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A 17th century Hungarian countess embarks on a murderous undertaking, with the belief that bathing in the blood of virgins will preserve her beauty.

The Air I Breathe è un film d’esordio alla regia del regista Jieho Lee, che ha co-scritto la sceneggiatura con Bob DeRosa. Gli interpreti sono Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brendan Fraser, Cecilia Suárez, Clark Gregg, Emile Hirsch, Forest Whitaker, John Cho, Julie Delpy, Kelly Hu, Kevin Bacon e Andy Garcia.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Jieho Lee | Kevin Bacon | Julie Delpy | Brendan Fraser | Andy Garcia

Having a good conversation is one of my favorite feelings. That moment when you feel almost buzzed with the excitement of how much you want to respond to and absorb what the other person is saying. These conversations happen both with the people I love most and oddly, the people I know least. With the latter category, the buzz comes from the fact that neither one has any expectations for what the other will contribute. I live for these chats.

Peace,

Sources: weheartit, imdb

Blog title from “The New Year” by Death Cab for Cutie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obuV1KrvEYo

Sung by Julie Delpy in the movie Before Sunset.

Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my thoughts
Let me sing you a waltz
About this one night stand

You were for me that night
Everything I always dreamt of in life
But now you’re gone
You are far gone
All the way to your island of rain
It was for you just a one night thing
But you were much more to me
Just so you know

I hear rumors about you
About all the bad things you do
But when we were together alone
You didn’t seem like a player at all

I don’t care what they say
I know what you meant for me that day
I just wanted another try
I just wanted another night
Even if it doesn’t seem quite right
You meant for me much more
Than anyone I’ve met before

One single night with you little Jesse
Is worth a thousand with anybody

I have no bitterness, my sweet
I’ll never forget this one night thing
Even tomorrow, another arms

My heart will stay yours until I die
Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my blues
Let me sing you a waltz
About this lovely one night stand

Essa cena diz tudo:

É… vai uma valsa aí?

Antes do Amanhecer já foi indicado a Melhor Diálogo e a continuação poderia ganhar também:

- Memory is a wonderful thing if you don’t have to deal with the past. (…) You can never replace anyone because everyone is made up of such beautiful specific details.

Não?

Watch this scene!

Before Sunset on IMDB

Director Richard Linklater and cinematographer Lee Daniel may have just realised one of the fundamental truths of the camera: put a man and a woman in a cramped space together for enough time, and soon the subtlest mannerisms are going to become some of the most outright and obvious expressions of their feelings.

I am talking about their two movies Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, recommended to me in this post, by Literary Dreamer. The basic story is that Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) meet on a train and immediately hit it off. Jesse has to get off at Vienna to catch a flight to the US the next morning, so he convinces – using a virtuoso argument involving time travel and a theme, of regrets about life-changing decisions, that is going to resonate through both movies – her to get off with him and catch a later train to her native Paris. Before Sunrise is about – spans – the day and night they spend roaming around Vienna (it is a part of his original argument that he’ll be roaming around all night because he can’t afford a hotel). The next movie is about what happens nine years later.

In Vienna, the size of the spaces they occupy for a significant amounts of time grows steadily larger, from a two-seat on a tram to a music trial room to a park. Which brings me to the fundamental truth. After a while of them sitting so close together that his removing his jacket provokes her to unconsciously withdraw physically, under the pretense of arranging her hair. And then there’s a wonderful little sequence where they go into a small room to listen to a record, and both of them… let me invoke Roger Ebert here (both of whose reviews I recommend for reading only after watching the movies, as he spoils them): “each one looks at the other, and then looks away, so as not to be caught. The way they do this – the timing, the slight embarrassment – is delicate and true to life.” For me, it transcended a sweet little scene to become an outright comedy, the type in which you laugh purely out of love. By the time we’re into parks and roofs and long shots, you can recognise each little mannerism from so far away that you find their movement more interesting than the scenic locations.

