgium, this serious story is infused with an involving blast of black comedy. Filmmakers Ann Sirot and Raphael Balboni also use handheld cameras and freestyle editing to create a loose vibe, aside from the fantastical, artfully choreographed sex scenes. And the performances have a raw honesty. 

From Inside Out

dir Wim Wenders; with Peter Zumthor, Sophie Hunger 26/Ger ****
Continuing to push the possibilities of 3D filmmaking, Wim Wenders takes an immersive documentary look at the life and distinctively naturalistic work of Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. It's a strikingly intimate film that is packed with audacious artistic flourishes. While it feels overlong, it's also the kind of film in which we never know where we'll go next. And it becomes a remarkable ode to earthy creativity.

Full reviews will be linked to Shadows' VENICE FILM FEST PAGE >

LFF: Get some fresh air

The 67th London Film Festival is winding down, heading into its final weekend with a bunch of big titles still left to premiere. I've had a quieter festival than usual, avoiding press screenings to instead attend movies with the public, and often with the filmmakers on hand as well. The line-up is packed with very big films, and there are quite a few important ones that I haven't been able to see here, so I will have some catching up to do. Here are some more highlights...

The Zone of Interest
dir-scr Jonathan Glazer; with Christian Friedel, Sandra Huller 23/Pol ****.
Inventively recounting a devastating narrative, writer-director Jonathan Glazer skilfully puts the audience through a moral and emotional wringer. Unlike other Nazi death camp dramas, this film keeps much of the horror off-screen; what we see in our minds is even more powerful. This is expert filmmaking, shot with precision and accompanied by a ruthless sound mix and flat-out performances from Christian Friedel and Sandra Huller. It's absolutely unmissable.

In Camera
dir-scr Naqqash Khalid; with Nabhaan Rizwan, Amir El-Masry 23/UK ****
With its witty, observational approach, this British drama is a knowing exploration of a struggling actor's life. First-time writer-director Naqqash Khalid adeptly captures the soullessness that infuses the industry, which is especially felt by people of colour. The focussed, internalised tone is powerfully involving, leading the audience into intensely provocative places. This is bracingly ambitious filmmaking, performed with daring audacity by Nabhaan Rizwan. And it's often devastatingly sharp.

Samsara
dir Lois Patino; with Amid Keomany, Toumor Xiong 23/Sp ****
While this experimental film has a challenging story and themes, it's also breathtakingly original, shot gorgeously on grainy, colour-drenched 16mm film and packed with fascinating documentary details. Spanish filmmaker Lois Patino is exploring reincarnation, transitioning from rural Laos to the beaches of Tanzania by way of a 15-minute sound and light odyssey through the bardo. It's such a singularly audacious experience that it's worth seeing on the big screen.

The Delinquents 
[Los Delincuentes]
dir-scr Rodrigo Moreno; with Daniel Elias, Esteban Bigliardi 23/Arg ***.
While this film is far too long, including a myriad of unnecessary details, it's also sharply well-made and infused with a superbly dry sense of humour. Argentine writer-director Rodrigo Moreno beautifully captures the rhythms of everyday life, letting scenes play out and often meander off down a side road before eventually returning to the central narrative. And it's shot with a sunny vibe that nicely contrasts city and countryside.

20,000 Species of Bees [20.000 Especies de Abejas]
dir-scr Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren; with Sofia Otero, Patricia Lopez Arnaiz 23/Sp ***
From the Basque Country, this loose drama circles around an important issue with honesty and emotion. But writer-director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren makes it difficult to engage with the characters. Not only are there too many ill-defined people on-screen, but the meandering structure never offers a way in. That said, the film looks beautiful, skilfully using the setting and culture. And the cast is excellent across the board.

Anselm 
dir Wim Wenders; with Anselm Kiefer, Daniel Kiefer 23/Ger ****
German maestro Wim Wenders composes an artfully lyrical 3D documentary about artist Anselm Kiefer. Instead of the usual biographical approach, this film traces Kiefer's artistic voice from childhood to the present in a swirl of memory, using locations and archival footage to contextualise drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations and performances. Watching it is a fascinating, moving experience, and it makes us feel that the whole world is a gallery.

All full festival reviews will be linked to Shadows' LFF PAGE >

Critical week: Hive mentality

A couple of big films screened to the London press this week, including Marvel's latest blockbuster Ant-Man, a hilariously engaging action romp that's sure to win over just about everyone in the audience. The adult comedy Ted 2 carries on the story of Mark Wahlberg and his best pal, a talking teddy bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane. And its nonstop barrage of adult-aimed humour is packed with laugh-out-loud moments. Saoirse Ronan is superb as always in Brooklyn, an emotional epic about a young woman migrating from Ireland to America in the 1950s.

There were also two very different documentaries: The Salt of the Earth is the stunning story of photographer Sebastao Salgado, who changed the world (and himself) with his daring, potent photos of humanity and nature, while The Nightmare is a gimmicky doc about sleep paralysis told as a horror freak-out without any expert commentary. There was also the inventive British indie thriller 51 Degrees North shows considerable promise, even if the found-footage structure leaves it somewhat fragmented. And the American indie Angels With Tethered Wings felt rather thrown together with jarringly contradictory tones in each plot thread, amateurish direction and a cast that can't keep up.

This coming week we have Ryan Reynolds in Self/Less, James Franco in True Story, Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman in Ruth & Alex, Craig Roberts in Just Jim, the horror thriller The Gallows, the animated adventure Maya the Bee, the romance doc Looking for Love and two horror comedies: 100 Bloody Acres and Dude Bro Party Massacre III.