Baz Luhrmann’s American musical biopic, featuring Austin Butler, Tom Hanks and Olivia DeJonge. Helen Thomson (2h39).
It’s a film about two monsters. The David LaChapelle group of filmmakers has made a biopic about Elvis and his relationship with Colonel Tom Parker. This is a baroque’n’roll opera that’s too long and bloated. However, it tells the Presley story better than many other films. His childhood was in a low-income neighborhood in Memphis where he found gospel music and blues. In 1956, he left for military service and was inducted into Hollywood by a litany turnips. He is also frozen in the Hawaiian shirt star of Sundays.
The director of “The Great Gatsby” reviews the film through the eyes Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk (aka Colonel Parker), the fairground huckster that made the King’s music career and turned him into an easy cash machine for Las Vegas. He chained the concerts until his death. The film’s circus-style style is evident with Presley, the showman and icon of eroticized cultural fusion as a queer doll. (Austin Butler, seen in the most recent Tarantino) and Parker, the snowman, his nickname of camelot, repulsive margoulin. (Tom Hanks under layers of prostheses. Or, the America of miscegenation and that of conservative capitalism.
Ayatollahs, retina-sensitive and finesse-sensitive, abstain. This is Luhrmann in all his splendour and excess. It’s a bloated barnum filled with frenetic editing and mind-boggling mixing, and wild streaks of inspiration. No one has captured the energy, musical, and scenic power of the King like Luhrmann. The journey is worth it if you are willing to take part. Luhrmann, master of pop collage, reconnects with the spirit and “Moulin rouge”, his portrayal of showbiz as a destructive freak show and his approach musical comedy in a grueling mashingup style. It’s a telling moment when “Viva Las Vegas”, Britney Spears’ “Toxic”, and “Viva Las Vegas” mate. It was announced via the microphone that Elvis had left the building, inviting his fans to leave at the end of each show. Beware: Baz is back! Nicholas Schaller
Spanish comedy by Fernando Leon de Aranoa with Javer Bardem and Manolo Solo, Almudena amor (2h).
He is a nice boss at this company of industrial scales. He loves his workers, makes the visit to the regional commission, fists an intern and deplores licensees’ clamor. This hilarious comedy reveals the hypocrisy and piety of his paternalistic boss. In the end, he will get his just reward, which looks almost like a punishment. Javier Bardem is transformed into a consensual 50-something and has fun playing a fake sex. He imposes his satire on work. Francois Forestier
French comedy by Michel Leclerc with Rebecca Marder and Felix Moati. Judith Chemla (1h50).
Marcia, the rising star of the music industry, is the last companion of a French legend of song. She tries to negotiate with her idol’s beneficiary to release the album she was preparing. Michel Leclerc, his screenwriter Baya Kasmi sign an exciting film. It is a romantic comedy, satirical and musical, melancholic with humorous situations and a style full joy. It is a success that owes a lot of its actors: Felix Moati, Rebecca Marder, and Judith Chemla in the role as a pop star between Brigitte fontaine and Catherine Ringer are charming. Xavier Leherpeur
American horror film directed by Scott Derrickson. With Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, and Ethan Hawke (1h43).
Finney (Mason Thames) is a reserved teenager who’s father, an alcoholic and widower, kidnaps him. The serial killer (Ethan Hawke), has a mask on him. An old telephone rings in the basement, indicating that the killer’s past victims are calling to aid Finney.
Teenagers are resilient and have a remarkable power to hold on to their memories. Horror movie fans live in the 1970s nostalgia. These observations led to Jason Blum, the director of Sinister, making great micro-budget horror. The story was adapted from Joe Hill’s short story. This was not due to the fact that the scene was so poor. It was a shame for the seventies atmosphere. N.S.
German sci-fi drama, Maria Schrader with Maren Eggert and Dan Stevens. Sandra Huller (1h45).
Alma, a well-respected scientist, agrees to live with a robot that has undeniable charisma. He is reminiscent of Dan Stevens. The machine is disturbing to the young woman, who attempts to deny his attraction. The film is a short story, but it lacks clinical staging. It’s a wobbly scene that labouriously expands its outline. It is possible to choose the excellent series “Real Humans” for its theme of urban loneliness and the intrusions of artificial intelligences. X.L.
Colombian animated film by Juan Jose Lozano & Zoltan Horvath (1h32).
Raul Reyes was a prominent figure within the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. He is found in the jungle hiding with his hostages as a drug dealer, political assassin and hard-line guerrilla. Controversial subject, illustrated in cartoons. This quasi-documentary narrative is based on e-mails that Reyes found in his computer after his death. Is the commander a terrorist scoundrel? Or a Marxist crank. The film skillfully switches between these two options to make the commander, a radicalized Colonel Kurtz, a charming character. Here is the real kicker: Reyes romance hero? Directors love it, but we don’t have to agree with their points of view. F.F.
American-Swedish-Japanese documentary by Anders Edstrom and C. W. Winter, with Tayako Shiojiri, Hiroharu Shikata (8h11).
This is the day in the life of a Japanese farmer. It spans more than eight hours and is divided into three chapters. The life of a long-term naturalist fresco. It is punctuated by seasons, hard work, illness, and the disappearances of loved ones. In a quiet intimacy, the two filmmakers captured a life that was completely sacrificed to the Earth. The frame’s composition, the method of inscribing bodies into it, the rituals and work of life all affect the viewer’s gaze, which feels exhausted by the heroine. X.L.
Vittorio De Seta’s Italian drama, featuring Michele Cossu and Peppedu Cuccu. Vittorina Pisano, 1:15, 1961.
It’s the film that was forgotten by the Italian New Wave of sixties. A quasi-documentary story about a Sardinian shepherd who becomes a bandit. Michele, the protagonist, is driven by injustice and misery, and surrounded by the tradition that challenges authority. He seeks to survive in a country full of thieves, rocks, sun, thieves, closed eyes like fists, and has to fight for his dignity. Vittorio De Seta, Palermo-born, is familiar with what he’s talking about. He filmed the South of Italy in 12 documentaries before moving to realistic fiction. He captures in black-and-white the heart of the revolt, the tragic spirit that these men face when confronted by an unstoppable fate. Seta disappeared in 2011 and was influential on filmmakers such as Ermanno Olmi and the Taviani brothers. It is a treasure that should be rediscovered. F.F.
