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Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (2003)
Where courage is lacking, craftsmanship and contemplative beauty remain.
Kim Ki-Duk's film is first and foremost a great cinematic work: the director has staged a coherent and memorable work, built around a language and poetics that are finally mature.
The solemn rhythm of the progression of the plot and the dry and never rhetorical dialogues are perfectly complementary to a camerawork that acts as the only true commentator: it lingers, mocks, ponders, always with great simplicity and a soft veil of irony.
Beyond the great display of style, it remains a contemplative and fascinating film, which suffers, however, from some serious discord.
From the narrative point of view, there is no doubt that the intent is to help the spectator in the fruition of the work, but the outcome is a bit 'clumsy: there are many, too many, narrative archetypes simply used to carry on the plot.
Many narrative choices are in fact far too familiar, and if they certainly help to bring the film closer to the more classic and codified (and therefore simple) cinematic language, they nevertheless end up flattening a film that would anyway have more than enough to capture the viewers.
The imperfection of this film lies precisely in a lack of narrative courage: it is a work that rejects any space for ambiguity, any space for narrative shyness, displaying instead its naked self in front of the viewer.
However, this nudity never feels sincere, nor shocking, nor surprising: it is reassuring, mute, didactic, as if it were the nudity of an anatomical table.
The result is a film with little soul, and that never manages to find a good balance between the most erudite symbolism and the most earthy explanation.
What remain, however, are powerful images, a solid stylistic consistency and a timeless story about good and evil, transience and eternity, revenge and surrender. And in the end, that's more than enough.
Marriage Story (2019)
Storytelling at its finest
This movie is proof that Hollywood still has something to say. That the 'traditional' filmmaking toolkit has still lot potential, that it is still able to touch hearts and move consciences without feeling cheap or boring or overdone.
The story unfolds in a delicate yet intriguing way, and the deep dive into the psychology of the two main characters never feels voyeuristic or patronising. The two leading actors deliver very convincing performances, while the rest of the cast is way less convincing, unable to infuse any depth in their characters (which, to be honest, are a bit two-dimensional, possibly as a way to help the two main characters stand out even more).
Two other weak points of the movie are to be found in an uninspired staging, set design and cinematography, as well as in the character of the son of the couple, not much in tune with the rest of the writing, and often feeling a bit off and stereotypical.
Nonetheless, the writing is just gorgeous: the storytelling is nimble and spontaneous, as if someone were telling you the story of a couple they knew, sometimes indulging in details, sometimes going back and forth in the timeline, yet with great mastery and an open, compassionate heart.
The subject is touching, and feels familiar to anyone who's ever loved and lost. It is stinging at times, soothing at others, but it never cheaply turns into a grotesque account for the sake of being interesting, because it simply doesn't need to.
The subtle irony of the director permeates the whole movie, achieving a double goal: ensuring a minimal level of detachment to avoid seeming too pathetic, and disclosing the one deep truth that lies at the centre of this film. That love relies on the storytelling that each practices on themself.
Being fully aware of it, we are always ready to change the story we tell ourselves on the inside, as a first step to change the external course of our lives.
But as those redacted stories get on the outside, and as this case enter into the hands of lawyers, family and friends, we immediately recognise how dishonest and instrumental our recollection of the events was.
And exactly the elusive relationship between a love story and its storytelling is indeed the untold, magnetic element connecting all the dots in this remarkable movie.
Roma (2018)
Skin-level beauty.
Let's start with the obvious: the movie is visually stunning. And not just because of how velvety yet intense the black and white picture is, but also because of how refined, powerful and creative the vast majority of shots is.
And this mastery of image is far from being only a portrayal of craftmanship: it serves a deep storytelling purpose and, paired with what I believe is the best sound mix (like, ever), it gives enormous weight and strength to the whole filmic experience.
Yet, more than something is missing.
Mainly, this movie lacks courage. Nothing innovative is to be found in its themes, neither in its language, nor in its structure, nor in its direction.
Furthermore, the acting is sometimes stiff, sometimes overdone, but never - never - convincing.
What is left is a magnificent portrayal of an often-told story, a melancholic childhood memory which never becomes a universal tale, and is never characterised enough to acquire sufficient depth and gather enough interest.
We, as spectators, simply pass by, admiring the wonderful view from above, attracted yet still quite distant. Just like what the passengers of the frequent planes seen in the movie would feel if they looked down at Mexico City from their tiny windows.
Le meraviglie (2014)
Unpolished. And it's good (but a little bad)
Rohrwacher's talent lies all in striking the almost unattainable balance between reality and fantasy, as all her movies have a weird, magnetic charme, feeling as they were somehow suspended in the void.
It is a delicate equilibrium of the untold and the explicit, the crude realism of a poor family's farm life and some dreamlike (or nightmarelike) elements (like the TV contest or the camel).
What is left of this almost plot-less movie is a sensation of mistery and marvel, as the lives of the characters do not call for any judgement, but just for attention and careful observation.
And like mere observers, we are challenged to deal with the apparent lack of sense and of right and wrong by simply taking events at face value. Something the protagonists seem to be doing anyway.
Nevertheless, the movie still feels a bit unfinished. If some moments reach impressive peaks of poetic marvel (the tiny "show" during the TV contest, the sleepover by the campfire on the island or the lids of beehives flying off), in other sections the movie feels flat and lacking of coherence, both in style and in narrative purpose.
There is no director like Rohrwacher at this point. No one is sensitive, intelligent and reckless enough to investigate this perspective. But in order for the movies to be actually enjoyable, much work is still needed, especially with regards to style, pace of narration and overall coherence.