Review: "Revoir Paris"

by Cláudio Alves

2023 is shaping out to be the year of Virginie Efira, at least as far as American audiences are concerned. Other People's Children blessed theaters in March, and Madeleine Collins will arrive in August, all lauded leading roles for the Belgian star. This month, Revoir Paris comes to satiate Efira fans, gleaming with the promise of César gold, for this picture finally won her the prize oft called the French Oscar. Written and directed by Alice Winocour in tribute to her brother, the film, also known as Paris Memories, considers the aftermath of a terrorist attack not unlike those that befell the French capital in November 2015…

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Review: Pietro Marcello's "Scarlet" is a picture out of time

by Cláudio Alves

Whether documentary or fiction, Pietro Marcello's films always convey the quality of artworks lost somewhere between modernity and an undefined past. 2019's much-lauded Martin Eden took this aspect to its peak, evoking the palpable authenticity of Neorealist cinema while playing fast and loose with history in its design. That film's relationship with the past circumvents reactionary nostalgia. The anachronistic scenography suggests an atemporal milieu, breaching the porous membrane separating the narrative's period and the viewer's sense of now. This further underlined the piece's political gestures, turning retrospective into a direct address. In comparison, Scarlet represents a more conventional object though it shares many qualities with its predecessor. 

Like Martin Eden, Scarlet is a literary adaptation looking back to Europe in the first half of the 20th century. The raw material is Alexander Grin's 1923 novella Scarlet Sails, once brought to the big screen by Soviet filmmaker Alexandr Ptushko. In Marcello's film, the Russian setting is transposed to rural Normandy…

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When the Cat's Away...

by Nathaniel

Nat and Cat

Dear readers, I know I've been largely absent from this site I created over 20 years ago. I have reasons... some of them quite boring involving finances / career so I won't bore you with those! In an effort to start writing again I'm opting for a diary like approach for the time being so you know I'm still alive and there's something to read, too. Today I am thinking about cats... which in truth I  think about as often as cinema. My own fuzzy son Nero (who I co-parent with his original owner, my beau of the last 3 years) is in the emergency room getting oxygen and fluid treatment. He took a sudden turn for the worse just before the NYC air turned post-apocalyptic movie looking due to wildfires in Canada apparently. Given the timing it's probably unrelated but it feels emotionally true...

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Cannes at Home: Days 9 & 10 – Champions of Festivals Past

by Cláudio Alves

Just as the favorites for the Palme d'Or seemed to have settled, here comes another barrage of rave reviews to muddy the waters. Not only is it impossible to predict what Östlund's jury will choose, but it seems like, every day, the critics elect a new title to champion. On the ninth day of the festivities, Trần Anh Hùng's Pot-au-Feu dazzled many with its gastronomic love affair, making comparisons to Babette's Feast. Then came Nanni Moretti's A Brighter Tomorrow, less acclaimed but blessed by enthusiast defenders. On the 10th day of Cannes, it was time for Wim Wenders' Perfect Days to ignite Best Actor speculation, while Catherine Breillat's Queen of Hearts remake became another instant frontrunner for the big prize. Will Last Summer take the Palme? 

For the Cannes at Home series, the focus shall be on these auteurs' past festival successes. The Scent of Green Papaya earned Hùng the Camera d'Or and Vietnam its only Oscar nomination. Moretti won the Best Director prize at Cannes '93 with Caro Diario, and Wim Wenders was the Palme victor of '84 with Paris, Texas. Finally, there's Breillat's hyper-controversial Fat Girl, a prizewinner from the 51st Berlinale…

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Cannes at Home: Days 7 & 8 – The Grand Tour of Europe

by Cláudio Alves

Victor Erice's "Close Your Eyes"

The last few days of the Cannes Film Festival have been a whirlwind. The titles premiering out of the main competition have given audiences reason to talk. Why on earth would Thierry Frémaux doom them to less prestigious sections? Victor Érice's grand return to feature filmmaking after a 30 years absence is the most glaring example. The director spoke out in an open letter about being blindsided by the programmer, having been persuaded to present Close Your Eyes at the Croisette under false pretenses. Less controversial is the announcement of a Fists in the Pocket English-language remake which will star Josh O'Connor, Kristen Stewart, and Elle Fanning. The director will be none other than Karim Aïnouz who is currently in competition against the original Fists in the Pocket director, Marco Bellocchio...

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