ROME – Bella Baxter, she (was) the beacon of the Venice Exhibition, already archived, the protagonist of the sacred Golden Lion named Poor creatures! signed by the Greek Yorgos Lanthimos. Emma Stone will once again light the film, as unique as it was in 2016. La La Land, this time – alas – stripped of the Volpi Cup, only to give the film its rightful maximum recognition: there is, in fact, an awards conflict about which we hope justice will be done at the Oscars on March 10th. With the precious Lion in his hands in the Great Hall, Lanthimos himself acknowledged the importance of the American actress: “This film is about such an incredible creature as Emma Stone, without whom the film would not have happened…“
Based on the novel by Alasdair Gray and republished for the occasion by Safarà Editore. Poor creatures! follows the journey of Bella, a fetus implanted by scientist Godwin Baxter (the amazing Willem Dafoe) into her suicidal mother, who gradually learns to navigate the pitfalls of existence. Her God, a being with Frankensteinian features and a clearly non-random name, raised her with love day after day so that she learned movement, speech, but above all, free will. Bella will cling to this when she runs off with unscrupulous lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (the equally wonderful Mark Ruffalo), who is best placed to give her an unexpected adventure and, above all, give her life experience, only to later realize that she is in no condition to go keeping up with the times. with him.
The beauty of Bella, also probably not a coincidental name, lies precisely in her evolution as a well-rounded character, unable to understand the absurdity of good customs and certain social norms, thirsting for life, hedonistic exploration and pragmatic wisdom. . IN Poor creatures! there is a lot of painting here from Escher to the Impressionists and Expressionists, and also a lot of literature between Voltaire and Jules Verne, because this film is steeped and fueled by culture, but still strives to be popular and reach a much wider audience. than the director’s previous and destabilizing works (the writer was dumbfounded by the unprepared vision Lobster) and reach the hearts of the audience.
Poor creatures! Finally, it is an overtly feminist film – Lanthimos has stated that it took him years for the world and industry to be ready – and in fact, according to some, it is an even more authoritative and edgy response to areas in which Barbie Greta Gerwig was a little missed. There is no room for any superficiality or respectability here, even though we laugh just as hard and the images Lanthimos recreates are just as fantastic. First of all, it must be acknowledged that Lisbon, Alexandria and Paris, the stages of Bella’s journey, have never been more exciting, as they represent more creative and appropriate reworkings of the vibrations they actually give off, rather than completely detached representations of reality.
IN Poor creatures! the director perhaps reaches the highest point of his cinematography and is finally considered a true auteur for his special ability to maintain a keen and attentive eye on reality, while knowing how best to rework it, elevate it and reflect on it in a visionary way. . This is as authentic and believable a science fiction film as we could expect in this day and age, and that is what great cinema does, hinting and suggesting to those with eyes to see and brains to perceive.
- TOPKORN | Sacrifice of the sacred deer by Euripides according to Lantim
- SOUNDTRACK | Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling and the music of La La Land
Below you can see the film’s trailer: