Anyone can choose to hold out for a hero. And anyone can be that hero, until proven otherwise. This interplay between hope, excitement, expectation, and trust on the one hand and a slow drip of ambiguity, prejudice and doubt threatening to gradually undo the entire premise of canonisation of a hero on the other, is central in Asghar Farhadi’s lauded film. Winner of the Cannes 2021 Grand Prix, A Hero is a compelling cinematic work - testimony of Farhadi’s unparalleled filmmaking mastery and his distinct, celebrated take on realist melodrama albeit hereby revisited and slightly open to reimagination.
Small Body presents an aesthetically compelling and cathartic folklore tale; a woman’s visceral will to reconfigure the destiny of her child and herself. Emanating the beauty and eeriness of the natural, symbiotic bond between a mother and her child, Samani’s powerful debut feature film unfolds naturally and very fittingly at the backdrop of the stunning landscapes of Northern Italy.
Prano-Bailey Bond’s debut feature film makes for a skilfully crafted, gripping homage to a sub-genre of the slasher horror of the 1980s, also known as “video nasties”. Rather than a reconstruction of the blood-soaked horror category for spectators of the post-web 2.0 era however, Censor allows a fascinatingly disturbing plot to unfold through its own, uneasy but weirdly mesmerising style balancing gory elements with humorous notes and the uncanny, underlying aesthetics of nostalgia for the giallo-esque, the psycologically suspenseful and the cinematic analogue. All in all it makes for a brilliant debut film and the mark of a very promising filmmaker.
There is a discreet charm about all the mundane and dull moments which appear as fragmented memory projections overriding anything that is happening in the present. Dream-like, cladded with the saturated colours of an almost mythological construction, they seem to operate as distinct units seeking attention. They threaten to compromise the beautiful, harmonious continuity of now and Atom Egoyan carefully connects them through a slow choreography of flashbacks, setting out for a promising, poetic exploration of the residues of the past.
Magnus von Horn’s second feature film offers an interesting post-cinematic experience. Sweat encompasses elements of cinematic and social media aesthetics to showcase a perspective of the post-digital, social media-infused quotidian existence of the Generation Z. This aesthetic blend sets out an idiosyncratic interplay exploring the pervasiveness of social media and its effects on young people’s personalities, perspectives, and relationships. Compelling though this melange may appear, it isn’t always that seamlessly interwoven throughout the film. The latter doesn’t reach its full potential, with all the sweat, blood and tears of the lead character not quite seeping through the fabric of a complete creative whole. Still, it is a journey worth exploring and a film well worth watching.
An utterly compelling, gripping drama. The Report is a testament of the integrity and valour in which the everyday person carries themselves. The real life story of USA Senate investigator Daniel J. Jones and his research into the controversial handling of the torturous, enhanced interrogation techniques, which had been employed during the war against terror, is documented every long step of the way.
