41st São Paulo Int'l Film Festival (2017)
This is a somewhat impressionistic ranking of the films I've watched at the 41st São Paulo Int'l Film Festival (41ª Mostra Internacional de Cinema). They are listed from best to worst, some of them have already been included in my Top 20 of the year.
Note 1: four films were added, which I watched at Mostra's "repescagem," that took place in the following week: Adriana's Pact, A Taxi Driver, The Divine Order, and O Beijo no Asfalto.
Note 2: O Beijo no Asfalto, directed by Brazilian actor Murilo Benício is actually his directorial debut. The film is the third Brazilian filmic adaptation of Nelson Rodrigues's play of the same name. Had it been listed on IMDb, the film would have been placed at second, right after The Square. Most probably the best Brazilian film I've seen this year.
A quick thread on Twitter: https://goo.gl/2quecK [Portuguese only] - The descriptions below are the translated tweets, sort of.
Note 1: four films were added, which I watched at Mostra's "repescagem," that took place in the following week: Adriana's Pact, A Taxi Driver, The Divine Order, and O Beijo no Asfalto.
Note 2: O Beijo no Asfalto, directed by Brazilian actor Murilo Benício is actually his directorial debut. The film is the third Brazilian filmic adaptation of Nelson Rodrigues's play of the same name. Had it been listed on IMDb, the film would have been placed at second, right after The Square. Most probably the best Brazilian film I've seen this year.
A quick thread on Twitter: https://goo.gl/2quecK [Portuguese only] - The descriptions below are the translated tweets, sort of.
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- DirectorRuben ÖstlundStarsClaes BangElisabeth MossDominic WestA prestigious Stockholm museum's chief art curator finds himself in times of both professional and personal crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit.Ruben Östlund and the comedy of awkwardness (it reminded me of Toni Erdmann sometimes, a tendency, maybe?). A great auteur for the future. The Square is as magnificent as Force Majeure. Better, actually. Two notes: first, it is the best Palme d'Or of the decade, hands down and hats off; second, a personal one, Sweden is a country so far and so different from Brazil but it is quite striking the amount of themes presented that are common to both, especially in these dark recent times. A must-see.
- DirectorJRAgnès VardaStarsAgnès VardaJRJeannine CarpentierDirector Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.It reminded me of Jacques Rancière's discussion on art and who is able to enjoy it. Inventiveness, remembrance, and great humor. Agnès Varda, Nouvelle Vague queen and one of the greatest French filmmakers ever; JR, a quite talented contemporary artist.
- DirectorAna UrushadzeStarsNato MurvanidzeRamaz IoselianiDimitri TatishviliA 50-year-old housewife, Manana, struggles with her dilemma - she has to choose between her family life and her passion, writing, which she had repressed for years - she decides to follow her passion and plunges herself into writing, sacrificing to it mentally and physically.It is less about the mishaps of being a writer (a woman writer, mind you) than the hindrances of being a woman, wife and mother. Superb mise-en-scène and great acting. I'm looking forward to watch Ana Urushadze's next films.
- DirectorFerenc TörökStarsPéter RudolfBence TasnádiTamás Szabó Kimmel12 August 1945, 11 AM. Two mysterious strangers dressed in black appear at the railway station of a Hungarian village. Within a few hours, everything changes.Suspense on tenterhooks with melodic cross-cutting. Powerful and beautiful mise-en-scène of a historical drama.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsFrances McDormandWoody HarrelsonSam RockwellA mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.Little did I know it would be an almost sold out screening. Definitely one of the best comedies of the year. It tackles a serious issue with acerbic humor. Frances McDormand is splendid. As Chico Fireman commented on his Twitter: "it renovated my faith on American indie."
- DirectorJohn Carroll LynchStarsHarry Dean StantonDavid LynchRon LivingstonLucky follows the spiritual journey of a 90-year-old atheist and the quirky characters that inhabit his off the map desert town."Realism is a thing." If viewers know a bit about Harry Dean Stanton's life, they'll get this right away. A reflection on old age and death seasoned with sagacious humor and with one of the best actors in movie history. Rest in peace, Harry Dean.
- DirectorHique MontanariStarsThalles CabralNélson DinizDouglas FlorenceYONLU is a fiction film based on the real story of a 16 year-old boy who, aided by the internet, won over the world with his talent for music and art. Fluent in five languages, YONLU had a network of virtual friends on all continents. However, no one suspected he was also taking part in a forum for potential suicides.Exquisite camerawork and formidable is the way with which the film manipulates the space and the unlikelihood. The best Brazilian film I saw at the festival. It is also, for me, a chance to know Yonlu's music better.
- DirectorEmmanuel GrasStarsKabwita KasongoLydie KasongoTrials tribulation dreams and aspirations of a young farmer earning a living making and selling charcoal in Congo.This is one of the best documentaries seen at the Mostra. Aesthetics of hunger with naturalistic tones highlighting neorealistic values.
- DirectorJonas Matzow GulbrandsenStarsAdam EkeliKathrine FagerlandJohn Olav NilsenIn this mystery drama we follow Aslak (6) in a quest for answers about recent tragic events. Valley of Shadows is a film in the tradition of the Scandinavian Gothic.Suspense ingredients that can put this film in good lists of folk horror. This is the first feature by Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen and I think that the guy has a good eye for composition.
- DirectorMarco DutraJuliana RojasStarsIsabél ZuaaMarjorie EstianoMiguel LoboClara, a lonely nurse from the outskirts of São Paulo, is hired by mysterious and wealthy Ana as the nanny for her unborn child. The two women develop a strong bond, but a fateful night changes their plans.There is less atmospheric suspense than Hard Labor, but the result is good anyway. However ludicrous the premise is, the film works quite well, especially when it combines genres. Would Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra be the new Daniela Thomas and Walter Salles? Well, they are completely different, but Rojas & Dutra took the podium.
