Ex Machina (2015)

Directed by: Alex Garland
Country: UK

Movie Review: Novelist-turned-director, Alex Garland, has a fantastic debut with “Ex Machina”, an unfussy offbeat sci-fi thriller whose special effects, in its simple and efficacious forms, are much more attractive than the mostly high-budgeted films within the same genre. Mr. Garland categorically solidifies his tendency for inventive screenwriting, and with this penetrating robotic adventure overcomes his past written compositions, such as “28 Days Later” “Dredd”, “Never Let Me Go” and “Sunshine”. The story brings a dedicated young programmer, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), to an isolated house in the mountains (only accessible by helicopter) where he’s going to evaluate an imprisoned, sophisticated android, Ava (Alicia Vikander), which according to its creator, is capable to feel and respond to real emotions. The creator and host, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), a muscle builder with increasing alcohol problems, built up a dwelling house whose high security is vulnerable to occasional power outages. The super advanced Ava takes advantage of these few minutes to manipulate the fascinated Caleb and set him against the apparently not so artless inventor. What does she intend to? At this point, everything is shrouded in a disquieting enigma, and even if the story can be partly predictable in its conclusions (it was for me), the film works well, flowing at a steady pace and extracting a disturbing chilliness from each action. Quietly, it gets into your mind, producing cold sweats with its emotionless stabs, and then sliding into your senses with an ending that confronts freedom and claustrophobia. Super performances and a praiseworthy direction, were key to turning “Ex Machina” into an accomplished work. The sensual robots bestow a nice touch.

The Fool (2014)

Directed by: Yuriy Bykov
Country: Russia

Movie Review: The multiple awarded “The Fool”, from emergent director Yuriy Bykov, is a pulsing drama that takes a bitter look in contemporary Russia and its socio-political problems. The hero here, in the true sense of the word, is Dima Nikitin (Artyom Bistrov), a modest, yet smart plumber who doesn’t hide his will to go further in his career. He’s studying hard to be a civil engineer, even knowing it’s going to be strictly necessary to bribe someone in the governmental department to take a position of that kind. Family life - with his wife and little son - is far from being perfect, since they still live with his parents, confined to an old house that doesn’t reunite the best conditions. His untouchable honesty, a virtue he gained from his hopeless father, will have a price after a call to inspect a burst pipe in District A, the most problematic neighborhood in town. A crack that goes from the first to the ninth floor of the decrepit building clearly indicates that it might fall in the next hours. Promptly, Dima reports the fact to the mayor, Nina Galaganova (Natalya Surkova was brilliant), who was in a degrading party, celebrating her birthday with her corrupt staff. With 820 people in danger, she shows concern about the problem and determination in solving it, but will the ‘system’ allow her to do the right thing? “The Fool” counts with exceptional performances, exhibiting enough intrigue, and uncovering the moral filth hidden under the carpet of bureaucracy and unreasonable solutions. It’s also packed with miserable scenarios of poverty, violence and drugs, and all the painful realities that are neglected in order to feed the wealth of the highest Russian patents. Yes, lamentably in some shabby countries, honesty and integrity are mistaken for foolishness.

The Overnighters (2014)

Directed by: Jesse Moss
Country: USA

Movie Review: “The Overnighters” is a pertinent documentary that painfully observes the incidents occurred in Willistone, North Dakota, during the booming oil industry, which attracted a large number of people looking for a job, just to realize on site that basic needs such as housing was a mirage. Pastor Jay Reinke is the man that tries to ease the situation for this desperate flock in search of a better life, sheltering most of them in the parking lot of the Concordia Lutheran Church, for which he is responsible. What should have been a temporary measure, soon is extended for several months and then years, provoking the discontentment of the population that felt invaded and became fearful of the rampant increase of violent crimes and drug trafficking. We are introduced to some of the problematic men who arrived; some of them are former sexual offenders, major or minor crooks, or just simple workers whose hope is to give better conditions to their families. The 57-year-old pastor is seen as a compassionate angel, listening to everyone’s concerns and afflictions, and trying to give them the support they need to continue their dreams. Particular little dreams that, all together, widen the film's coverage to a frustrating, illusional ‘American Dream’. For the end, the pastor’s noble struggle collapses and the docudrama unfolds to something deeper, even disquieting about the man who deserved praise for the tireless work done in favor of people, especially the discriminated ones. Documentarian Jesse Moss, who visually was nothing brilliant, punches our faces with the final confessions and revelations, remembering us that there is no such thing as an infallible man. Luck or not, he nailed it.

