By Roger Costa
YOUNG MOTHERS
The masters of contemporary neo-realism, the Dardenne Brothers returns with another humanistic tale about the hurdles of the working class and minorities in Belgium. Winner of the Best Screenplay Award at last year’s Cannes, where it also took the Ecumenical Jury Award, this poignant and heartbreaking drama follows the challenges of five teen girls as they navigate unwanted pregnancy, rejection, addiction and temptation while living in a shelter. Filled with emotional tension, and the directors’ usual suspense and moral dilemmas, as well as their unique technique with non-professional actors, this is among their most compelling and efficient portraits of modern instability and generational conflicts. A very touching and heartbreaking humanist masterpiece.
(A Music Box Films Release. Opens Friday, January 9th at IFC Center).
OBEX
Following the success of the indie hit “Strawberry Mansion” (which he co-directed with Kentucky Audley), writer/director Albert Birney explores the early days of technology manipulation with this lowkey, fashionably retro fantasy trip. Shot in a haunting B&W and efficiently designed as a Gothic experiment influenced by Lynch and Cronenberg, Birney delivers something utterly weird and inventive, an intriguingly original vintage sci-fi. Its well-elaborated structure of set design, sound and the Kafkaesque angles creates a perfect balance between the mystery, the horror and the satire. Birney plays a secluded man who’s unable to social relate and spends time on his old computers and games in the company of his dog. One day, he gets this new game offering him an immersive experience. As he explores it, he manages to transport himself into such world where he must cross dangerous castles and forests, encounter with eccentrics and ghosts, partner with a tv-headed guy, battle evil forces, and defy his condition to rescue his missing dog. That world reflects everything he has been avoiding or missing. Though the film carries a singular, odd and unapologetic tone, it accurately looks at relevant issues such as social paranoia related to isolation, tech and industrial manipulation, loneliness and insecurity. Its deliriously fantastical construction, inspired by late 80’s video games, results in a finely crafted and executed sci-fi dark comedy. The director also manages well its effects resources, demonstrating command of the visual language, which flirts with the absurd, the weirdness of tech geeks and characters from the beyond.
An acclaimed selection at last year’s Sundance, where it premiered contending for the Next Innovator Award, this is a refreshing and satisfyingly crazy journey.
(An Oscilloscope Laboratories Release. Opens January 9th at IFC Center, NYC).
MIDAS MAN
Award-winning director Joe Stephenson delivers his best film yet with this crowd-pleasing and vibrant biopic on Brian Epstein, the furniture shop owner turned into the smartest music manager in the world when he meets a boy band called The Beatles in early 1960’s Liverpool. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd is fabulous as Epstein, embodying his character with charisma, soft humor and subtle melancholy, all while creating a direct contact to the audience- he constantly looks at the camera to emphasize some key situations. Focusing on his ahead-of-his-time behavior, being Jewish, artsy, gay and a music lover at a dangerous time, co-writer and director Stephenson conceives a relatable and compassionate story about an incredible showbiz veteran. He also does a great job delivering prompt facts and curious notes on The Beatles’ ascension, such as the historical The Ed Sullivan Show career-making appearance (an awesome cameo by Jay Leno), and the controversy around their comments about Jesus’ popularity compared to theirs, which resulted in many fans burning their records and their complicated private relationships. Punctuated by upbeat musical numbers perfectly transporting us to that era of reckless youth and rock ‘n roll, the result is a contagiously fun, wonderfully performed (Emily Watson and Eddie Marsan round the cast and are over the top as Epstein’s parents) and passionate account on the sacrifices, challenges and ultimate success made in the name of mainstream art.
(A Menemsha Films Release. Opens Friday, January 16th at New Plaza Cinema. Screenwriter Brigit Grant in person at selected screenings).
