“Diamantino”
Director: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt
Cast: Carloto Cotta, Cleo Tavares, Anabela Moreira
Synopsis: A disgraced soccer star seeks redemption but is exploited by a variety of causes hoping to capitalize on his celebrity.
Verdict: Sometimes a film cannot be pinned down to a specific genre. “Diamantino” is that perfect example. A hybrid of sci-fi, comedy, fantasy, romance, and surrealism, it defies explanation and follows its own beautifully dark and twisted creative freedom. The multitude of genre shifts makes the heavy themes being tackled satirically biting. This is an intellectually satisfying film, boldly stated through genre hybrids, physical comedy and a comedic sense of obliviousness from its Gump-esque lead character, bringing on insanely funny moments as well as its dim-witted protagonist journeys through the deepest, darkest corners of government uncovering, mistakenly and obliviously, the true depths of a damaged civil society.
Our Review: B+ review from the New York Film Festival.
Release Date: Kino Lorber has acquired this Cannes Critics Week winner for a TBD 2019 release. – Jordan Ruimy
“The Mountain”
Director: Rick Alverson
Cast: Tye Sheridan, Jeff Goldblum, Hannah Gross, Denis Lavant
Synopsis: The story of a young man who, after losing his mother, goes to work with a doctor specializing in lobotomies and therapies.
Verdict: Rick Alverson specializes in provocative, uncomfortable, abrasive and bizarre cinema and thank god, because he is breathtakingly good at it, evoking David Lynch and some of the best filmmakers in the world. His latest is weird and amazing, something we described as “shimmeringly surreal” out of Venice, but with an arthouse warning that will sound like a big plus to some (me). “Mostly though, be warned, the pacing is glacial and the mood chilled to subzero: Yorgos Lanthimos meets Roy Andersson meets a heavy dose of lithium.” Sign me up.
Our Review: B/B+ review from Venice.
Release Date: TBD (No U.S. distribution yet, but it is making its North American premiere at Sundance in January). – RP
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1035187171714461696
“Dogman”
Director: Mateo Garrone
Cast: Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce, Nunzia Schiano
Synopsis: A gentle dog groomer becomes involved with a violent boxer who terrorizes the neighborhood.
Verdict: “Dogman” turns out to be a kind of David vs. Goliath story. Described as an urban western, while the drama does possess traces of Eastwood’s early no-frills gut-punches, it’s also very much a B-movie soaked in horror and revenge. It finds Mateo Garrone back in fine form and mostly, at the height of his game; the allure of his monstrous antagonistic character is undeniable and he earns extra credit for creating one of the most reprehensible movie villains in recent memory. This is a malicious breed that looks at the seed of violence through another lens; not the pervasive malignancy of mafia corruption (like the director’s previous “Gommorah”), but a rather an unsettling, malevolent individual perpetrating his own brand of terror. A hyper-realistic urban tragedy “Dogman” is ferocious and in its own way, much more frightening than “Gomorrah.”
Our Review: B+ review from Cannes
Release Date: Magnolia Pictures has U.S. distribution rights, but has not yet set a 2019 release date. Our guess would be the spring. – JR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI2JE_xjAaY
“American Dharma”
Director: Errol Morris
Cast: Steve Bannon
Synopsis: A portrait of controversial political strategist and former Donald Trump advisor, Stephen K. Bannon.
Verdict: “American Dharma” gives Steve Bannon a voice, if you’re already turned off by that prospect then documentarist extraordinaire Errol Morris‘ latest movie is not for you. The rest of us can go into this beguiling film with an open mind and accepting the challenge of an open dialogue with a man that many believe to be responsible for the emergence of the “Alt-Right” movement in this country. We’re never really sure who has the upper hand in this duel of filmmaker versus subject, but the film is much more than that, it’s a compelling historical overview of what is happening and what’s to come. Bannon warns of looming civil war and his reasonings aren’t that far-fetched. Morris seems to agree with him, ending “American Dharma” with apocalyptic imagery that feels disturbing because of its plausibility. Due to its warnings of the impending violent divisiveness looming in the country, this is a film that could age very well over time, but we all hope it doesn’t.
Our Review: B review from TIFF.
Release Date: TBD (No U.S. distribution yet). – JR
“Gloria Bell”
Director: Sebastian Lelio
Cast: Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Sean Astin
Synopsis: A free-spirited divorcée who spends her days at a boring office job and her nights at clubs around Los Angeles. After meeting a new man, she is thrust into an unexpected new romance, but there’s much more than meets the eye with her new prince charming.
Verdict: It might be sacrilege to say this, but not only is this “shot for shot” remake a very good film, but it might actually be better than the original. Why? Well, because Lelio has matured as a filmmaker over these last 5 years, he’s made this remake more emotionally relatable and affecting, but, more importantly, has improved the sketches of these characters because of the wonderful actors he’s cast in his film. Julianne Moore is the key to the remake’s success, it might just be the actress’ best performance since, quite possibly, 2002’s “Far From Heaven.” Yep, she’s that good, that raw, that emotionally resonant in the role of a middle-aged woman that makes the mistake of dating a troublesome schlub of a man.
Our Review: B+ review from TIFF.
Release Date: March 8 via A24. – JR
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