Tokyo Tribe (2014)

Directed by: Shion Sono
Country: Japan

Movie Review: Shion Sono’s latest, blends street gang action with hip-hop musical, and the effect is no less than effervescent. Based on Santa Inoue’s manga series of the same title, “Tokyo Tribe” opens with a kid on top of a slum’s barrack in Bukuro, saying to another: ‘when I grow up I’ll bring hope and joy to this city’. As you can imagine, the words hope and joy hardly fit here, and not even a minute later, we can witness the decadent reality of these colorful streets – drug trafficking, prostitution, crime, violence, and police negligence. We are introduced to the numerous rival gangs (called tribes) that control the different areas of Tokyo at the sound of rap tunes. From all the 23 existent gangs, Wu-Ronz and Musashino Saru got more attention. Wu Ronz’s bosses, the cannibal assassins and sex exploiters, Lord Buppa and his son Nkoi who uses sculptural women as his furniture, together with the savage expert in blades, Mera, are planning to destroy the remaining tribes and take total control of the city. After Musashino Saru’s leader has been killed, is Kai, Mera’s mortal foe, who will assume the leadership of his gang and try to unite the tribes for a bloody street battle without precedent. Among the large number of characters, some are memorable: sexy kung-fu fighter Erika, filthy grotesque Lord Buppa, and the ultra-brutal corpulent warrior who are constantly asking for sauna. “Tokyo Tribe” it’s pure fun from start to finish, a hive of lust, power and crime, depicted with a furious hilarity that I would never think possible in Sono. The songs are great, the digital treatment of the images is perfect, and the camera gets as wild as the gang members. Flashy, funny, insolent and vicious… this is Sono at his best.

71 (2014)

Directed by: Yann Demange
Country: UK

Movie Review: With experience in TV series since 2007, the French-born director raised in the UK, Yann Demange, gives us sufficient motives to expect great deeds in the future, since his first feature, “’71”, is a breathtaking political action thriller, skillfully shot, competently structured, and filled with creepy tense moments. The story, set in Dublin, 1971, follows the 20-year-old private soldier, Gary Hook (Jack O’Connell), member of a Derbyshire security squad assigned to patrol the rioting streets that host two enemy political factions during the time of ethno-nationalist conflicts known as ‘The Troubles’. During a turmoil involving the crowd, Hook is forced to run after a young boy who stole a gun from one of his squad mates. Separated from his unit, he gets caught by merciless separatists, managing to escape death in a miraculous way. Severely wound and marked to die by the radicals, he has no other choice than follow his intuitions and trust a few local strangers, to survive in the perilous narrow streets of the city. Demange reveals a tremendous ability to deal with a plot that leaves no ambiguities, creating a nightmarish adventure, which was carried out with confidence, stirring motion and objectivity. Its appalling images strike us with brutal actions and realistic scenarios, brought into existence by efficacious handheld camera movements that increase the chaotic atmosphere lived, as well as the fear and pain endured by the brave soldier impersonated by Jack O’Connell. This is the same O’Connell who, earlier this year, left me well impressed in “Starred Up”. This is a fantastic debut from Yann Demange who was granted with a prestigious special mention from the ecumenical jury at Berlin.

Wild Tales (2014)

Directed by: Damian Szifron
Country: Argentina / Spain

Movie Review: As the title implies, the Argentine “Wild Tales” is a collection of six wild short stories that work fine in its own terms, and smartly end up composing a bigger picture that bestows so much to ponder and appreciate. Away from feature-length film for nine years, Damian Szifron proves once again his skills as writer and filmmaker, creating a social-political satire that feels simultaneously outraging and hilarious. The shortest of the stories takes place onboard of a plane, and its presented even before the opening credits, giving the exact notion of what we should expect next: impetuous stories of vengeance in face of injustice, social discrimination, greed, corruption, and betrayal. In truth, crazy coincidences and insane behaviors continues in the next takes: a waitress serves the presumptuous man responsible for the death of her father; a man driving an Audi insults a driver of a modest car in a deserted dusty road; an engineer becomes jobless and struggles with divorce after a sequence of incidents with origin in his towed car; a wealthy father tries to use an innocent employee and negotiate with his greedy lawyer, in order to avoid the arrest of his irresponsible son; finally, a bride finds out during her wedding party that she was cheated by the groom, getting totally out of control and perpetrating a terrible vengeance. Everything is wildly depicted and in a pace that never slows down, but the really good thing in “Wild Tales” is that every tale is plausible and consequently every situation feels real, so no room for fantasies here, in spite of the saturated sarcasm. Pedro Almodóvar and his brother Agustin co-produced, while Ricardo Darin, Erica Rivas and Leonardo Sbaraglia stood out from the cast.

