All the beauty and the pain by Laura Poitras, with Nan Goldin, documentary, USA 2022, Golden Lion in Venice, several nominations for best documentary, including one for the Oscars, score: 9.5. More unique than rare a great film wins the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. The film manages to be excellent both both in terms of content and form. Due to its revolutionary content it had a bad distribution, starting from Italy. The film is captivating and truly captivating much for the viewer to think about. It shows how despite the whole system – from the laws, to the institutions to the courts – they defend even the most aspects with swords clearly criminals of capitalism, the determination to fight always pays off. The only limit of the film is the consideration uncritically the irrational aspects of the left of imperialism and not understanding the aspects prostitution criminals and even more than brothels.
Once upon a time in Italy – Jakarta is coming by Federico Greco, Mirko Melchiorre, documentary 2022, with Vittorio Agnoletto, Ivan Cavicchi, Ken Loach and Roger Waters, vote: 9-. Excellent and very effective film denouncing the neoliberal policies of privatization of health care and the appalling disasters they have caused. Interviews and interviewees are very effective, as i mounting materials and the concrete struggle that led to theoccupation of a hospital closed by neoliberal policies of European Union. The movie was censored in every way, to prevent its distribution and viewing. It contains some very significant allegations against responsibility of the European Union and of the centre-left. The only limitations of the documentary are a rather heavy fall in the conspiratorial and anti-scientific position against vaccinations and small sovereign smudges. For the rest, the documentary is very engaging and leaves so much for viewers to think about. After all, it is one of the very rare films that focuses on the real engine of history of classist societies, i.e. the social conflict.
Holy Spider by Ali Abbasi, thriller, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and France 2022, the film was awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, received 4 nominations at the European Film Awards, including best European film and best director, vote: 7+; the film is based on a true story. It is a serial killer who kills prostitutes in a Shiite holy city. The authorities try not to create too much fuss around the case, as it creates scandal for the usual significant presence of prostitutes in major religious centres. In addition, there are those who suspect that not infrequently being the victims drugged prostitutes and in some cases linked to drug traffickingthe police would not be particularly interested in search for the culprit. The latter is a family man, religious who took part in the war and, like the petty bourgeois who gave birth to fascism, with the end of hostility has lost the role of social leadership played in the conflict and angrily vents his frustration on the weakest. Interesting the reconstruction of social problems which push poor women into prostitution and to try to alienate themselves from this tragic situation by taking drugs. Significant is the fact that a not indifferent part of the always acclaimed by the bourgeoisie civil society seems to lend credence to the perpetrator’s attempt to present himself as a man who would have the divine mission to fight moral corruptiondemonstrating the monsters that machismo and patriarchy produce and their being, in any case, not opposed by a class society. Too bad that of course nothing shows compared to the fact that the difficult situation a social level of Iran it is partly due to the criminal embargo imposed by Western imperialism for the country’s role in the anti-imperialist resistance. Likewise in no case does it transpire as the terrible war that has favored these social tragedies was also funded and basically wanted by the Western imperialist powers. Of course, nothing good could be expected from an Iranian director who went to live in a country that is an integral part of NATO and European imperialism in these respects.
The Quiet Girl by Colm Bairéad, drama, Ireland 2022, nominations for best international film at Oscars and Baftas 2023, best photography at European Oscars, score: 7. Good film, emotionally intense, with a significant psychological excavationwith valid interpreters and, in any case, well shot, also leaves something material for the viewer to think about. Significant how much the social context of the family can affect the education of children; the film also shows the importance of involving and teaching children about the jobs done by adults, naturally if they are within their reach. If the film rightly denounces the wickedness of the pooris a bit too schematic and positivistic, as the contradictions of the petty bourgeoisnor the social causes of the inability of some poor families to transmit due affection to their children. Among the Oscar candidates for best film not distributed in the United States, it is in second place, behind the unattainable and unmissable Argentina 1985.
The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse by Charlie Mackesy, GB 2022, animated medium-length film, Oscar nomination for best animated short, distributed by Apple TV+, score: 6.5. Significant, to be essentially a film for children, both the drawings and the content of the film that manages, at times, to interest and fascinate even an adult audience. Full of pearls of wisdom and good timeseven poetic, which attracted are likely to become cloyingthe film guarantees a certain aesthetic enjoyment and leaves something not trivial to think about for the viewer, even if accompanied by an adult.
descendant. The last slave ship by Margaret Brown, US documentary 2022, distributed on Netflix, awarded among the best documentaries at the National Board of Review 2022 and nominated for best doc at the National Society of Film Critics Awards 2023, vote: 6. The film tells an interesting story about oral traditionwhere is the myth mixes with historical memoryabout the last ship illegal slave arrived in the United States. The theme of the slave trade and the censorship that tried to hide these tragic events it is certainly very interesting, but the film ends formally to get lost behind trivial interviews with members of a small US town.
