“Lazzaro Felice (Happy for Lazzaro)”
Expectations at Cannes were sky-high for director Alice Rohrwacher’s third feature, “Lazzaro Felice.” Suffice to say, they were met. This is the kind of breakthrough that brings a career to the next level. The film, a sort of hybrid of Pasolini and Bresson, is a scathing indictment of the social problems in Italy as seen through the eyes of a dim-witted Dostoyevskyan protagonist, a simple peasant returning to his life 20 years after dying. To say more would ruin the surprises this film has in store for the viewer. Its second hour is when a transcendent feeling hits the viewer, and a more memorable, masterful movie begins with a time-jump of several years. Rohrwacher then starts to mix the farcical with the surreal, evoking the timeless 1960s cinema of Fellini and Pasolini. You’re in a rather meditative trance as Rohrwacher’s film finds our protagonist rummaging through a modern world, one lacking any kind of harmony and meaning, he makes poetry out of the darkness. – JR [our “Lazzaro Felice” review]
“Dogman”
Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman” was a story of David vs. Goliath set in a giant slum on the outskirts of Rome. The Italy portrayed here by Garrone was cold and relentlessly bleak but also filled with horrific violence. The film’s rivalry between Simoncino and Marcello was one filled with rich textures, and character’s evolving. Most notably Marcello, who starts off as a kind of wimpy, cowardly henchman for Simoncino but quickly evolves into a man that tries to take back his dignity, or whatever is left of it. This is a surprisingly small-scale, intimate crime drama that executes a scathing portrait of the human condition. Unlike his previous film, “Gomorrah,” it isn’t the mafia that Garrone depicts this time, but rather an omniscient entity, a single individual who is as scary as any character we saw at Cannes. – JR
“The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”
Make no mistake about it, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” is a love letter to art, to those that dare dream and how it can also lead us to madness, but the best most joyous kind. The overt symbolism is delivered here with a wink from Terry Gilliam, who returns to his roots of satirical comedy with this fantastic film. The best way to compare Gilliam’s achievement is to a delirious dream happening before your very eyes. It is an uncompromising work, purposely delivered as a mess, I mean, how could it not be, with the tumultuous journey this film has had these last 25 years, Gilliam, quite frankly, doesn’t give a damn about failing. And so, he invites us to check logic at the door before entering the world of ‘Quixote.” Explanations take a backseat for the moment-to-moment chaos happening before our very eyes. Which results in some of the most personal filmmaking he’s done in more than two decades, with more than a few references to art and the creative here. In other words, this is a rejuvenation. Terry Gilliam, the auteur, is back because, it seems, like taking chances and possibly failing clearly excites him again. “Quixote” is a fearless movie that is easily his best work since his streak of films in the ’90s. He infuses his film with Gilliam-esque mayhem and set-pieces too outrageous to describe in a single passage. Mainstream audiences might not be pleased, but this is the Gilliam we used to love, the go-for-broke creative that refused to adhere to conventionality. – JR [our ‘Quixote’ review]
“Cold War”
Paweł Pawlikowski’s follow up to “Ida” chronicles an epic romance between a musical director for a Polish folk singing group, Wiktor (Thomasz Kot), and its star soloist, Zula (Joanna Kulig) that begins in the years following WWII. As the years pass they maneuver political and personal intrigue across Europe. It’s a star-making performance for Kulig and Pawlikowski’s most accomplished and breathtaking work yet. One reason he took the directing prize from the competition jury and the film was considered a frontrunner for the Palme d’Or. Up next? Pawlikowski looks to take home another Foreign Language Film Oscar and, maybe, even land a Best Picture nod. – Gregory Ellwood [our “Cold War” review]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc76RxQw8ks