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)

Directed by: David Zellner
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Kumiko the Treasure Hunter” presents as much absurdity as moments of fun, becoming the most interesting film of David Zellner, who co-wrote with his brother Nathan. The story follows a depressed Tokyo woman, Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi), who after discovering an old videotape of Coen Brothers’ “Fargo” in her frequent treasure hunts, gets obsessed with a particular scene of the film where Steve Buscemi buries a suitcase full of money in a precise spot of the North Dakota’s frozen city of Fargo. Impelled by the film’s ‘based on a true story’ and an eager necessity of adventure, nothing can stop Kumiko from pursuing the forgotten suitcase of Fargo, a treasure she’s convinced to be real. Discontent with her solitary life, as well as unmotivated as office clerk, she just regrets to get rid of her only companion Bunzo, a fluffy brown bunny, before depart to the US without notice, leaving her complaining mother in a verge of a nervous breakdown. Along the route to her destination she will meet a couple of strange men who welcome her at the Minnesota airport; an old woman who offered house, food and a much estimated book of James Clavell’s novel ‘Shogun’; and a courteous policeman who offers his help but ultimately lets her down. In the last stage, the resolute Kumiko is by herself, wrapped in a stole blanket she showed no fear of facing the bitter cold and accomplish her mission. The surprising finale guarantees us that “Kumiko The Treasure Hunter” is fictional, and therefore everything can happen. An exceptional direction, genuine performance by Kikuchi, and the beautiful photography by Sean Porter (“It Felt Like Love”), helped to shove us into this delicately humorous adventure.

The Voices (2014)

Directed by: Marjane Satrapi
Country: USA / Germany

Movie Review: Iranian graphic novelist, illustrator and filmmaker, Marjane Satrapi, nailed it again with her new feature film, assuming fearlessly her own ways of expression, and showing she’s comfortable in other genres besides comedy, drama or illustrative fantasy. In “The Voices”, she makes a confident incursion on horror, and the result brought as much of amusing moments as horrific. Everything wrapped in an almost graphical style and covered in tones of fantastic, characteristic aspects already used in her previous works: “Persepolis” and “Chicken with Plums”. The story, set in the small town of Milton, evolves around Jerry (Ryan Reynolds), the new employee of Milton Fixture & Faucet, whose pink uniform and smiling face make us completely unsuspicious about the treacherous psychological state he is about to get into. To make the things clearer, Jerry is a disturbed, psychotic man who is being medicated since childhood, after a terrible experience that impelled him to take his mother’s life. Undecided about taking the pills, he keeps having long and weird conversations with his pets: Mr. Whiskas, the cat; and Bosco, the dog. While the dog calms him down by praising his good nature, the sardonic cat pulls out his darker instincts, awakening the killer in him. Jerry falls in love more than one time, showing he wants to change and lead a normal life, but fortuitous circumstances will trigger savage actions, which he momentarily regrets but recovers quickly enough to go on living in his delusional world. The film never slows down, maintaining a balanced pace and solid coordination between light drollery and heavy gore. Ryan Reynolds, invoking Alan Bates in his performance, was the key for success, strongly backed up by the rest of the cast.

