Reviews

Tim Burton has gone beyond himself and anything he has ever done. "Sweeney Todd" is stunningly beautiful. Dark? yes, bloody? sure! but then we're in Victorian London where everything is what it appears to be no matter how turgid. The meeting of Mr Todd and Mrs Lovett is so scrumptiously conceived that I'm sure will be one of those film moments that are used whenever "great film moments" are compiled. Johnny Depp will never cease to amaze me. He is not just the beautiful boy with soulful eyes, but a great actor. How extraordinary that two talents like Burton and Depp should meet at the perfect moment in time. How lucky for us! Mrs Lovett is played by another extraordinary actor: Helena Bonham Carter. She is spectacular! Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman and in particular Timothy Spall add to the perfection of this film. Dante Ferreti, the production designer and Coleen Attwood, the costume designer, deserve all the kudos they are getting and will get. Glorious!

Martin Donovan directs his first Italian language film with mix but mostly positive results. He creates a world, geographically is Venice, filled with a powerful energy, a contagious compassion for his characters and a ravishing dark beauty. The title character played with zest and conviction by newcomer Pier Luigi Coppola, drifts along the 70's without ever going anywhere. In an out of jail, wanting, dreaming, hoping but incapable to grasp his own destiny. Marked by the apparent detachment of his mother, a Neapolitan prostitute, played by the exquisite Lina Sastri, he creates around himself a circle of loyalty. His childhood friends will always be that and it is perhaps that element that makes the film so different from others of its ilk. His friends exist as a reflection of him, that's their life. The conflict comes when Clara, played by Martina Stella, appears in his life. Love and marriage. But Clara brings a light of her own and she fights to save her love. Her disintegration is told in beautiful snippets with a Martina Stella that reminded me of some of the great actresses of yesteryear. Other major pluses: characters with extraordinarily beautiful, expressive faces, a haunting score, and a sight of Venice I had never seen before. "K. The Bandit" is one of the most refreshing and rewarding films I've seen in a long time. 9/10