Venice: The Rock and Emily Blunt in "The Smashing Machine"

Elisa Giudici reporting from Venice

The Rock stars in "THE SMASHING MACHINE"

The Smashing Machine feels familiar even if you’ve never heard of Mark Kerr. That’s part of its strength: Benny Safdie takes the real story of a man who helped shape mixed martial arts and reframes it with a clarity that cuts through the clichés of the sports genre. In the late 1990s Kerr and his friend Mark Coleman (here played by MMA veteran Ryan Bader) were pioneers, carrying American fighters to Japan’s Pride tournaments; huge, almost gladiatorial events that revealed how far the sport could go. Those who came after turned that groundwork into global stardom and multimillion-dollar careers. Kerr and Coleman, instead, were the trailblazers whose brilliance was real but whose recognition was fleeting.

This film wants to correct that. At his peak, between 1997 and 2000, Kerr was an undefeated champion. Then came the spiral: defeats, opioids, psychological collapse. But what could have been yet another story of decline is reshaped here into something richer...

Click to read more ...

Venice: Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice"

Elisa Giudici reporting from Venice...

NO OTHER CHOICE

In 2005, Costa-Gavras adapted Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Ax into Le Couperet, a stark meditation on the cruelty and dehumanization embedded in the modern workplace. Nearly two decades later, Park Chan-wook returns to the same source material with No Other Choice, dedicating the film to Gavras, and in doing so asserting himself once more as one of the most audacious and precise filmmakers alive. Here is a director capable of merging Korean cultural specificity with an elegance of cinematic form so distinctive that only he could achieve it—where narrative, composition, and moral complexity are intertwined to such an extent that a single viewing can scarcely contain their richness.

At the center is Man-su (Lee Byung-hun), head of a company producing security and specialty papers, who finds himself suddenly dispossessed of the only role matching his qualifications...

Click to read more ...

Venice: Paolo Sorrentino returns with "The Grace"

by Elisa Giudici, reporting once again from Venice 

Toni Servillo stars in "The Grace". Image credit: Andrea Pirrello

For a director who has already devoted two films to real and controversial Italian prime ministers (Giulio Andreotti and Silvio Berlusconi), two series to fictional popes, and one feature to the president of the Italian Republic (a largely ceremonial role compared to its French or American counterparts), La Grazia (The Grace) plays like a natural progression. Yet it still manages to surprise. What's particularly astonishing is how Sorrentino shot a €13 million production in some of Italy’s most symbolic locations for months—La Scala included, packed with extras—without a single leak...

Click to read more ...

Cannes Diary 08: Queer Cinema Highs & Lows

by Elisa Guidici

Straight couples and monogamous relationships seem to be an endangered species at this year's Cannes Film Festival, especially in the sidebar sections. We've seen a wealth of films centered on queer love stories, set in a more open and aware contemporary world. Yet, this world often still struggles with a perspective that doesn't immediately stiffen when behavior is framed as "deviant." Unfortunately, mere representation doesn't equate to consistent quality. To summarize the spectrum seen here at Cannes, let's dive into the most exciting film and the most disappointing currently tackling these themes...

Click to read more ...

Cannes Diary 05: "Die My Love" - A Tale of Two Comebacks

by Elisa Giudici

Die My Love was poised to mark two significant female comebacks, both artists seeking a powerful resurgence. One fully succeeded; the other, decidedly, did not, though pinpointing exactly what went wrong with the latter isn't straightforward.

Let's start with the winning bet: Jennifer Lawrence. After Causeway and No Hard Feelings (films that showcased good performances but had limited media impact), Lawrence has made a comeback worthy of her marquee name. Her performance here is a strong contender for festival awards and, looking ahead, could go far, especially since MUBI has acquired the film for international distribution...

Click to read more ...