I wasn't looking at the green-lighted entrance

And, of course, there’s the dialogues. They discuss everything from what’s wrong with the world to… well, I don’t want to spoil, so I’ll just say why you are sitting and watching these two movies. And they are so good, so well-placed… Against my better judgement, here’s one from early in the second one (I, however, will abstain from identifying the souce of this dialogue):

Maybe what I’m saying is, the world might be evolving the way a person evolves. Right? Like, I mean, me for example. Am I getting worse? Am I improving? I don’t know. When I was younger, I was healthier, but I was, uh, wracked with insecurity, you know? Now I’m older and my problems are deeper, but I’m more equipped to handle them.

There is, however, one problem with the movies:  the ends sucked. First, I thought it was because I enjoyed the characters so much. However, on closer thought – taking into account the fact that there’s going to be a third one -, I decided that maybe they were supposed to. Though technically closure shouldn’t happen (these two movies with closures would be truly horrible), I think I felt that there could be some amount of closure to be found in that third movie. There was the early morning, before sunrise; then there was the day, before sunset; what about an account of that night, to finish things – and the twenty-four hours – off? If it comes to India, there’s one person who’s going to be there, first day, first show. Otherwise, as soon as he DVD is out.

For now, Waking Life.

How would you describe a city like Paris? Do you automatically think of a Robert Doisneau image of two lover kissing in front of the Hotel de Ville or is the Eiffel Tower lit up at night inscribed in your memory?  Paris is undoubtedly magical, but the beyond the confines of the tourist trails is one of the most multi-cultural, artistic and unconventional capitals in Europe.

The Paris Ile-de-France Comite Regionale du Tourisme has just launched a short viral film to promote the young and vibrant side of the city that many visitors end up missing.

The three and a half minute film entitled Kisses From Paris is directed by French actor/director Yvan Attal (who is also Charlotte Gainsbourg’s partner) and is sound tracked by Rufus Wainwright’s atmospheric Leaving For Paris.   The Paris tourist board loved his sketch in New York, I Love You so much that they commissioned Yvan to express his own creative vision of the “New Paris Ile-de-France”.

The film features two young lovers, played by Zoé Schellenberg and Pierre Perrier snogging their way through Paris, stopping only to marvel at the amazing sights around them.  In between declaring how much they adore each other, the couple study the art at the Beaubourg and the Palais de Tokyo, stroll along the Canal Saint-Martin, go to a gig at the Chateau de Vincenne and hunt for vintage treasures at the Saint Ouen flea market.

The film is intense, stylish and dreamy but in a more realistic than whimsical way. It reminds me of Before Sunrise and its sequel Before Sunset (shot in Paris), where Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy meet on a train and get to know each other in a day before going their separate ways, then meeting up in Paris nine years on.

Kisses From Paris does nothing to dispel the myth of Paris as a city for lovers and not all of us have a Louis Garrel look-a-like to kiss all over town, but it offers a new, alternative Paris to fall in love with.

To find out more about ‘le nouveau Paris’ and to win a trip to Paris, visit the website.

Wohoo, finally I have managed to see the movie which i heard of a good while ago. I really wouldn’t have expected it to be as good as it was. These kind of movies tend to actually be more or less of just comic value, but Julie Delpy delivers!

Good costumes, nicely put together story and even nice actors. This story of Bathory really is much better then the movie i saw long ago on Swedish television. How much truth is in it? Well there are some weird angles overall but i think Julie Delpy has really tried to paint a picture of the monstrous Countess as a person instead of the usual “cruel” story told by documentaries and various book’s.

Even people that have never heard of Bathory will most likely still be able to enjoy this drama, instead of watching a horror movie with loads and loads of blood.

Only 6.7 on www.imdb.com … Well it’s all in the eye of the beholder, i would have at least gave it 8.5, compared to the other movies about Elizabeth Báthory.

Julie Delpy’s boobs in an open robe

“I believe if there’s any kind of God it wouldn’t be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there’s any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it’s almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.”

Before Sunrise was written and filmed in Vienna in 1995. Nine years later, both characters (and the original director) return and film the sequel Before Sunset in Paris. Two of my favorite films.

Antes mesmo de Before Sunrise acabar eu já queria parar pra poder escrever todas as minhas impressões. Como esse tipo de filme tão normal, apenas com diálogos, com histórias aleatórias – sem nada daquela pentelhice toda de efeitos especiais que os geeks hoje em dia prezam tanto – pode ser bom e convencer? É preciso ter mais de um ângulo, pensar em outras pessoas além de si mesmo pra poder se deixar levar pelos diálogos.