- DirectorAndrey ZvyagintsevStarsMaryana SpivakAleksey RozinMatvey NovikovA couple going through a divorce must team up to find their son who has disappeared during one of their bitter arguments.It is neither a masterpiece as The Return, nor as great as Leviathan. It is, nevertheless, a grand drama by Zvyagintsev.
- DirectorAlexandros AvranasStarsEleni RoussinouChristos LoulisCélestine AposporisA couple hires a migrant to be a surrogate mother on their behalf, and take her to their beautiful home. While he is at work, the two women become more intimate.Alexandros Avranas delivers one more great film. It is not as jaw-dropping as Miss Violence, but it is on the radar. Kudos for the shot symmetries and the dangerous cobweb in which the characters are inscribed.
- DirectorRaúl RuizValeria SarmientoStarsLuis AlarcónPatricia RivadeneiraFrancisco ReyesThe film revolves around the concept of soap opera. Its structure is based on the assumption that Chilean reality does not exist, but rather is an ensemble of soap operas.Metalanguage, when creative, can be a comic ace. Raúl Ruiz's latest is Monty Pythonesque but it is theoretically tasty.
- DirectorXavier LegrandStarsLéa DruckerDenis MénochetThomas GioriaA broken marriage leads to a bitter custody battle with an embattled son at the centre.When the French are not shooting pathetic comedies, they make great parental dramas. I loved the resolution à la The Shining.
- DirectorHun JangStarsSong Kang-hoThomas KretschmannYoo Hae-jinA widowed father and taxi driver who drives a German reporter from Seoul to Gwangju to cover the 1980 uprising, soon finds himself regretting his decision after being caught in the violence around him.It works quite well with some genres -- comedy, drama, and action -- and, above all, it questions alienation and manipulation by information. A Taxi Driver is South Korea's selection for foreign-language category at the Oscars.
- DirectorDaniela ThomasStarsAdriano CarvalhoLuana NastasSandra CorveloniBrazil 1821. A rich cattle herder finds out that his wife dies in labor. Forced to live in the property with numerous African slaves, he marries his wife's niece. But he returns to droving, leaving his wife behind alone with the slaves.Just like the Brazilian movie Joaquim, Vazante displays beautiful shots; however, its narrative lacks energy. Plus, I think I was expecting a colonial critique as its undertaking.
- DirectorEtienne ComarStarsReda KatebCécile de FranceBea PalyaThe story of Django Reinhardt, famous guitarist and composer, and his flight from German-occupied Paris in 1943.A good biopic about one of the greatest jazz musicians. Reda Kateb kicks ass playing Django.
- DirectorJohnny AraújoGustavo BonaféStarsRenato GóesÍcaro SilvaMarina ProvenzzanoNarrates the formation of band Planet Hemp and the friendship between Marcelo D2 and Skunk.Impressive colorization about Marcelo D2 and Skunk friendship and the genesis of Planet Hemp. Also, the film tackles over racism, police brutality, AIDS, abortion, and MACONHA.
- DirectorKatrin RotheStarsInka FriedrichMaximilian BrauerHanns ZischlerThe Russian revolutionary year narrated from the point of view of the involved artists.A study of historiographic reconstruction from a very good and creative animation, even though it is withered by the orality of history.
- DirectorPhilippe GarrelStarsÉric CaravacaEsther GarrelLouise ChevillotteA young woman returns home after the breakdown of a relationship to discover her father is dating a woman her age.Less is more and sometimes Philippe Garrel gets things right. Simple is the way to tell and to show and the black and white photography is charming as it can be.
- DirectorSusanna NicchiarelliStarsTrine DyrholmJohn Gordon SinclairAnamaria MarincaThe last year of singer Nico's life, as she tours and grapples with addiction and personal demons.A claustrophobic aspect ratio that reflects part of the distress of the singer, the other part is left to be desired. For all it's worth, it is a good film.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsMohamad Ramezani PourCollection of 24 short four-and-a-half minute films inspired by still images, including paintings and photographs.Kiarostami aims at theory but his SHOTS backfire. There is a lot to say about his latest when you have in mind Jacques Aumont's L'oeil interminable: cinéma et peinture. I, for one, stick to Godard (and Aumont, accordingly...): "film begins with Griffith and ends with Kiarostami," and while Godard also claims that Lumière was the last impressionist painter, if only he saw 24 Frames, he would say that Kiarostami took Lumière's status.
- DirectorLissette OrozcoStarsAdriana RivasLissette OrozcoAn astonishing documentary about a woman who is looking about her aunt past during Pinochet's period in Chile.The film won Mostra's top prize, the best film, according to the jury, in the New Directors Competition. Good movie, but I saw better ones, especially O Beijo no Asfalto and Scary Mother. El Pacto de Adriana's highlight is definitely its personal touch.
- DirectorTerje ToomistuStarsValya HitchhikerAksel LampmannAlexander LipnitskyThe hippie movement that captivated hundreds of thousands of young people in the West had a profound impact on the other side of the Iron Curtain.Intriguing documentary about an intriguing culture. Besides the footage and interviews, the animations are perhaps the highlights of the film.
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsYunhee ChoKwon Hae-hyoKi JoabangThe married Bongwan leaves home in the dark morning and sets off to work. The memories of the woman who left weigh down on him. That day Bongwan's wife finds a love note, bursts into the office, and mistakes Areum for the woman who left.Hong Sang-soo in a nutshell: if you've seen one, you've seen them all. Minimalist mise-en-scène, long takes, drunk people, and betrayal.