Ned Rifle (2014)

Directed by: Hal Hartley
Country: USA

Movie Review: Hal Hartley, faithful to his own style, haunts us with “Ned Rifle”, the third part of the trilogy that started with “Henry Fool” in 1997, and had its middle part in 2006 with “Fay Grim”. Liam Aiken is Ned Rifle Grim, a chaste religious young man devoted to God, who decides to chase down and kill his own father, Henry Fool, the one responsible for the ruin of his mother, Fay, who was sentenced to life in prison as traitor of the nation. The only one who knows his evil intentions is his best friend and spiritual guide, Rev. Daniel Garden who helps him with money but gets shocked with the possibility of his protégé commit a mortal sin. Ned is advised by his mom to go to speak with his uncle Simon, a poet who now wants to be an online stand-up comedian, in order to obtain more information about his father’s whereabouts. At Simon’s place, he bumps into a graduate student, Susan, who happens to be the same girl who was molested by the mad Henry Fool when she was only 13. Obsessed with Henry, and with a past marked by violence and psychological disturbance, she is also trying to reach him for dubious reasons. The chain effect is hilarious – Ned following Henry; Susan following Ned; Simon following Susan - and even believing that we have seen something similar before, the plot still casts some motivating twists. With funny dark sarcasm and a stirring climax, “Ned Rifle” finishes the trilogy in big, being a Hal Hartley’s comedy in every sense. Sometimes obscene, sometimes literary, Rifle can be also defined as offbeat and idiosyncratic. In spite of living by itself, it will be better appreciated by the viewers who are acquainted with the two previous chapters.

Mommy (2014)

Directed by: Xavier Dolan
Country: Canada

Movie Review: “Mommy” proves that there’s a young Canadian filmmaker out there named Xavier Dolan who has a lot to give to contemporary cinema. His past dramas evinced a strong sexuality component associated to homosexuality, but “Mommy” can be seen as a slight change of direction, maintaining however the high dramatic levels of its predecessors. The story follows Diane Després (Anne Dorval), a widower who gets his hyperactive 16 year-old son, Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon), back from a juvenile center for troubled youths, after he has set the cafeteria on fire causing a lot of material and human damages. Steve is plagued with frequent raging attacks that not even his mother, the person he cherishes most, is completely immune. The relationship between them is closer to brother and sister than mother and son, and Diane doesn’t seem to have the ability or strength to deal with her son’s unpredictable behavior. When the situation seemed out of control, some hope rises in the horizon when Kyla (Suzanne Clément), a teacher in a forced sabbatical leave, answers affirmatively to Diane’s call for help, giving the desirable assistance that she needed to handle Steve. Not without some manipulation, “Mommy” still presents an enormous emotional weight, for which contributed the superb performances by the trio of actors. How artful from Dolan setting up a sequence of mesmerizing, unfocused images to mirror Diane’s dream of hope for the future, to suddenly discontinue it with a painful reality that would lead us to a devastating finale. Elaborated at a vehement pace, “Mommy is also visually bold, making use of empathic close-ups and expressive detailed scenes, beautifully shot, in its majority, in a non-standard square ratio of 1:1.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Directed by: Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement
Country: New Zealand

Movie Review: Coming from New Zealand and set up as a horror mockumentary, “What Do We Do in the Shadows” is a vampire parody written, directed and starred by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. A promising partnership since the former attained international success with his 2010’s drama “Boy”, while the latter, as comedian and multi-instrumentalist, brings some inspiration on both aspects. Bluntly shot with handheld camera but with appealing results, the film follows four vampire housemates – Viago, Vlad, Deacon, and Petyr (an accurate replica of Nosferatu) - whose sanguinary lives are shaken by the arrival of a reckless young vampire called Nick. With exception of the super-old Petyr who likes to stay in his tomb, the others like to dress well, feel sexy, play music and stroll around the town where they try to be invited for nightclubs, but Nick cannot restrain from drawing attention to himself. This behavior causes problems between the group of friends who rely on Deacon’s ‘slave’, Jackie, to lure humans, preferably virgins, to their decrepit mansion. Vampire hunters, the burning sunlight, and occasional confrontations with a group of werewolves, are other funny factors to be seen. Clever and hilarious, “What Do We Do in the Shadows” shows how to do a lot with so little resources, and my only remark goes to the inefficient light that comes out of the outdoors’ nocturnal scenes. Actually, it’s curious that another vampire film called “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” also had captivated me with its artsy formalism, in a completely opposite approach. Despite the washed-out genre, creativity speaks louder!