Viena pareceu tão original, tão sozinha. Justamente o que era preciso: esvaziar a cidade pra que o foco iluminasse os atores. As vezes a tomada era feita de um lugar somente e ficava ali, com a camera parada durante minutos e a gente nem percebe, não era preciso fazer mais nada além de deixar a fita rolar. É algo assim tão 90’s, que me faz lembrar a todo instante de minha infância. Meu lugar vazio, sem parafernalhas e fogos de artifícios, apenas umas boas idéias pra gente conversar

Os atores são incríveis: espontâneos, passam sinceridade em seus olhos a todo momento, falam sem o medo de serem julgados. Não são superstars e não vi esfroço nenhum neles pra ganhar dinheiro – como o cara do poema Milkshake. Isso os aproximam ainda mais de nós, espectadores, nos jogando no colo a oprtunidade de fazermos um filme cada vez que vamos ao cinema, quando passeamos com nosso cachorro ou quando estamos na fila do correio. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) tem um carisma surpreendente. Sinto saudades da época que eu era assim

Tava vagando ainda enquanto tentava recuperar a consciência quando via uma comunidade: “Pena das crianças de hoje: Coitadas! Tão sem infância…”

Fico pensando nas pessoas que já não tem capacidade de se deixar levar pela simplicidade e que não conseguem fazer uma só noite como a melhor de suas vidas. Levam tantos anos pra perceber o que foi deixado pra trás, entram no trem e olham pela janela durante toda a viagem. Hoje pode ser o seu dia e, relaxe, não precisa ser pra sempre.

Un film del 2009, regia di Julie Delpy, con Julie Delpy / William Hurt / Daniel Brühl / Anamaria Marinca. Prodotto da (94min)

Drammatico / Horror

La storia di Erzsébet Báthory, la sanguinaria aristocratica ungherese che nel 1611 fu arrestata con l’accusa di aver assassinato numerose fanciulle perché era convinta che fare il bagno nel loro sangue la facesse ringiovanire.

This movie is super hilarious. Written and directed by Julie Delpy.

Waking Life (2001)
★★★ / ★★★★

Written and directed by Richard Linklater (“Before Sunrise,” “Before Sunset”), “Waking Life” is an animated film that tackles deep questions about what life is and how it is like to live one’s life. Although it is essentially an animated film, it is very adult in its approach to tell a story of a guy (Wiley Wiggins) who “wakes up” in his dream and into other dreams without knowing whether he’s conscious or awake in “real life.” I admired that this film actively does not confine itself into the kind of Hollywood filmmaking where there is a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Just like the look of the picture, the story flows and moves like water, which enhances the film’s overall craft because the issues that it tackles are very abstract. And it also helped because the main character is in a dream. I particularly liked the scene when Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their characters from “Before Sunrise” and had a deeper conversation about what was said in that movie. It really made me think about why, when we dream, time feels endless but in actuality we’ve slept for a very limited amount of time. That constant theme of there having to be something more to life than rules and meaning is explored in such a deep and intellectual way to the point where I found myself struggling to keep up because I wanted to savor the conversations. While I admit that I did not fully understand some of the concepts that they discussed and the names they dropped, it made me want to read up on such topics and people that are unfamiliar. This is a thinking man’s movie and definitely not for people who constantly have to have action scenes thrown at them. The power of this unique-looking film lies in the words and the exaggerated, almost expressionistic, images to highlight the transient meanings of the implications. My only main problem with it is that I felt as though part of the last third somewhat felt apart because it did not fully integrate some of the biggest themes that pervaded the rest of the movie. Still, I’m going to give “Waking Life” a recommendation because it was able to incite various insights on how to communicate and see (or feel?) the world in unfamiliar and not fully explained perspectives.

trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvFosXeqmDg

If you haven’t seen Before Sunrise, please do. I am not saying this sequel won’t make sense if you haven’t, but trust me it will be so much more meaning ful. You see, Before Sunset is the follow-up to Before Sunrise- a great emotional movie that took place in 1995. I previously wrote about the first movie. I have seen it a lot of times and after watching Before Sunset again,I felt I had to write about it.

