FILM OF THE WEEK

 

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

Argentinian writer/directors Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat bring to the screen one of the most exciting and funniest satires on the film industry. It is no wonder that their exceptional screenplay attracted the likes of Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martinez for the leading roles.

The story begins with Humberto Suarez (Jose Luis Gomez), a wealthy businessman, who, at his 80th birthday celebrations, decides to make a film in order to reach further fame and prestige. He hires one of the hottest directors around, the famous multi award winning filmmaker Lola Cuevas (Penelope Cruz), who immediately brings along to the project two well-known actors in order to play the two brothers of the story – Felix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) and Ivan Torres (Oscar Martinez). The rehearsals begin and soon enough the different acting styles and clash of egos are challenged to say the least, especially by the unorthodox directing methods of Lola…

It is a pure delight especially those early scenes before the action moves into a darker territory. It is beautifully written, and all three actors relish the smart dialogue. Cruz is hilarious as the eccentric muti-winning director and is almost unrecognisable with her gigantic new hairstyle, a crowning glory to her pretentiousness. Banderas is also very funny- playing an alter ego of his Hollywood persona and sending up his heart throb image. Martinez is also very strong as the intellectual performer who has recently resorted to teaching drama students but with a passion.

A real delight from beginning till end!

 

MR MALCOLM’S LIST

This regency period drama probably got the go ahead following the spectacular success of BRIDGERTON, which made colour blind casting more popular and accessible to the masses. Mr Malcolm (Sope Dirisu) is one of London’s most eligible bachelors not only for his wealth but also for his charming personality. When Julia Thislewaite (Zawe Ashton) is turned down as well as ignored by Mr Malcolm she wants revenge and has no option but to recruit her best friend Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto) to pose as a possible bride. But when these two begin to fall for each other Julia’s plans take an unexpected turn…

First time director Emma Holly James originally made this story into a short film. It is an admirable feature film debut even though the early part takes its time to get going. But once the romance begins to blossom its charm is irresistible.

 

AKILLA’S ESCAPE

Poet, musician and activist Saul Williams is very credible as the eponymous hero in this crime thriller under Charles Officer’s efficient direction.

Akilla is on another drug dealing job when he finds himself in the middle of a violent robbery. He manages to escape by capturing one of the thieves, a teenage Jamaican boy named Sheppard (Thamela Mpumlwana)…

It is stylish but with an over familiar premise and with mostly unsympathetic characters. Still, Williams is a strong presence and delivers the goods, but it is his mesmerising, pulsating soundtrack that will stay in the memory.

 

GIRLS CAN’T SURF

This brilliant documentary celebrates the inspiring story of a group of female Australian surfers who during the seventies and the eighties fought like tigers in order to be accepted as equals with the men.

Director Christopher Nelius brings to the surface some rare archive material and with the aid of the ladies themselves he tells their remarkable story of perseverance and endurance leading to their remarkable success. It is also a story of survival against homophobia and the stigma of anorexia. A thrilling documentary well worth seeing!

 

AHED’S KNEE

Israeli director Nadav Lapid follows the story of Y (Avshalom Pollak), a successful filmmaker preparing for his next project about Ahed, a Palestinian teenage girl who was badly injured by an Israeli soldier during a protest. Meanwhile, one his earlier films is screening at a library in a remote Jewish village by the desert…

A brilliant portrait of a man in crisis both artistically and personally. Pollak is very persuasive as the man living on the edge. (MUBI)

 

MARINER OF THE MOUNTAINS

Karim Aimouz fresh from his success with THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF EURIDICE GUSMAO changes gear and embarks on a personal journey across the Mediterranean. He heads towards Algeria for the very first time – it is the land of his father and after crossing the sea he heads towards the Atlas Mountains of Kabylia, a mountainous region in northern Algeria searching for relatives. It is a journey of discovery told with memories of his mother Iracema and in search of his roots.

A mesmerising experience! (MUBI)

 

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES: Season 3 of the fantasy series based on “The Book of Life” novel by Deborah Harkness from her All-Souls trilogy. I must admit I haven’t seen the first two seasons so inevitably I found it difficult to get into its slow-paced action and empathise with its bigger than life characters. Matthew (Mathew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) return from Elizabethan London to find tragedy at Sept-Tours and the missing pages from the Book of Life…

Goode and Palmer are as watchable as ever despite the over acting around them.

 

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