LA GRAZIA
Italian master filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino has made a name for himself with gorgeous films such as the Oscar winner “The Great Beauty”, “Il Divo” and “Youth”. His latest, a meditative dark comedy about existentialism, memory, prudence and aging, marks the return of his frequent collaborator, the great Toni Servillo as the leading man. A Venice selection, where it premiered to acclaim and earned Servillo the Best Actor Award, the film is seen through an authority perspective facing various challenges before his retirement/resigning but mostly haunted by his late wife’s infidelity and his incessant quest for the truth. Servillo is remarkable and fascinating as the widowed Italian President caught up on a fragile situation while deeply divided by the pressures to make euthanasia legal and whether to pardon or not two key people who had killed their respective partners.
The stunning cinematography by Daria D’Antonio (responsible for Sorrentino’s recent films, including “The Hand of God”), enhances the dreamlike narrative, giving it splendid bright shots on natural landscapes and blending anxiety and magical realism in heady sequences. The art direction and score are also impeccable. Actress Anna Ferzetti is a revelation as Dorotea, the determined and cautionary daughter and advisor of the President. Her firm presence, and the surprising emotional tone of her interactions will leave you breathless. Influenced by Bunuel and Fellini and punctuated by a deeply affecting melancholy, especially as the President ponders on his inability to dream, and recalls how his wife used to detail hers, Sorrentino delivers an astoundingly lyrical and utterly urgent politically resonant fable about power and the inevitable fragilities of life. A must-see!
(A MUBI Release. Now Playing exclusively at Cinema Village, 22 East, 12th Street).
THE CHRNOLOGY OF WATER
For the first time ever, Kristen Stewart is getting some respect from me. I once admired her early acting efforts but never was fond of her skills. As for her buzzed and divisive directorial debut, Stewart demonstrates she’s a courageous filmmaker, kicking off this next stage in her career as an auteur unwilling to settle with the conventional. Poetical, melancholic and deeply complex, the fragmented script (co-written by Stewart herself, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir) goes back and forth in time to tell the story of trauma, resistance, rage and resilience of a promising young swimmer played by a phenomenal Imogen Poots. The film is seen through her fractured, disturbing memories and how she deals with a history of abuse and anger, but eventually transforming them into art. Poots is ravishing in the leading role, anchoring the film with strange charisma and an impressive, highly emotional anxiety. It’s a career-changing performance that easily puts her among the best performers of her generation. As for Stewart, influenced by the divine lenses of Terrence Malick, and delivering a fashionably satisfying and bold directorial debut, it’s time to give her credit for her efforts in the industry. Let’s just hope she keeps up the good work.
(A The Forge Release. Opens Friday, January 9th at Angelika Film Center).
A USEFUL GHOST
Winner of the Cannes’ Critics Week Grand Prize, Thai writer/director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s feature debut is a delightfully morbid hybrid of sci-fi and deadpan romantic comedy about living with the dead, human desire and ambition. It is also a sharp and nail-biting satire on spirituality, traditions and how the big corporations treat their employees, all seen through the perspective of the supernatural, the mysterious forces of the beyond manifested as home appliances. Influenced by the somber sarcasm found in films from Aki Kaurismaki, Wes Anderson and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, blending his own style of surrealism and social commentary, Boonbunchachoke proves to be one promising new visionary. Grieving the loss of his young wife, the heir of a successful home appliances factory is confronted/comforted by her return as her spirit possess a vacuum cleaner. As he tries to understand and accept her presence, the family conspires against it, considering what’s prudent to do. The mysterious act is part of a course left by one late employee, who died while working at the factory and returned for revenge. Focusing on the mystical and unusual relationship between the living and the dead, this haunted ghost story is utterly efficient and stylish, built on great set designs, the exuberant cinematography fueled by fabulous grey palettes, and hilarious eccentric characters, witnessing the weirdness and strangely irresistible flavors of such odd situation.
(A Cineverse Release. Opens Friday, January 16th at IFC Center. Visit https://www.ifccenter.com/films/a-useful-ghost/ for details).
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