By Roger Costa
SUSPENDED TIME
One of the most celebrated French filmmakers of our time, Olivier Assayas returns to good form with this delicate, funny and very personal look at family values and conflicts during lockdown. This is Assayas at his best tone, colors and moods. In fact, it’s his most accomplished project in years, and a sort of conclusion to the rhythms and gatherings of “Summer Hours” and “Non-Fiction”. It’s a fabulous and witty slapstick comedy.
This time he opens the doors of a country house where two very different brothers and their respective partners spend the long, bright days of lockdown sharing their anxieties and expectations.
The always efficient, hilarious and charismatic Vincent Macaigne leads the extraordinary cast as Assayas’ alter ego, Paul Berger, an eccentric filmmaker trying to finish a project amidst the obstacles of the circumstances. He spends his time arranging meetings online with his assistant, his therapist and compulsively trying to deep-clean pans and fixing cranky-sounded doors. He’s also desperately trying to meet up with his daughter, who’s living with her mother. His anxiety is only controlled by long walks with his partner, which is shot with poetical lenses by Assayas, capturing the landscape and the naturality of living on the basics. He and his brother Etienne (a dynamic Micha Lescot) are responsible for the best quotes in the film, disclosing their insecurities through commentaries on human behavior and reactions fueled by irreverence, sarcasm and intellectualism. “You keep buying from Amazon, you’ll help end small businesses”, he claims.
Tackling the challenges of the Pandemic’s lockdown, consumerism and fear, the rise of OCD, the economic effect of mega corporations and a panicking society, the director delivers a deeply empathic and observational study on family connection, the value of art and humanitarian aid and the natural process of adaptation.
(Music Box Films. Now Playing at Film at Lincoln Center. Go to https://www.filmlinc.org/ for details).
HIGHEST TO LOWEST
Master Spike Lee reunites with powerhouse star Denzel Washington for his ultra personal, timely and vibrant remake of Akira Kurosawa’s classic. Making his most intense and profound character study since “Inside Man”, Lee gets back on track, proving he is the most respected and accomplished Black filmmaker in America.
Washington gives another memorable, Oscar-caliber performance as a powerful music producer caught up in a criminal scheme. His godson is taken by abductors and demands an absurd $17.5 million ransom. As investigations go on, the narrative accurately throws in some hard truths about our modern behavior, moral dilemmas, consumerism, habits and socio-politics, asking what exactly are our essentials for happiness?
Those who can forgive the flaws of the first act of the film will engage in something extraordinary that follows. It’s a superb, sophisticatedly shot ode to New York City, the spirit of hustling, the hope that moves every new artist, and the spirit of looking for accomplishment amidst an upended generation. In the center of it all, there’s Denzel Washington’s gripping, complex, brutally cold character- one that counts in the books as one of his great roles. Plus, there’s the vibrant soundtrack and music enhancing the suspense when the film turns into an action thriller, and a dispute between righteousness and criminality.
A powerful statement on the racial and economic divisions of America, Lee’s reimagination of a classic is nothing less than an urgent and reflective masterpiece.
(Apple/A24. Now playing at Regal Union Square, Alamo Drafthouse and others).
THE TRUE STORY OF TAMARA DE LEMPICKA & THE ART OF SURVIVAL
Narrated by Anjelica Huston, this gorgeous documentary digs deep in the life of renowned Polish painter Tamara De Lempicka and is marvelously punctuated by her amazingly bold artworks.
Director Julie Rubio seductively captures the essence of the ahead-of-her-time bisexual artist, her early painting instructions, the spoiled childhood, her inspirational trip to Italy with her grandmother, her abusive marriage and mostly how she was able to recreate herself and survive during harsh political times, including the rise of Fascism in the 1940’s. An acclaimed selection at this year’s New York Jewish Film Festival, it’s an investigative and preciously narrated doc. Gathering accurate and insightful testimonies from family members, friends and admirers, including experts in the artworld, collectors and curators, Rubio crafts an enigmatic and tender look at one of the most revolutionary female artists of the 20th century.
(Opens Friday, August 22nd at New Plaza Cinemas. Go to https://newplazacinema.org/ for details).
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