A Memorial for "In Memorium"

One last piece on an individual moment from Oscar night?

by Baby Clyde

They couldn’t have started off the In Memoriam segment of the 96th Annual Academy Awards, in a more sober fashion. Recently assassinated Russian opposition leader and subject of last year's Best Documentary winner Alexei Navalny appears on screen, speaking directly to the audience. It’s a bold, surprising opener, somewhat at odds with the slick, professional and ever so slightly dull show that made up the rest of the runtime. This grim reminder of a world outside the Hollywood bubble gives absolutely no indication of the calamitous 4 minutes we're about to endure...

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TIFF ’23: In “Monster,” we’re all alone and that’s beautiful

by Cláudio Alves

Part of being alive is coming to grips with some harsh truths intrinsic to the human condition. For instance, we’ll never know the other, not entirely, no matter how hard we try. Even mothers can’t hope to fully grasp their children’s interiority, each human being a galaxy unto themselves. You can either fight against that notion in fruitless despair or accept it. We’re all alone, trapped in the mystery of ourselves, but so is everyone else. Reach out, and you’ll come close to the infinite unknown. Look at it right, and you’ll see beauty beyond belief.

The cinema of Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda has long reflected on such ideas, but Monster is still a high mark of cinematic compassion in his filmography. Penned by Cannes Best Screenplay-winner Yuji Sakamoto and set to the sound of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s last score, this film broke my heart…

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Venice 2023: Musica, Maestro!

by Elisa Giudici

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro"

In this entry of the Venice Diary, we delve into the world of music, exploring two titles that defy expectations by focusing on the personal lives of musicians rather than just their artistic endeavors.

MAESTRO by Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper, it's clear, isn't content with being just a good director. He aspires to be a legitimate auteur, a distinct voice in American cinema. Maestro boasts numerous scenes seemingly crafted to showcase his directorial prowess. However, what truly defines Cooper as an artist to date is his ability to captivate audiences, to touch their hearts and create a seamless cinematic experience...

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Sakamoto on Criterion

by Cláudio Alves

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a master of music that needs no introduction. Thanks to his work with the Yellow Magic Orchestra and solo experiments, Sakamoto has helped shape the evolution of electronic music like few other artists in the past decades. His avant-garde sound is difficult to confuse with that of other composers, but he's not an artist predisposed to repetition or stagnation. Since the 1970s, has never stopped composing, never stopped challenging himself, or dazzling his audience with music whose beauty transcends comprehension. Sakamoto's also an avid cinephile and had been writing film scores since the 80s when Nagisa Oshima cast him in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. Across the years, he's built an eclectic filmography that's rich in artistic brio and lacking in mediocre efforts. He even won an Oscar.

Because of such excellence, the Criterion Channel has curated a selection of 10 Ryuichi Sakamoto scored pictures. Here are some highlights…

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Call Julianne Moore By Her Name

by Jason Adams

A couple of weeks ago I told y'all about Luca Guadagnino's next film project, a feature based off of Bob Dylan's 1975 album Blood on the Tracks that he plans to make with Chloe Grace Moretz. Well Luca, never one to rest on them laurels of his, has sneaked in a totally seperate project while we weren't looking (or rather while we were gaping at the exploding heads of his Suspiria coven), much to my thrill. He's gone and directed a 35-minute short film slash "memory piece" for the fashion house Valentino that will star Kyle MacLachlan and Julianne Moore, along with Marthe Keller, KiKi Layne, Mia Goth (aka the secret MVP of Suspiria), and Alba Rohrwacher. Here's how it's described in Variety:

"Moore plays Francesca, an Italian-American writer who lives in New York and must return to Rome – and, by extension, her childhood – to retrieve her aging mother, a painter played at different ages by Keller and Goth. Layne plays “the spark that triggers the stream of consciousness in Francesca,” said Guadagnino, while Rohrwacher plays “a grande dame at a party. ”All the male characters – “fathers, lovers, servants,” Guadagnino noted – are played by MacLachlan."

Making a short-film for a fashion house probably isn't the best way for Luca to combat last week's criticism from the original Suspiria's director Dario Argento that he "makes beautiful tables, beautiful curtains, beautiful dishes, all beautiful…" but Luca gonna Luca (and bless him for it, quite honestly). The short was shot by Call Me By Your Name and Suspiria DP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and the soundtrack is from Oscar-winner Ryuichi Sakamoto, and the plan is for it to hit legitimate film fests so stay tuned, fabulousness ahead.