I will feel free to give spoilers, because what might seem like a spoiler for the first movie, is actually the obligatory introduction to the second.

In Before Sunrise, we met Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy). These 20 somethings met on a train while French Celine was going back to her hometown and American Jesse was on his way to Vienna where he was supposed to catch a flight the next day to the States.
Soon after they started talking, they actually bonded. Yeah, they were having fun being around each other and obviously there was attraction but the bond was also obvious. Two stranger, making a perfect connection through a chance encounter. Jesse didn’t want to let go of this and asked Celine to get off the train with him. She did. And they had an amazing day, and its night in Vienna. The bond got deeper, attraction grew and they just didn’t want to let go. To see how genuine the movie,the characters and the story go, to feel the passion and the magic of their relationship, you have to see the movie. And feel free to check imdb. It has been rated by more than 34.000 people, and it has been rated as an 8/1o. My point is if so many people agreed on this, it means both men and women liked it. It means a lot of people with different movie tastes loved it. It can’t be labeled as a mainstream movie nor it exactly fits the independent spirit where a minority seems to get the message of. It means the viwevers felt the connection as well and this does not happen very often.

So when I heard director Richard Linklater had made a sequel, I rushed to see it. You see Before Sunrise leaves you wondering whether Celine and Jesse will meet again. Whether they will have the same connection or not. The second movie answers these questions for the two characters we loved so much.

Celine and Jesse had agreed to meet 6 months later as Before Sunrise came to an end. We sadly find out that they weren’t able to.Somehow life had gotten in the way. In those 9 years, Jesse has written a book that is about their encounter. He is now at the last stop of his book tour, in Paris. As he hopes that she would, she comes to his book signing.
When she does show-up, they decided to spend Jesse’s last hours in the city together. They are both happy to see each other. So much has happened and they are more than eager to catch up. But since they are older, they seem weary of life, the heart-breaks and disapponitments they have gone through. They realize the connection is still there 9 years later. But now, things seem harder than ever. Jesse is i unhappily married with a 4-year-old kid. Celine’s hear doesn’t seem to be in the relationship she is having. Both have to face their feelings and they realize that the best time, and the best romance they had was 9 years ago,with each other,in Vienna…

It is fun,romantic,sad,heart-breaking,emotional,hopeful…It just leaves you feeling with a combination of a variety of feelings. You feel alive. Once again, it is just so easy to find yourself in Jesse and Celine. And you just cross fingers that this time they will stay together.

Is it as magical as the second movie? It depends. They were younger ,more romantic and more hopeful. They mention this in the second movie. They have grown up.We, the audience,have grown up. We have had more disappointments,heart-breaks,more journeys…We might have become more realistic and/or cynical. But the true spirit of the movie-that genuine honesty-is still the core here. Of course the romantic fool in me wished that they had met after six months. I wish that they had gotten together,stayed together,remained in love…But they didn’t. Life happened and they let life take its toll on them; on their beliefs,way of thinking. But at the same time, they didn’t change all that much. As Celine mentions in the movie, we don’t really change that much. No matter what self-defense mechanisms we develop, our hopes and dreams stay the same. So being together again just feels so right for them. It seems together that 9 years have passed.

The movie has been written by Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Hence the actors have co-written the screenplay, it is even easier for them to become to be Jesse and Celine. As I said, if you have seen the first one, you owe it yourself to see this. If you haven’t seen it, than go and just find Before Sunrise. I am still looking for a movie that will make me feel the same way these two did.

At first glance Jean-Luc Goddard’s 1985 drama Detective looks and feels like a Robert Altman film. You have pretty much four intertwining stories that feed off each other as they move along. Altman was famous for the multi-story narrative that would eventually have the stories collide into one theme. Many directors have been influenced by Altman and his focus on character.

Jean-Luc Goddard was one of the founding members of French New Wave cinema. Which showcased a departure from standard cinema and explored a deeper and often darker approach to conventional storytelling. Goddard’s two most famous films “Breathless” and “Alphaville” were famous because of how they pushed that boundary even though they were two decades a part. If you haven’t seen either, seek them out especially Breathless.