The Woman King by Gina Prince-Bythewood, drama, action and historical, Usa 2022, film received a Golden Globe nomination, 2 Bafta nominations, film was awarded a National Board award, 4 Critics Choice Award nominations, 2 Sag nominations Awards, 1 nomination at Cdg Awards, The film was awarded at Afi Awards, score: 6. Typical American, with a good rhythm, it starts with the intention of giving dignity to the victims of the slave trade, showing a significant resistance that would have been realized in Africa to the slavery carried out by the Brazilians. Too bad this attempt to re-evaluate ancient Africa is the product of a historical reverse, since a kingdom that owed its strength precisely to the slave trade, is transfigured into a martyr and a hero by the fight against slavery. Even the feminist theme is developed in a very ambiguous way, as women in order to emerge seem to have to retrace the negative footsteps of males. Furthermore, as usual, a political and social critique of a monarchy, in fact absolutist, and of a conception of the organicist state and, therefore, fundamentally right-wing. In light of all this, the film seems overrated compared to the many awards it has received.
Mystery Woman – Decision to Leave by Park Chan-wook, drama, South Korea 2022, the film was awarded Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, earned 2 BAFTA nominations for Best Director and Best Film foreign film, was awarded a National Board award for best film, got a nomination for the Critics Choice Award for best foreign film, got 3 nominations for the Nsfc Awards, vote: 5. Certainly among the directors and most overrated moviesfocuses on the form and, thus, the content becomes soporific. Maybe the director will also be technically skilled, but he is unable to leave something significant to think about for the viewer, nor to assure aesthetic enjoyment to a non-professional audience.
Babylon by Damien Chazelle, with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, drama, Usa 2022, nominations for best film, best director at the Critics Choice Award 2023, best brilliant film at the Golden Globe, 4 minor nominations at the Oscars, vote: 5. Film definitely overrated and rightly so resized at the Oscars, is the work of a insufferably pretentious and reactionary director. The film tends to uncritically exalt the orgies in the Hollywood parties of the 1920s, in which very young actresses were more or less forced into prostitution and had to be evacuated in great secrecy, as victims of drug overdoses and where the protagonist asserts herself by commodifying the own body and sensuality. While the male protagonist makes his way by violently repressing a strike by the extras, presented as a dangerous mob. So much so that we often see humble workers who are killed on the set by inhuman working conditionsbut this too is presented by the film as a necessary and natural collateral damage.
The Corset of the Empress by Marie Kreutzer, with Vicky Krieps, biographical, Austria, France, Germany and Luxembourg 2022, available on the web, at the European Oscars she was nominated for best film, director and won the award for best European actress with Vicky Krieps, vote: 4 ,5. The latter award is deserved, while the two nominations, such as the nomination for best foreign film at Bafta and Independent Spirit Awards 2023, are certainly overrateddespite the particularly unhappy year for European films. The film claims to reinterpret the figure of the empress in a feminist key. Thus emerges in particular the denunciation of the condition of women, chosen by the emperor solely for the role of representing her. On the other hand, however topical and important the struggle for women’s emancipation is, concentrating an entire film on an ultra-privileged woman of 1878 is something without even the minimal common sense. Moreover, the already known, but as usual absolutely overrated, emerge, cross-class limits of feminism. So it doesn’t emerge at all the conflict between freedoms, that is, we are interested only in the freedom of the empress in her social role and the question of the freedom of the people in her service is completely pushed into the background. The film is formally valid, but as inconsistent from the point of view of the plot, ends up boring.
X – A Sexy Horror Story by Ti West, horror, Usa 2022, score: 3.5. The usual bad summer horror film, programmatically marked by the destruction of reason, unrealism and the improbable, plus a truly unbearable macho gaze on women. The movie isn’t even pleasant, it’s so wacky. It took the courage of “Il manifesto” to review and recommend it.
03/31/2023 | Copyleft © All material is freely reproducible and only mention of the source is required.