David Cronenberg’s Anticipation Drama, featuring Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux as Kristen Stewart, Kristen Stewart, Don McKellar (h47).
David Cronenberg, aged 79, uploaded a video to YouTube a few months back. He was seen in a bathrobe embracing his bedridden body and then lying down next him to kiss him. In less than a minute, we saw that the director of Faux-semblances has not lost any of his transgressive intelligence, even when faced with the possibility of his death. This is what haunts his feature film “Crimes of the Future,” which is his first feature since 2014. It was based on a 20-year-old script. As everything becomes decrepit and rusty, the future he envisions seems closer.
The post-industrial twilight environment. There is no mechanical object, or virtual technology. However, there are medical beds with organic memories and connection, and autopsy sarcophagi that were diverted from their use. His discipline? His assistant, Caprice (Lea Seydoux), was his disciple and helped him develop new organs and tumors. They were then displayed in public during surgical performances. They are surrounded by a maelstrom of clandestine deals and government censorship. There is also exchange between bureaucrats, creators entrepreneurs police officers and outlaws (sometimes the exact same) who enjoy the art market. It is a sad, chaotic world where pain has been replaced by surgery, the marginalized eat plastic, and illegal “inner beauty contests” are held.
Cronenberg, medical experimentation’s Francis Bacon, is not at ease. It revives the body terror fiber of its origins but in a colder, more theoretical manner than “Crash” or “eXistenZ.” He remarks that “subtext has become text” and is more attached to his transhumanist ideas than to hiding them in horrifying suspense. He has a sense of humor, and a lot of it. Picasso? Duchamp?” “Duchamp?”, asks a cop. He has an intact taste for turning taboos – here an infanticide, there an abdominal scar cunnilingus. His questions are answered (where is art? Where does exhibitionism start? The feeling of environmental, migratory, and political disasters in this film about the end of life that fantasizes about new ones. Cronenberg’s beer by himself, who will not stop calling for his successor. Nicholas Schaller
American action film directed by Joseph Kosinski. Starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly (2h11).
Miracle of Hollywood savvy, opportunism: Surfing the nostalgia of an 1980s turnip, US Military ad spot that only it’s crypto-gayreading saves penury, can lead us to honorable entertainment. This sequel is thirty-three years later. Filming began in 2019. Maverick, a shrewd US Navy hothead returns to Top Gun School to form a squadron to fly a high-risk mission. . The son of Goose, his ex teammate, is one of them. His death in flight haunts me. Eternal story about transmission, father and surrogate.
It’s quite clear: “Top Gun” was presented at Cannes out of competition. Maverick is an enjoyable film with its distinctive scenario, archetypal characters, and unspoken pachydermic. It is a movie that plays out an idea that almost vanished from blockbuster movies. Driven not by CGIs or multiverses but by affects, Hawksian morality (profession and courage against the established order), cinema plans and action real. The charisma of Tom Cruise and his cigeny are all highlights. This, which, between self-mockery and ego trip, creates a new chapter in Cruise’s legend. This film shows his social maladjustment, as a pure action being who can only express himself with a handle in one hand. His aerial feats to shake the walls are his best. The “Mission Impossible” side is more captivating than the “Only Angels Have Wings” photo novel. N.S.
French comedy by Christian Monnier with Celine Mauge and Philippe Rebbot. Jules Sitruk (1h34).
Celine, an actress, is hired by a brilliant filmmaker who hasn’t filmed anything since the Palme d’Or. Arrived in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, she discovers that the artist is absent subscribers. The story begins with a lighthearted satire about the manipulative toxicity geniuses. It then turns into an intimate drama in which the heroine is searching for her roots and her biological mother. 90% of the story is not cut. After the initial laughter, embarrassment sets in at the time when the register is changed. This company cannot be saved by its staging. The only thing that saves it is the actors. In particular, three supporting roles poorly written, but filled with talent by Philippe Rebbot and Valerie Mairesse are Claire Nadeau. Xavier Leherpeur
French documentary by Jacques Loeuille (1h24).
Jacques Loeuille, a Franco American painter, was born in Haiti and left stunning images of Louisiana’s birds. He is a descendant of Audubon. The two created an identity, and many of the birds were lost forever. This film is a poetic evocation of an illusionary Eden and an essay about the American democratic utopia. Jean-Francois Sivadier’s commentary is a rare example of the film’s tone. Francois Forestier
Drame italien par Lina Valuemuller, with Antonio Petruzzi and Stefano Satta Flores. Sergio Ferrarino (1963-1h23).
Lina Wertmuller (1928-2021), the future director of Mimi metallo wound in her honour, makes this film. It is her first film. Sergio, Francesco, and Antonio have a good time. They also flirt a bit and after a short detour through Rome, the first will return to the peaceful atmosphere of their hometown. Logical continuation to “Vitelloni”, Wertmuller was Fellini’s assistant. Still infused with neorealism this black-and-white film is worth rediscovered, if only for Flora Carabella (Ms. Marcello Mastroianni), an actress rare. F.F.
The Dark Star. The fashion and cinema’s sacrificed muse
Philippe Durant. The Book Factory, 272 pages, 18.90 Euros.
Although she was quite cold, she was stunningly beautiful. Mireille Balin was a pre-war French film star who specialized in the role of femme fatale and bitch. She is best remembered in “Pepe le Moko”, “Gueule d’amour” and “Pepe le Moko”. Her romantic adventures (Jean Gabin and Tino Rossi), and her choices (outtwenty films survived) were the main stories. Her love story with a German officer resulted in her being raped and sentenced to 18 years hard labor by eleven deplorable “liberators”. Philippe Durant tells the story of her broken life and her career as a film star that ended in misery and an overwhelming destiny. F.F.
Hollywood is far from reality
Charlie Chaplin. Translated from English (United States), by Thierry Beauchamp. Les Eds du Sonneur, 272 p., 18.50 euros.
This short story was published in 1928. It is about a man who has had enough of living in hyperdrive since “The Kid” and sets off on a trip to Europe in 1921. He visits his London neighborhood, then travels to Paris. Finally, he is greeted as a rock star almost everywhere except Berlin. Although he claims he wants anonymity, he gets extremely annoyed when he’s not recognized. Contradiction is the price for fame and the salary for success. Charlot fans will find this book indispensable. It is a beautiful portrait of a world still reeling from the effects of the war of 14-18. F.F.
Additions
Alexandre Brasseur and Mathieu Suquiere. Plon, 216 p., 18 euros.
His great-grandfather was an actor. His grandfather was an actor, too. His father, too. Alexandre Brasseur (51), follows Georges Wilson’s advice when he was starting out: “Addit up!” It’s not easy with this pedigree. Pass Odette Joyeux, her grandmother, Jean-Claude Brialy and Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, and all the other companions of French cinema. Alexandre Brasseur, a dyslexic and troublemaker at school, was gifted. He was an inspector in “Maigret”, Pepe and Russian in “Le Bureau des legendes” and, in “Brasseur, “les Enfants du paradis”, has brilliantly combined the (re)composed present and the present of narration. The book is warm and the man is charming. F.F.