In Detective, Goddard mixes up the crime drama into a multi-story narrative like Altman. The whole movie takes place in a hotel. You have one story that involves two detectives investigating a murder. One that involves a couple going through the ups and downs of marriage. You have a young boxer preparing and dealing with the aftermath of a fight. And finally it is revealed that the couple is blackmailing the boxer’s promoter.

French New Wave auteur Jean-Luc Goddard

What is really off-the-wall about the film is that it certain places the story will stop and the movie will start quoting random things. Like you have Shakespeare’s The Tempest, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, etc. On top of the crazy “quote” pauses, you have some rather disturbing images and frank nudity.
One scene that made me scratch my head was when the couple is delivered a tea cart for breakfast. There is a wet dead mouse on the cart and when the man pours his coffee it is blood. What was the significance of that scene? What effect was it trying to convey? Does “new friend” echo the blackmail scheme? I still don’t get it. But it was a rather intense image.

My favorite scenes were always the quieter scenes between the boxer and his lover (Stephane Ferrera and Emmanuelle Seigner) and the tenderness they shared. It is not what you would expect. Detective was Seigner’s second film. Three years after the film, she became famous for becoming director Roman Polanski’s most significant muse and wife. She then starred alongside Harrison Ford in Frantic.

I also adored the performances from Nathalie Baye and Claude Brasseur who play the couple. They seemed to be the most genuine and examined characters in the film.

Side note, this is the fourth film of Julie Delpy, who was 14 when she made the movie.

I can’t say I thoroughly enjoyed Detective but really anything that pushes the envelope in cinema is good to see at least one. Easily Breathless is still my favorite Goddard film. Look for more Goddard films as the blog continues.

3 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

I don’t remember when I first saw this movie, it was quite some years ago but I have seen it many times after that- yet it never gets old. It never ceases to be magical. It is sweet,romantic,fun and so real. Oh sure, it seems like the perfect fantasy: to meet this attractive,down-to-earth,fun and sincere stranger in a different country and get to spend some really great,uncomplicated fun with them. I do have some stories like that. I had some wonderful hours with a British guy ( a really cool 13-hour-date, only a couple of hours after the 4 hour non-stop chat the night before…Or I really had a blast with this Dutch guy I met in Norway. Nope- I am no way claiming that we had the connection of Jesse and Celine here. We weren’t really emotionally involved. Yet it was romantic,sexy and very enjoyable. So the idea of clicking with a stranger does not seem impossible. But I haven’t yet had that magical encounter depicted here…

Jesse is on a train to go to Vienna. He is a young American, played by Ethan Hawke. He meets this pretty and lovely French girl Celine ( Julie Delpy). They talk for hours and really enjoy each other’s company. So when it is time for Jesse to get off the train, he suggests that Celine goes off with him. He has one day to spend in the city before his flight to the States the next day. He cutely persuades Celine. After that Vienna serves as the background to one of my favorite love stories ever.

the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rN6D3PcYB4

The two young people talk about anything and everything. They get to know each other. They instinctively travel through Vienna. They are impulsive, natural and they don’t play games. There is no pretending. They only have one day together and they don’t mess it up. They kiss at sunset. They enjoy the city and each other. They laugh and fool around. They walk hand in hand. They observe the magnificent city…There is a bond forming slowly but powerfully between these two former strangers and you just wish- like them- that this was not supposed to be their only night together.

You have one city, two leading actors-three and flowing dialogs. It was written by Richard Linklater -who also directed the movie- and Kim Krizan. Hawke and Delpy have made one genuinely great couple. It is just one romantic film that doesn’t need funny events, misunderstandings,ridiculous characters. The time limit is the only obstacle. It really makes you want to get on a train and travel through Europe-with the hopes that something even remotely similar will happen to you. The thing that feels so real about the movie is that how Linklater and Karizan have expressed so many true fears, expectations,dreams and doubts we have in our daily lives. It feels like we know both Jesse and Celine. In fact, we could easily be those characters.

If you haven’t seen it, trust me you are missing a great journey. The journey is so amazing that we- the viewers- fell in love with Linklater as the sequel of the movie Before Sunset was made years later. Oh trust me, Before Sunsrise will be your first love. But it will leave you wanting so much more that you will be grateful for the second piece of magic, set in Paris…

El Festival ha començat a tota màquina. Les sales plenes, moviment pels carrers, i el que és més important, amb un bon grapat de pel·lis que han complert les expectatives. Certament, alguna no ho ha fet, com és el cas de Grace, de la que esperàvem més. No obstant, pe·lis com la pròpia REC 2, Deliver Us From The Evil, Thirst, Summer Wars i The Children han estat al nivell del que s’espera del Festival.

THIRST, de Park Chan-Wook. (SOF Competició). Elegància narcisista.

Divendres era el dia de Park Chan Wook i la seva darrera pel·li Thirst. El director surcoreà segueix en la línea de I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok, deixant de banda definitivament la visceralitat i contundència de la trilogia de la venjança. A Thirst, com tots ja sabeu, narra la història d’un sacerdot vampir, amb totes les contradiccions que comporta; no obstant, el gruix de la pel·li explica la història d’amor adaptada del’obra d’Émile Zola, Thérèse Raquin. Estilitzada, freda, la gran interpretació tant de Song Kan-Ho i Kim Ok-Vin, juntament amb alguns tocs d’humor i la sempre atractiva narració de Park Chan Wook, fan de Thirst una pel·li interessant sobre passions humanes, combinat amb una visió particular del vampirisme; la pel·li es fa llarga, però el final poètic ho justifica.

THE COUNTESS, de Julie Delpy (SOF Competició). Barroquisme estèril

Després de mostrar-nos tarjeta vermella directa per perdre’ns Independencia de Raya Martin, ens vam dirigir a l’Auditori de nou per veure The Countess (SOF-Competició). Pel·li fosca d’una Julie Delpy versàtil, directora, protagonista i compositora de la música; la trama mai acaba d’arrencar del tot, i esdevé en línees generals ferragosa, en especial quan es descobreix la culpabilitat d’una comtessa que creu fer-se jove utilitzant la sang com crema facial. En alguns moments es recrea amb la sang, per tant, atenció als més sensibles. Té un aire a Sleepy Hollow, en quant a look i fotografia; un altre tema és la narració, on la Delpy encara no li ha agafat el to addient.

PANDORUM, de Christian Alvart (SOF Panorama). Efectes especials i poca cosa més

De Pandorum ens limitarem a dir que és recomanable pels incondicionals del cinema de ciència ficció; recorda a Armaggedon, Star Trek, Horizonte Final i en els millors moments, a Alien. Excessiva, barroca, claustrofòbica, la seva gràcia resideix en veure com, després de reventar la Terra, els humans emigren a un altre planeta. Ideal pels amants d’efectes especials i per propostes on es posa al límit la capacitat de supervivència dels ésser humans en situacions irreals. Per cert, amants de les visceres, també tindreu la vostra ració.

SUMMER WARS, de Mamoru Hosada (SOF Panorama). Reflexió astuta sobre la realitat virtual.

La primera sorpresa agradable la trobem a Summer Wars. Pel·li d’animació que s’endinsa en el món de les realitats virtuals. OZ és el nom que rep aquesta mea de Second Life multiplicat per infinit: governs, empreses, armes, amistats, i gairebé tot es fa des d’ OZ. Un avatar maligne s’apropia de les comptes de milions d’usuaris, fins i tot d’un satèl·lit que vol fer esclatar contra una central nuclear d’EUA. Si barrejem el millor cine “familiar” japonès de sempre, fins i tot el d’ara, com Still Walking, amb el cine manga, i amb una trama tan actual que farà les delícies dels que temen per un futur virtual, doncs sorgeix Summer Wars. Té moralina: tecnologia sense humanisme és igual a res.

GRACE de Paul Solet (SOF Competició). Decepcionant.

