Review: "Revoir Paris"

by Cláudio Alves

2023 is shaping out to be the year of Virginie Efira, at least as far as American audiences are concerned. Other People's Children blessed theaters in March, and Madeleine Collins will arrive in August, all lauded leading roles for the Belgian star. This month, Revoir Paris comes to satiate Efira fans, gleaming with the promise of César gold, for this picture finally won her the prize oft called the French Oscar. Written and directed by Alice Winocour in tribute to her brother, the film, also known as Paris Memories, considers the aftermath of a terrorist attack not unlike those that befell the French capital in November 2015…

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Review: “Across the Spider-Verse” is a Pinnacle of Animation

By Ben Miller

I am not prone to hyperbole but I'm having a difficult time not calling Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse the greatest animated film ever made. Maybe some time and distance will back that up. For now, let's call it a monumental feat of both animation and entertainment.

Following the events of Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales (again voiced by Shameik Moore) is now protecting his city and universe as its Spider-Man. He encounters a new and inexperienced villain named The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), which attracts the attention of multiversal Spider-Men...

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Cannes Review: Palme d'Or winner "Anatomy of a Fall"

Elisa Giuidici reporting from Cannes...

I can name a very short list of actresses who can portray a silver screen character with the level of charisma and ego as Cate Blanchett in the already iconic role of Lydia Tár. That short list has now grown by one. The amazingly talented Sandra Hüller, best known for Toni Erdmann, does not lack for “big dick energy”. After seeing her from a strange distance in The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer, we can fully grasp her icy, domineering attitude in the wonderful Anatomy of a Fall. It's a legal thriller by French director Justine Triet (who also co-wrote the screenplay with her partner Arthur Harari).

The movie is another take on the classic procedural dilemma: did a person die by accident or were they killed by their partner?

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Review: A Portuguese Perspective on "Will-o'-the-Wisp"

Will-o'-the Wisp opens tomorrow in the US in limited release

by Cláudio Alves

I love my country's cinema, so it's only logical I would yearn for its appreciation beyond borders. Yet, sometimes that joy comes suffused with a nagging curiosity. Do foreign audiences 'get' these films? Even when they're praised are they lost in cultural mistranslations?  Perhaps that's too narrow a viewpoint that overestimates how closed-off Portuguese cinema is in its specificities. There's a universal appeal to great cinema, audiovisual idioms can transcend national barriers.

Still, I love to talk with non-Portuguese friends about Portuguese cinema they love and find myself learning along the way. Indeed, I'd love to chat about João Pedro Rodrigues' latest, currently enjoying an American release in selected theaters. Even if you don't get all the details of Will-o'-the-Wisp, there's plenty to love, from fireman eroticism to cumshots, musical stylings, and artificiality unleashed. It's an orgasmic blast from beginning to end…

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Cannes: Two strong contenders for the Palme d'Or

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

THE ZONE OF INTEREST

If the Palme d'Or goes to a movie that pushes the boundaries of cinema as artistic expression, director Jonathan Glazer will have virtually zero competition. It is quite a rare moment in which, as a spectator, you realize that you are witnessing a true cinematic original. Making a movie about the Holocaust that feels groundbreaking is especially challenging given the plethora of films that have addressed and educated the world on the harrowing topic. 

In Glazer's adaptation of Martin Amid’s The Zone of Interest, not a single actor's face is shown in close-up for more than a couple of seconds...

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