POMO

A sex-packed would-be thriller/drama with a dysfunctional romantic motif. When the main characters aren’t having sex, donkeys are mating in the yard or one of the dozen couples or threesomes are going at it in a by-the-hour hotel, where half of the film takes place. And if not that, at least the sound of intercourse is heard from the televisions in the hotel rooms. Heavy breathing can be heard in the background in all of the scenes set in the hotel, even when the main characters are just talking. While there is an abundance of sexual elements to marvel at, there is zero emotion and somehow no joy in the filmmaking. I find that disconcerting coming from Karim Aïnouz, whose The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmao was for me the greatest surprise of Cannes 2019. Two and a half stars. [Cannes FF]

A crime film in a European setting, like Refn‘s Pusher, but with younger gangsters, a gay relationship between the main male characters and the sister of one of them, who serves as our guide through the film. The linking of the film to an RPG, which provides an alternative life for her and her brother, is surprisingly conceptual and gives the film a distinctive dimension and sense of drive. The armed heroine in the game is the sister’s alter ego and fills out the depiction of her real-life emotional states. The frequent intercutting of the game with the dramatic action of the film is also a parallel to the perception of reality through the eyes of teenagers who are not fully aware of the seriousness of their criminal behavior (producing and selling drugs). The content of the film is indicative of the youthful creativity of screenwriter and director Caroline Poggi, next to which her imaginativeness and feel for taking an unusual approach to storytelling stand out even more. [Cannes FF]

El tema de hombre-lobo, presentando transformaciones nocturnas en un animal asesino, esta vez en un toro. En serio. Y ni siquiera tiene que ser luna llena. A pesar de muchas escenas nocturnas y asesinatos ligeramente sangrientos, no funciona en absoluto como una película de terror. Es un drama con una "energía animal" especial, ambientado en el campo durante carreras de toros y cría de toros, con los cuales la protagonista encuentra una conexión mental. La narrativa tiene un toque artístico ligero y la historia ofrece sorpresas con una explicación de por qué ocurren las transformaciones en toros. Pero no esperes una experiencia cinematográfica fuerte, es más bien una rareza. ** 1/2 [Cannes FF]

¡Una película gángster diferente y buena! El personaje principal es una adolescente y el motivo es su relación con su padre, jefe de una mafia. En un ambiente rural tranquilo, la situación percibida desde su punto de vista como una amenaza para la mafia y, por lo tanto, su única familia. Con un tono triste de lo inevitable que se acerca, al mismo tiempo que conoce a personajes que aman a sus seres queridos a pesar de estar involucrados en crímenes, al igual que cualquier otra persona. Buena música por poco dinero, en la soleada atmósfera corsa del reino insular para sí misma. El destino de una herencia inevitable. [Cannes FF]

A step-sister of Crimes of the Future, this time set in the realistic present and more oriented toward high-tech gadgets. The stylish Vincent Cassel in a Tesla, scenes of his deceased, scarred wife Diane Kruger following an amputation, her alive-and-well sister Diane Kruger seducing her widowed brother-in-law Cassel, progressive VIP cemeteries with a video system monitoring the dead, a possible political conspiracy to misuse those systems on the part Russia and China…and so on. Not enough? Cronenberg once again takes a stab at a mysterious conversational detective flick with a great atmosphere, original ideas, mysterious-sounding scientific terms that no one understands and intimate sex shrouded in the bizarre. And of course with laughably absurd plot development around all of the characters, which seems to be terribly serious, but beneath the surface it’s nothing more than the fragile fantasy of a frightened boy. Judging from the feeble applause of more than a thousand journalists, there aren’t many of us left who will still tolerate such a thing. [Cannes FF]

An “agrarian” feel-good drama about rural youths who raise cows, make cheese and ride dirt bikes. A family scarred by tragedy, rivalry, tractors, sex in the barn, love and friendship, responsibility for a little sister. For a debut by a young director, Holy Cow is pleasantly authentic, with a feel for the setting and well-directed non-actors. [Cannes FF]

Brilliant wide-angle compositions in dark, discomfited filters. Not only of the desolate desert landscape, but especially the dilapidated industrial city framed by that landscape in the background. The story of a reclusive outsider, who doesn’t speak through the entire film, and the emerging friendship between him and a stray dog doesn’t offer anything new or substantially emotional, but the visual storytelling and flawless directing of the dog are fascinating. It’s a shame that the film lacks a more powerful ending that would be richer in thought. With that, I can’t give it four stars. [Cannes FF]

A nicely outlined western epic with a large number of characters having a diverse palette of conflicts as well as family and romantic relationships. And of course natural locations from multiple corners of America that are a joy to see. Every inch of the film (including Debney’s music) gives us a sense of Costner’s love for the classic genre, which may seem almost kitschy to less knowledgeable young viewers. Horizon doesn’t aim for artistic achievements or creative innovations and is “only” a pure romantic western that, thanks to the planned lengthy runtime, can incorporate marginal scenes of everyday life from the given period, which are something that we have never seen in westerns before. That adds value to the film and – together with the “coming next” at the end – confirms that Horizon is rather a series in film form. Albeit a series in whose case it would be a shame not to see it on the big screen (which means that the spoilerish insert at the end is not a slap in the face). I’m not giving Chapter 1 a star rating for now, since it is only the first quarter of the project and the final impression will depend on the development, integration and outcome of the individual stories.

Loca comedia de terror feminista con tres mujeres histéricas, un pene mordido, un cadáver en el refrigerador, fantasmas de hombres muertos y una buena dosis de sangre y, sobre todo, desnudos femeninos, a los que no estamos acostumbrados ni siquiera en el mainstream francés (ni en otros lugares). Esta película, que parece ser una metáfora de la difícil lucha de las mujeres sufrientes contra los hombres - idiotas, agrega interesantemente desnudez a la sinceridad en la expresión de la feminidad. Sin embargo, este casi caótico popurrí de géneros lleno de energía admirable carece de una dramaturgia funcional que lo convierta en una película objetivamente buena. [Cannes FF]

The first quarter of an hour likably introduces the characters and is pleasing due to the presence of well-liked actors. After the situation has been dramatized, however, the film descends to the level of an infantile TV production, with humour that I perhaps just don’t get and political allusions that I didn’t find clever enough for the given ensemble of actors, not even on an allegorical level. On the other hand, if such names signed off on the screenplay, maybe I’m wrong and you will find it appealing. Rumours seems to have been inspired by the “forest weirdness” of Albert Serra’s Liberté, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes a few years ago. [Cannes FF]