A l’inici del passi de la pel·li de Paul Solet es va atorgar un altre Premi Màquina del Temps, aquesta vegada a un dels dos padrins del gore Hershell Gordon Lewis (l’altre és Luca Fulci), creador del subgènere splatter i director de pel·lis com Blood Feast, Scum On The Earth o A Tales Of Blood. Grace va començar amb anèdota. Paul Solet era a la sala per presentar la pe·li, però també per sortir pitant quan un cop començada no hi havia àudio. La proposta, a priori, té gràcia: un nadó que només vol sang per alimentar-se. El ritme de la pel·li, lent, uns personatges discrets, a excepció de l’àvia del nen, la típica mosqueta morta; un desenvolupament de la trama precipitat, amb reaccions absurdes; en definitiva, una pel·li discreta a tots nivells. La única nota destacada va ser que una persona es va desmaiar, fent créixer la llegenda d’una de les pel·lis més aplaudides al darrer Sundance.

ORPHAN, de Jaume Collet-Serra. Terror made in Hollywood.

Orphan, del català Jaume Colet-Serra ha sigut molt ben rebuda als EUA. La pel·lícula té un estil molt Hollywood, semblant a El Orfanato i a Reflejos. No obstant, Collet-Serra li treu més suc als personatges, i crea situacions d’autèntica tensió, demostrant que el gènere de terror el té per la mà. El personatge de l’Esther (un aplaudiment pel càsting!), una nena orfa que sembla la néta perfecta, és suficient per aguantar la pel·li, perquè realment és distreta, i l’hàbil conjunció d’elements típics del gènere conformen un film que assegura una bona estona de tensió, algun diàleg ocurrent, pocs moviments de càmera remarcables, però en línees generals, un film de por típic i tòpic però entretingut.

THE CHILDREN, de Tom Shankland (SOF Competició). Sang, tensió, nens i adults atontats.

Clàssica pel·li de terror. La música, els plànols, el to, el sentit de l’humor, els ensurts, directament de l’escola dels clàssics del gènere. La pel·li és un entreteniment d’allò més solvent. Dinàmica, en tot moment la situació en pantalla és atractiva, amb moments excel·lents, sobretot la manera que tenen els nens de provocar accidents fatals. Els moments on els adults es veuen desbordats i reaccionen d’una manera típica en ells, és a dir, lluitar contra tot sense utilitzar el cervell estan molt ben trobats. El ritme de la pe·li és àgil, i en tot moment dóna la sensació que un nene apareixerà per reventar-li el cap a algú. 80 minuts de cinema perfecte per Sitges.

Ens hem perdut pel·lis que tenen bona pinta, i que ens limitarem a esmentar: Deliver Us From The Devil, Independencia, Crows 2, Haeundae, Celda 211, Nymph i Sorority Row, per citar-ne algunes. No es pot estar a tot arreu; però Sitges és el que té: siguis on siguis, sempre val la pena.

2005: Broken flowers di Jim Jarmusch

Bill Murray è diventato (dopo Lost in translation) specialista del silenzio, dell’immobilità e dello sguardo nel vuoto.

Un Bill Murray stanco e disilluso, splendidamente passivo, dall’espressione surreale e dalla recitazione minimalista come non mai, stranito, attonito, circondato da un vuoto che gli viene da dentro… troneggia nell’undicesimo film (Gran Prix a Cannes) di Jim Jarmusch, bandiera del cinema indipendente, uno degli autori più venerati dai cinefili europei (ma anche dagli attori americani: ne è dimostrazione il cast stellare di questo film).

Dedicato a Jean Eustache (giovane genio francese morto nel 1981) per La maman et la putain, un classico sull’incomprensione fra uomini e donne, Broken flowers (in origine “Dead Flowers“, fiori morti) è una commedia originale, stralunata, agrodolce, malinconica e ironica nello stesso tempo, la cui trama ricorda Non bussare alla mia porta di Wim Wenders  (un uomo solo di mezza età alla ricerca d’un figlio mai visto).

On the road sulle strade degli States ricercando la giovinezza, un se stesso che non c’è più, le briciole. di una vita forse mancata.

“Il viaggio che compie –ha dichiarato Bill Murray in una intervista- è una ricerca di identità: non smette mai di porsi domande, di avere dubbi. Sul suo passato e sul presente. Sui suoi rapporti con le donne. Su ciò che è. Un percorso che non interessa tanto per le risposte che offre, quanto per gli interrogativi che pone“.

