Director Pedro González-Rubio’s debut film Alamar is nothing short of a contemporary masterpiece. Deceptively simple in structure, its story woven around a Mexican father and his half-Italian son embarking on a trip to the coral reefs of Banco Chinchorro ahead of their impending separation, the work is infused with a delightful authenticity edging on neo-realist themes thanks to González-Rubio’s ethnographic film making approach. The discerning viewer, however, will be sure to identify in the picture a rich subtext built around the motifs of man’s relationship with nature and the ongoing struggle between prevailing traditionalism and the impermanence of modernity. 
The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner (Светът е голям и спасение дебне отвсякъде) Review
Published April 22nd, 2011 in Europe & Russia and Reviews. 0 Comments
As if to reaffirm the nascent uptrend in Eastern European cinema, Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s 2009 Academy Award nominee The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner arrives on the heels of Ilmar Raag’s excellent feature Klass (2007) and Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007). Centered around the themes of immigration and associated cultural dislocation, the subject matter of Komandarev’s film is evidently less sexy than hot topics like high school violence or abortion, which explains the muted critical response and limited distribution that have plagued this title, unheard of among international audiences.
While admittedly formulaic and replete with rather cliché plot devices, Ben Affleck’s second directorial feature The Town is nonetheless much more than a Hollywood marketing vehicle. Starring Rebecca Hall and Affleck himself in the lead roles, this is a very decent crime drama with a good mix of intriguing story, sporadic character development and high-octane moments. Affleck borrows heavily from classics such as Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), Guy Ritchie’s Snatch (2000), and Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River (2003) to construct a vibrant, kinetic film rich in action and atmosphere, and catch the viewer off guard with an ultimately tragic denouement.
What is it with art films and the subject of death these days? First Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) took the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival last year, then Clint Eastwood followed up with his morbidly themed Hereafter (2010), and now we have Biutiful, the latest uber-depressing effort from Alejandro González Iñárritu, supposedly one of the greatest filmmakers operating today in the Spanish-speaking world. With Javier Bardem in the lead, this ill-fated venture into existential angst is painfully slow, ridiculously pointless, and a very far cry from Iñárritu’s excellent Amores Perros (2000).
How I Ended This Summer (Как я провёл этим летом) Review
Published April 9th, 2011 in Europe & Russia and Reviews. 0 Comments
Beautifully photographed and uniquely atmospheric, Aleksei Popogrebsky’s new film How I Ended This Summer is the latest entry in an emerging Russian art house trend. Crafted in the traditions of such critically acclaimed works as The Return (2003), Kukushka (2002) and Popogrebsky’s own junior effort Roads to Koktebel (2003), this leisurely-paced offering envelops its audience in an eerily surrealistic world where characters are but fragile toys caught playing by the majestic forces of nature. Popogrebsky delivers a deceptively simple picture, slow-moving yet deliberately structured, which leaves a lasting impression.
With Martin Scorsese in the director’s chair and such prominent names as Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley attached to star, the much-anticipated Shutter Island had high audience expectations to fulfill from the moment it was announced. Hence, the commercial success of this outstanding suspense thriller is particularly impressive as it appears to have been achieved organically, without resorting to a watered-down scenario or cheap scare tactics. In Shutter Island, Scorsese manages to walk a thin line between delusion and reality while at the same time delivering a work that remains highly entertaining throughout its entire 138 minute runtime.
Vibrant, kinetic and beautifully shot, Soul Kitchen – the newest offering from award-winning Turkish-German director Fatih Akin – centers on the motivational story of a local restaurant’s efforts to restructure its menu choices and attract new clientele. In a break from Akin’s previous more dramatic and culturally rich works such as Head-On (2004), In July (2000) and The Edge of Heaven (2007), Soul Kitchen treads lightly with its gentler approach to life and occasional moments of humor, making this film to cinema what crème brûlée is to dessert: an exquisite and highly delightful concoction to be savored at leisure and preferably in the company of a friend or two.
Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is nothing short of a masterpiece, a complex yet incredibly dark, frenetic noir classic. Given the Woody Allen subject matter of this unromantically barren, magnetically grim picture entirely devoid of positive characters, the nasty surprises lurking in the many plot twists – be they the product of drug-induced hallucinations or flashes of real life desperation – quickly become rather routine, losing their shock value and producing only a muted emotional response. For those who care to follow through, however, the work delivers on all counts; the less attentive among us will find Black Swan to be the perfect remedy for insomnia.
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