Appropriate Behavior (2014)

Directed by: Desiree Akhavan
Country: UK

Movie Review: Charming, funny and extremely entertaining, “Appropriate Behavior” marks a delightful directorial debut on feature film for Desiree Akhavan, an upstate New Yorker from Iranian descent who had directed the lesbian-themed short TV series “The Slope” in 2010. Akhavan also stars here, keenly giving life to Shirin, a Brooklyn-based bisexual Persian-American video artist who is trying to adopt the correct postures in life to avoid embarrassing her Iranian parents and traditions, at the same time that nourishes her joy of life and seeks the proper confidence to accept herself as she is. These goals, complicated by themselves, get even more compromised when Shirin breaks up with her girlfriend, Maxine (Rebecca Henderson). Feeling dead inside, she finds some solace in talking with her friend, Crystal (Halley Feiffer), while the new job as teacher of young kids seems not to suit her at all. The character of Shirin is very well observed and portrayed, especially by genuinely trying to pass a false assurance in her actions when in fact she’s just trying to gain confidence to move on. Open to new experiences, Shirin will embark in a few weird encounters while the story occasionally winds back to let us know what led to the rupture with Maxine at her birthday party. Smartly, Akhavan embraces a concise humor by making use of efficient jokes in a straightforward manner, but actually the story puts a nervous tension in almost every scene where intense feelings and an associated discomfort can touch sadness. It was indeed an appropriate approach. I’m eager to see in what direction Akhavan will move next; will she keep this creativity within the sexuality theme? For now, it’s proved she swims comfortably in this pool.

A Most Violent Year (2014)

Directed by: J.C. Chandor
Country: USA

Movie Review: J.C. Chandor continues building an admirable reputation among modern American filmmakers/writers. After aiming at the financial industry in “Margin Call” and to enrapture us with a survival tale in “All is Lost”, he now turns his eyes into a violent New York City during the 80’s, building up a story that involves corruption and the urge of thriving at any cost among fierce competitors. Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) immigrated to the US with the American Dream in his head. In a short time, he was able to make his oil company grow, thanks to his confidence, dedication and fearless posture. However, the city becomes more and more violent, and his trucks are easy targets for the organized thugs who beat up the drivers that oppose them. At the same time that he tries to negotiate a better protection with the same police that are leading a two-year investigation against him for fraud and tax evasion, Abel sees himself in a desperate position when the purchase of a strategic property whose location can solve his problems, becomes suddenly at stake due to the bank’s refusal to make a loan. Counting with his reliable lawyer (Albert Brooks) and particularly with his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), Abel will be forced to take a sinuous path that will get him to a result, which according to him ‘was never in question’. Morally challenging and with a narrative devoid of missteps, “A Most Violent Year” is more concerned about negotiating and conspiracy than presenting thrilling action. It portrays with accuracy an enigmatic man whose worst fear is to fail, well backed up by his prepotent wife who doesn’t know what the word ‘clean’ means. The tightness of the script, a mature approach and fantastic performances are good motives to watch this solid crime drama.

To Kill a Man (2014)

Directed by: Alejandro Fernandez Almendras
Country: Chile / France

Movie Review: The third feature from Chilean director Alejandro Fernandez Almendras, “To Kill a Man”, is a relentless tale of revenge that raises moral questions. Jorge (Daniel Candia), an honest employer at the forest research center of Santa Julia, lives happily with his wife, son, and daughter. Their quietness will be shaken after Kalule (Daniel Antivilo), the depraved leader of a street gang of rascals that populate the neighborhood, starts to provoke him, stealing his diabetes measurement device. Later, he shots Jorge’s son when he was trying to claim the device back. To avoid being sentenced to many years in prison, Kalule shoots himself in the belly, saying in court he acted in self-defense. One year and a half later, Kalule gets out of prison determined to turn Jorge’s life into hell. Frightened, Jorge and his wife decide to go to the police and report the various incidents, but the inability of the authorities to deal with the situation, drive the family crazy. The patience of the good Christian man reaches its limits when his daughter is caught and touched indecently by Kalule, in her way home from school. From then on, Jorge is forced to do justice by his hands. Will he be able to cope with his conscience afterwards? Psychologically disturbing, “To Kill a Man” is another art-house thriller that becomes an admirable alternative to the North-American industry of the genre. A simple, yet absorbing plot, practical direction, capable performances, and thorough image compositions, were in the basis of its favorable outcomes.

