The Traitor
The Maxi Trial, which took place between 1986 and 1992 and saw the prosecution of nearly 350 members of the Cosa Nostra, remains an abiding fascination in contemporary Italian history – and, naturally enough, in Italian cinema too.
All posts by Marc Nelson
Vitalina Varela
The films Pedro Costa has made since 1997 are all testaments to a method of collaborative production. Marc Nelson reviews his latest.
Ema
EMA is noteworthy as a study of a great, possessive and possessing performance; and as a dance movie whose dance sequences relate to the substance of the narrative. But as a study of a character, EMA joins Larraín’s gallery of films about subjects he seeks to control – and cannot.
Focus On: It’s Always Fair Weather
IT’S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER, the last of the Stanley Donen-Gene Kelly collaborations, has the temerity to admit something we all know to be true: namely, that life can be a bit shit.
End of the Century
The fantasy of your life is also deeply a part of the life you actually lead. This idea is understood, played with, and ultimately outdone by Lucio Castro’s debut feature, END OF THE CENTURY.
About Endlessness
If ABOUT ENDLESSNESS is more of the same from Andersson, whose work is the strange offspring of Samuel Beckett and Jacques Tati, then it’s hard to see why that’s not altogether positive. Like Mae West said: “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”
The Truth
While THE TRUTH is a departure for Hirokazu Kore-eda, the tone and temperament of the film share a great deal with gentler works in the director’s filmography.
A Hidden Life
For all the exclamations that this latest picture marks ‘Terrence Malick’s return to form,’ or, more grossly, that ‘Terry’s back!’ Marc Nelson counters with this: he never left.
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Though LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT may enervate and even exasperate, it’s still far preferable to watch a filmmaker throw ideas into work which ultimately fail to ignite than watch umpteen films with no ideas at all. Marc Nelson reviews.
Burning Cane
BURNING CANE is directed by Phillip Youmans, a young filmmaker who demonstrates emotional fidelity to his subjects as well as an undeniable film sense coupled with a ready and substantial cinematic style. Marc Nelson reviews.