Un uomo che tenta (forse) un nuovo inizio mentre tutto gli parla di fine: nessuna delle donne amate lo rimpiange, nessuna oggi lo vorrebbe, per tutte è un importuno. La conclusione amara è che, dopo aver perso il futuro, non ha più nemmeno un passato. Una storia sulle occasioni perdute, sull’amore che non abbiamo dato, sulla solitudine di chi è sfuggito alle responsabilità.

Jarmusch e il suo magnifico cast lavorano sulle allusioni e il non detto (nessuna concessione a effetti speciali o virtuosismi registici), Murray è insuperabile nel ritratto di una immobilità materiale ed esteriore, a cui corrisponde una anche morale ed interiore: una recitazione sottotono veramente magistrale.

Giustamente un critico ha detto: “Broken Flowers è la prova di un cinema intelligente ma divertente, d’intrattenimento ma anche di spessore e di pensiero, di idee che non hanno bisogno di gigantismi produttivi e fiumi di soldi”.

Protagonista da 10 e lode, cast di contorno di lusso (Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, Julie Delpy).

scheda

premi e riconoscimenti

THE GO-GETTER. Quase todos os filmes que vejo ultimamente, ela aparece. Zooey Deschanel, a princesa dos filmes independentes americanos. Outro recente que ela fez é o bom  500 days of Summer. E todos os filmes que ela participa, a trilha sonora é excelente. Acho que alias isso deve ser um fator determinante na escolha de um papel para Zooey pois ela mesma tem uma banda, o She and Him com M. Ward. Tudo isso pra dizer que sou suspeito para falar de um filme que ela participa, geralmente gosto de todos. The Go-Getter é um road movie que conta a historia de um jovem que decide roubar um carro e partir da sua cidade/vida monotona em busca do seu meio-irmao mexicano. E a historia fica boa quando a dona do carro (Zooey), começa a ligar pro celular que ela esqueceu no banco de tras. Começa uma relaçao telefônica interessante entre os dois enquanto ele viaja em busca do irmao. Além do fundo romântico, o personagem do “jovem ladrao”, interpretado por Lou Taylor Pucci (The Thumbsucker), carrega e bem o filme.  E vale também porque o filme é todo estiloso e cheio de imagens bonitas. Com uma trilha espetacular de M. Ward, parceiro da Zooey no She and Him.

2 DAYS IN PARIS. Você conhece o ator Adam Goldberg? Se nao pelo nome, certeza que você ja viu algum filme que ele interpreta um paranoico, é sua especialidade. Ele esta no elenco de The Unusuals, nova série da ABC. E na série, faz um policial paranoico. Participou do classico Dazed and Confused. Na pele de um jovem paranoico. E o cara é bom, muito bom no que faz. No 2 Days in Paris, escrito, dirigo e atuado por Julie Delpy, é ele que carrega o filme nas costas. Os dialogos sao bons, a historia também, mas a Julie Delpy exagerou um pouquinho na irrealidade dos dialogos, quis paracer demais um Antes do Por do Sol, um Antes do Amanhecer. A paranoia de Adam Goldberg salva o filme. E me deu vontade de ir atras de mais filmes dele, pra ver se é paranoia minha que ele é sempre assim paranoico.

BART GOT A ROOM. Aluguei o filme convencido que ia ser uma daquelas boas comédias como SuperBad e Adventureland. Mas é uma bosta. O diretor quis fazer o seu Napaleon Dynamite e acabou se dando mal. Resumo : historia ruim com final tosco, querendo passar moral. E o filme foi bem cotado, vai entender. Danny Stein esta a alguns meses do baile de formatura e nao tem par. Tem na mao a sua melhor amiga, uma nerd que cresceu junto com ele, mas Danny quer dar o pulo do gato, quer achar a garota com a qual tem certeza que vai conseguir transar. Até Bart, o cara mais nerd da escola, ja tem par e um quarto de hotel alugado para a noite do baile.  O filme nao chega a ser um besteirol, quiseram fazer uma comédia adolescente inteligente, mas é sem graça. So o Bart se deu bem nessa.