The Duke of Burgundy (2014)

Directed by: Peter Strickland
Country: UK

Movie Review: For me there’s no doubt that “The Duke of Burgundy” is the best film from cult British filmmaker Peter Strickland. If his debut “Katalin Varga” surprised me in a positive way, “Berberian Sound Studio”, presented as an aesthetic exercise on audiovisuals, was a sort of disappointment. His latest work is a peculiar love story between two women, filled with eroticism, humor, and intrinsic tension in every move. Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna) are lovers who inhabit a fantastic medieval villa somewhere in Europe. Both nurture a special taste for embellishing their relationship with repetitive rituals of humiliation and pleasure, where the former plays the dominant housemaster and the latter always impersonates a submissive maid. In the course of time, Cynthia starts to show a certain discomfort with her staging character, giving signs that she wants a more conventional and stable relationship. Evelyn, in turn, seems more and more addicted in these little representations, which always end the same way. Besides their private secret life, both are entomology enthusiasts, having very few contacts outdoors. However, in one of those contacts, jealous will put their relationship in jeopardy. Like as in Strickland’s previous films, the style adopted and atmosphere created are of great importance, bringing to my mind Jacques Rivette’s “Celine and Julie Go Boating” for a couple of times. Expressive performances and cinematography, in addition to the amazing score by Cat’s Eyes, are other factors that contributed to turn “The Duke of Burgundy” into a sensual, audacious romantic-drama of elegant articulation.

Two Days, One Night (2014)

Directed by: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Country: Belgium / others

Movie Review: The talented Dardenne brothers never needed complex ideas to make an interesting film and “Two Days, One Night” proves exactly that, following the steps of “The Kid With a Bike”. The realism of every scene is almost everything they need to engage us in their contemporary stories where a lot of emotional stuff is going on, compelling us to identify ourselves with the misfortunes and joys of the characters. After going through a torturous depression, Sandra is apt to return to work. However, she is informed that her future in the solar panel factory where she works, will be decided by her 16 co-workers, who will vote to choose between keep her in the company or receive a deserved annual bonus for their hard work. Sandra has exactly two days and one night to talk personally with every one of them, explaining how important, to her and her family, is to keep that job. It’s noteworthy how the Dardennes easily manage to play with the viewers’ conscience and put us in a situation where it would be hard to make a choice, in case we had too. On the one hand, I felt sympathy for Sandra, thinking she deserved her place back in the company, while on the other hand, I understood that for some, a €1000 bonus, which would pay a year of gas and electricity, could be difficult to decline. Reactions and motives were distinct, making the unstable Sandra oscillate in her depressive state. Marillon Cotillard, even playing a depressive role, was capable to enchant, in her best performance since “La Vie en Rose”. The brothers’ direction was outstanding, preferring a modest but realistic closer look into the situation, in detriment of visually intense scenarios or beautiful background landscapes. Socially pertinent and simultaneously composed of sadness and triumph, “Two Days, One Night” definitely, is a drama to be watched.

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

Directed by: Olivier Assayas
Country: France / others

Movie Review: “Clouds of Sils Maria”, the compelling new drama from the acclaimed director Olivier Assayas, gathers all the necessary elements to provide a focused, well structured, and mesmerizing session of contemporary cinema. We follow Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche), a celebrated actress who crosses the Alps on a train in the company of her dedicated assistant and friend, Valentine (Kristen Stewart). They’re heading to Zurich where she’s going to homage and receive a prize in the name of Whilem Melchior, the director who launched her career when she was 18. ‘Maloja Snake’ was the name of the play where she represented flawlessly a young girl who seduces and then destroys an older woman. Her plan to visit Wilhem at his place in Sils Maria after the event is thwarted by the news of his death. Soon she forgets about it, since Klaus, a new emerging director, invites her to participate in his version of the same play, but this time in the role of the older woman. Even feeling weird about it, Maria accepts, not without developing a strong curiosity about Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloe Grace Moretz), the polemic young actress who will be playing her former role. Assayas sets up a world of cynicism, moods, direct confrontations and put up postures, at the same time that insecurities, indecisions, and even superstitions, give shape to Maria’s character, in an absorbing, realistic way. Suddenly, aging became so difficult for Maria whose close relationship with Valentine is visibly affected by the play. “Clouds of Sils Maria” feels spontaneous, entangling us deeply along its perceptive observations.

