Kinds of Kindness (2024, Regie: Yorgos Lanthimos)
on Disney+
Three hours of Yorgos Lanthimos is not easy to digest, even when served in three anthology bites. On the contrary: after two Academy-acclaimed – and by his standards – mainstream excursions with “The Favorite” and “Poor Things”, the master of the Greek New Wave returns a) to the now and b) to the weird time.
The three abstract short stories that Lanthimos tells here are so intangible that other than a feeling for the brokenness of the world and an eternal tug of war between dominance and submission, I couldn’t even say what they’re actually about. Nevertheless, it is so disturbingly coldly filmed and consistently coolly told that I sit in front of “Kinds Of Kindness” fascinated.
Not fun, but what fun is there in the steel pool of the world? (7/10)
Rebel Ridge (2024, Jeremy Saulnier)
on Netflix
It’s been a good ten years since Jeremy Saulnier introduced himself as one of the most fascinating genre auteurs with the double hit “Blue Ruin” (#3 films of 2014) and “Green Room” (#1 film of 2016). A 2018 Netflix film that was a little slow in comparison and then… nothing for a long time.
“Rebel Ridge” had a complicated origin story, was initially postponed due to Covid and the lead actor John Boyega (“Star Wars”), who was actually hired, dropped out during filming for reasons that are still unclear. Saulnier had to go back. The fact that he managed to make such a good film amidst this chaos gives hope that Saulnier is back to his mid-teens level.
The beginning of “Rebel Ridge” is particularly strong, and within a few minutes it makes all the racial injustice in the USA so palpable that the viewer would want to bite the edge of the table in anger. The fact that Saulnier repeatedly breaks his “Rambo: First Blood” variant – because basically “Rebel Ridge” is: an unfairly treated veteran vs the authorities in a backwater village – and builds his fighting machine into a conscious non-killer and, of all people, turns him into one presents the character who tries most seriously to break the spiral of violence again and again and fights against the odds with futile reason, is a fascinating game with this thematically familiar basic story.
Only the unnecessary length of the film and the unnecessary expansion of the story to a confusingly told corruption in the background prevent “Rebel Ridge” from becoming a real event like Saulnier’s two color films.
Still: one of the best Netflix films in a long time. (7/10)
My Dear Killer (1972, Regie: Tonino Valerii)
on amazon prime
The obligatory giallo elements are in place: leather glove killers, at least two violent murders, unpleasant sexual innuendos, confusing story!
In other words: beautifully entertaining and reserved enough not to end up completely absurd. (6/10)
Hunt (2022, Regie: Lee Jung-jae)
on amazon prime
Korean politics is really wild!
This violent action-political film, which is somewhat based on the “The Departed” structure, casts many characters and more schemes into the blender until everything ends with a big explosion.
By then, the paths of the two main characters had twisted so often that they had practically both turned 180 degrees. But that doesn’t stop her from continuing to run with the same determination as before.
Crazy that this story is also based on three real life events, which probably makes it even more palatable for aficionados of Korean domestic politics.
“Hunt” is the “hardcore band playing their popular song” meme from the Japanese parliament that has become a film:
(6/10)
Certified Copy (2010, Regie: Abbas Kiarostami)
on mubi
Confusing or fascinating? Abbas Kiarostami walks through northern Italy with a couple and constantly leaves us in the dark as to whether two strangers are playing a couple or a couple is playing two strangers. As if complexity wasn’t enough here, the two constantly discuss questions of original and copy in art and the impossibility of real authenticity.
For me, however, it was more appealing as a thought experiment than because I could find real access to the two characters played by Binoche (exhausting but good) and the opera singer William Shimell (arrogant but attractive). (6/10)
The Last Night of Boris Grushenko / Love and Death (1975, directed by Woody Allen)
on amazon prime
I have to remind myself every now and then that there was a time when Woody Allen didn’t just make schematic Woody Allen films. Like “The Last Night of Boris Gruschenko” (aka “Love And Death”), which is a real costume and historical ham with Allen-esque dialogues. It is precisely this discrepancy between set design effort, pure silliness – often garnished with physical comedy reminiscent of Buster Keaton – and highly philosophical joke dialogues that makes the film so appealing.
All in all, it’s more on the side of a laugh than really a slap in the arm, but the weird idea of making an Ingmar Bergman comedy as a historical film deserves applause. (6/10)
Cold Breath / The Mechanic (1972, directed by Michael Winner)
on amazon prime
Two years before Michael Winner & Charles Bronson scored a big, controversial smash hit with “Death Wish” and founded one of the first action franchises in modern Hollywood history, they made “The Mechanic,” a film similar to, but superior to, the later hit Variant.
Here, Bronson doesn’t play an architect forced by circumstances to take vigilante justice, as in “Death Wish,” but rather a Melville-esque cool killer who goes about his job with the precision of a well-trained craftsman. The wordless first 15 minutes in particular are excellently staged.
The biggest weakness of the film is certainly the entry of the young Assi, who becomes Bronson’s Assi: Jan-Michael Vincent easily undercuts Bronson’s rather mediocre acting and is not only the coming downfall of the main character, but also of the film itself.
Nevertheless, overall a successful early 70s action film with an appropriately cynical view of the world, which could only be more – as it shows again in its successful, surprisingly depressing ending. Trending towards 7/10. (6/10)
The Golem as it came into the world (1920, directed by Carl Boese, Paul Wegener)
A kind of Jewish version of the Frankenstein myth: a character comes to life, feels misunderstood and turns against his creators.
However, “The Golem, How It Came into the World” is less successful in creating a relatable experience with the “monster” than James Whale did a good ten years later with his “Frankenstein” film adaptation. The sets are impressive and the images are successful.
Interesting, but without the disturbing presence that other proto-horror films from the German silent era such as “Nosferatu” or “Dr Caligari” possess. (6/10)
