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Reviews
L'attesa (2015)
The Beauty and Intensity of Sadness
There is a kind of celebration that is cathartic and without it, grief can not release itself from its prison. In the space between loss and acceptance, lie denial and the hope for a miracle, for the light to shine through the heart.
In this extraordinary period of denial, time stretches into moments of grief, anger and hope, the meeting of reality with the loss of love is undefined, is fated to be revealed but if it can not, then the actions of those frozen in that vast expanse of waiting can not be predicted.
This is calm before the storm but the storm never arrives, it is the house that creaks with the stuff of haunting but the ghosts only wander into dreams.
L'attesa (The Wait) is shot in an old Sicilian villa, it moves in lingering pauses in which the exalted photographic beauty of this extended suspension, truth attempting to surface but underwater. Binoche carries the deepening mystery in precise nuanced expression. The nails hammered into the walls to shroud mirrors, the lime annointment of olive trees bleaches the trunk bone white, and awaiting the miracle, knowing in truth is freedom, unable to see past belief and hope.
Excellent film in every respect, music, photography and direction. Resolution is unavailable as the echoes of celebration fade.
Gypsy (2017)
Real Modernism
Genuine modernist drama slow burning thriller that skates into dangerous territory progressively creating a tension between the truth and the pursuit of pleasure at any cost with increasing levels of risk. Unlike most thrillers, it is not the outside view that is explored here, it is not the cop investigating or the victim being undone that is illustrated so brilliantly by Naomi Watts, it is inside the mind of the ordinary sociopath, someone who finds it necessary to construct a-reality and can not participate in the norms or restrictions voluntarily imposed by decency.
We often hear of sociopathy as being the foundations of evil behavior but everything evil is relative to context. And her profession carries a very high bar of trust with the secrets of her patients. As her acts are seen as twisted from our judgemental acceptances of what should keep life predictable and mediocre, from the inside, is justified and almost sensible. It is hard to fight the logic of her delusion from within it. It is so twisted when you look in, and yet almost unremarkable when can see her motivations, you can almost understand the ongoing rabbit hole. It seems to reflect the suburban American obsession with taking mood manipulative drugs. Is it honest to manipulate your moods? Why not take it a step further?
Being inside her delusionary world, her questionable ethics seem rational because of what she imagines. It is the power of her interior that drives her beyond what a "normal" person would feel comfortable with. And we are not comforted by the risks.
One of the best of the new crop of Netflix productions. Great writing, extremely well acted, wonderful direction. Consistent, solid drama that is sexy, thrilling and rare.
The OA (2016)
Emotional and mysterious
It is a rare thing to see emotional reality in a mystical or sci-fi world.
Alice Krige is a good omen.
The writer/producer is the lead and is utterly convincing but her child self is a powerful portrayal of otherness.
It has questions rather than answers, it requires thinking and reflection, demanding engagement like a novel rather than spoon fed gratification so common in modern television.
It is deceptive, starting with conventional enough story telling, but then it reveals itself as something unexpected.
Brad Pitt is one of the executive producers and seems like his experience with Terrence Mallick is evident here.
It pitches belief against certainty. Vision against blindness. American angst against Russian fear. Sanity against disbelief.
Sometimes strength is more vital than talent.
Sometimes instinct outpaces sense.
First impressions, but it looks like a gloriously slow burner.