Mr. Turner (2014)

Directed by: Mike Leigh
Country: UK

Movie Review: Beautifully conceived and thoroughly engrossing, “Mr. Turner” is a biographical drama about the Romantic landscape painter known as ‘the painter of light’, J.M.W. Turner, brilliantly impersonated by Timothy Spall who is habitual presence in director Mike Leigh’s films (“All or Nothing”, “Topsy Turvy”, “Secrets & Lies”). Turner, being recognized as a talented painter, suffers a lot after the death of his father who had been working as his studio assistant and lived with him for 30 years. Criticized by many, Turner was a music lover and an interested learner in general. However, his behavior baffles us with frequent rude manners and particularly a total contempt about his daughters, opting for painting shipwrecks instead of going to his daughter’s funeral. In the other hand, he gets deeply touched by a 22-year-old whore who lies down on a bed, not for sex, aspect reserved for his maid, but for posing for his new painting. Mike Leigh, as usual, takes us into Turner’s life with rigor and an accuracy on details that makes all the difference. It might seem exhaustive or overzealous to some viewers, but Leigh’s great deed was to make such an attractive biopic of a repulsive character who spat in his paintings, emitted grotesque noises, and evinced a lot of reproachable behaviors. “Mr.Turner” benefits from an immaculate direction, outstanding production design, dazzling cinematography, and the excellence of Spall’s performance, fact that gave him the prize of best actor at Cannes. Avoiding sentimental tricks and other eccentric schemes, this is a film that Turner himself would classify as ‘exceedingly compelling!’ in its overall simplicity.

Wild (2014)

Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée
Country: USA

Movie Review: Another great accomplishment for Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée (“Dallas Buyers Club”), “Wild”, was written by Nick Hornby (“An Education”), adapted from Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir of the same name. In 1994, Cheryl decides to hike 1,100 miles alone on the Pacific Crest Trail, an adventure of liberation and self-discovery that served to better cope with a complicated past. Along the way she is haunted by memories of a contented good mother (deceased due to cancer), a violent alcoholic father, a reckless brother, an accessible ex-husband, and some uncomfortable experiences driven by heroin and damaging behaviors. Making justice to its title, the film starts very frantically, with Reese Witherspoon - very convincing as Cheryl - getting angrily mad after losing a toenail and a boot in the mountains. The film keeps showing her untamed posture for a while until she calms down in the last moments of redemption and confidence regained. Along the journey a large number of strangers cross her way. Some of them are good souls and helpful, others are tricky and threatening, some others are TPC hikers as well, however the last encounter was memorable as she bumps into a kid and his grandmother in the most touching moment of the film. Vallée was brilliant on direction, focusing the fatigue and physical sores of a harsh journey that has simultaneously the aptitude to heal the mind. “Wild” can be as much rewarding for the viewer as it certainly was for Cheryl, and together with “Tracks”, also released this year, becomes another engaging biographical drama depicting a solitary journey along the nature. Not to miss!

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

Directed by: Ana Lily Amirpour
Country: USA

Movie Review: A solitary woman walking alone and freely on the streets of Iran would be very unlikely and dangerous. However, Ana Lily Amirpour makes it possible in Bad City, a fictional ghost town where a mysterious woman (Sheila Vand) silently stalks people to violently suck the blood from their necks. In a completely different context, Arash (Arash Marandi), struggles with the debts incurred by his inactive, drug-addicted father (Marshall Manesh), being forced to pay a clownish local smuggler with his own precious car. Arash and the vampire-woman will meet in hilarious circumstances – she was wandering at night on a skateboard on her way home, while Arash, coming from a party, was lost and under the effect of drugs, dressed as Dracula, and staring at a street lamp. Not particularly scary, “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” is tagged as the first Iranian vampire Western, and lives from its suggestive black-and-white visuals, rigor in terms of plot and its coincidences, and great humor. It also worked fine as an (almost) impossible romance, taking advantage of an inviting international/local soundtrack and committed performances. The only aspect that Amirpour could do better has to do with the choice of constantly changing the camera’s depth of field, where the consecutive focus/unfocus shots became a bit repetitive after a while. Despite we’ve never been told how and why this woman became a vampire, the truth is that when the credits began to roll on the screen, I wanted to see more. Expressive visuals integrate a contemporary uncommon Iranian tale that takes vampires into a completely new level.