By Roger Costa
MANIFESTO
One of the most accomplished contemporary performers, Cate Blanchett is mesmerizing in this art project turned into movie experiment compiled by Julian Rosefeldt. The fabulous Academy Award winner actress superbly embodies various characters, creating remarkable moments as the narrative interconnects each perspective in search of truthful facts and authenticity in the artistic world. It is pure pleasure to watch the actress chameleonic skill, delving into multi-faceted representations with incredible appeal: a homeless man wandering cold streets with his dog; a long speech of a widow in a funeral; the rage against male predominance of a boozed rocker; a scientist engaged in research; a housewife with unusual prayers; a teacher’s misplaced assignment and an anxious choreographer working her Alien-dressed dancers, among others. Each character directly expresses philosophical overviews with revolutionary relevance on capitalism, modern behavior, politics, corruption, violence, all seen through the influence of some 20th Century art manifestos. Marvelously shot with such grand beauty for both natural landscapes and astonishing architectural spaces, this visually arresting, unique and ambitious project offers thoughtful statements on its subjects, but even better, it explores the infinite possibilities of a woman’s talent. (A FilmRise Release. Now playing at Film Forum, NYC.)
A WOMAN’S LIFE
After digging deep the emotions of a family man in last year’s “The Measure of a Man”, French director Stéphane Brizé returns with this sophisticated, ravishing period production set in 19th Century rural Normandy. Winner of the FIPRESCI Critics’ Prize at the Venice Film Festival, the director creates an intense portrait of a woman’s journey through life in a highly dramatic narrative influenced by neorealism with sumptuous cinematic resources including the heartbreaking piano-soundtrack and the naturalistic cinematography shot in constricted 4:3 Academy ratio. Judith Chemla gives a hypnotic performance as Jeanne, a young aristocrat dealing with marriage, betrayal, moral and virtues, love, joy, suffering and motherhood. The film finds its core when she’s confronted by doubts toward her unfaithful husband and her best friend, observing her emotions with absorbing, poignant sensibility. Bravo! (A Kino Lorber Release. Now playing at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Quad Cinema, NYC.)
THE DINNER
Oren Moverman’s ensemble drama brings powerful performances by the entire cast, becoming this year’s kickoff film with some greatest star-packed life-changing roles. Steve Coogan exceeds in sarcasm as a delusional professor carrying the film’s most provocative and subversive lines, Richard Gere is precisely selfish as a congressman, while the women, Laura Linney and Rebecca Hall completely draw all attentions when they engage in revelatory familiar conflicts. Amidst a mid-life crisis of their own, they rush into a dinner filled with insults and accusations, in order to discuss the future of their children, who are involved in a horrific crime. In a smart time-travelling narrative structure, centered on the night of the extremely expensive dinner and cut within back in different, crucial times of their lives, director Moverman scores high, conceiving his most accomplished film to date: the depiction of each player in the dysfunctional family and their vices, the intriguing story/analysis on contemporariness, the mixing of imagery techniques and colors, the coordination of the cast. As he previously explored in his Oscar nominated debut “The Messenger”, Moverman also raises his anti-war flag, pointing to the consequences of war while trying to get his players to find some hope. (A The Orchard Release. Now playing at Sunshine Cinemas and AMC 25 Empire, NYC.)
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