Pig sex. Steroids. Terrible hairstyles. Torn human faces. Monsters or something like that. Blood, sweat and other body fluids. ‘Love Lies Bleeding has a little bit of it allIn this way, it aims to be one of the most troublesome films of the season. And even though it bears the seal of A24, the most prestigious and hippest production company today, its nomination deserves to be taken seriously. The production was directed by British Rose Glass.‘Immediately established himself as a remarkable filmmaker thanks to his first feature film’Saint Maud‘ (2021) is a perfect example of psychological terror of religious fervor and rampant madness, and here once again depicts characters surrendering to their obsessions and compulsions.
Offered out of competition today Berlinale Just a few weeks after becoming the talk of the Sundance Festival, he moves into action and stars in 1989, in a small town in the United States where the American Dream has never been heard of. Kristen Stewart on the skin of a gym worker A person who embarks on a steamy romance with a bodybuilder. The synthetic testosterone injection works well as a prelude to the first kiss, followed by the first of many sexual encounters in bedrooms and bathrooms. But it doesn’t take long for violence to shatter this paradise.. Largely due to the chemistry entering his veins and swelling his muscles, the bodybuilder begins to transform into a perverted being whose body somatizes his new girlfriend’s most secret emotions and desires, and as a result, The bodies are starting to pile up; After all, we can do anything for the sake of love, even smash a man’s jaw against the coffee table. And as the two women make one bad decision after another, they realize they can’t start a new life in Las Vegas like they dreamed of.
In the first half ‘‘Love Lies Bleeding’ works in a ‘noir’ style to use or rather, as a feminist and lesbian variation on a traditionally masculine genre; In this sense, it is inevitable to associate it with the Wachowski brothers’ first film, ‘Burning Lips’, and it also brings to mind titles such as ‘.wild heart‘, ‘Easy Blood’, ‘Thelma and Louise’ and ‘Drive’. But as soon as we get into the second one, the film becomes even more outlandish and unpredictable with each new scene, never losing its excitement when it comes to executing the acrobatic plot, but not always being able to control the power. to them. Ultimately, this awkwardness is probably ‘Love Lies Bleed”s greatest virtue. It’s a film willing to try anything to leave the audience speechless and convinced that they have nothing to lose.
Colonialism, aliens and Ingmar Bergman
with him second film as directorFrenchwoman of Senegalese descent, the first of three nominees for the Golden Bear presented today in the German competition Mati Diop He returns to the subject that gave the narrative power of his acclaimed debut film, ‘Atlantique’: the terrible legacy of colonialism. More specifically, ‘Dahomey’, in November 2021, with the repatriation of 26 works of art from the kingdom of Dahomey, present-day Benin, stolen by the French 130 years ago; and while combining a documentary base with typical elements of fantasy cinema, it makes a timely and incisive contribution to debates about the abuses committed by Europe in Africa and the need for the return of cultural heritage to their countries of origin.
On the contraryThe new comedy of compatriot Bruno Dumont – yes, Dumont has officially become a comedy director – he has no thematic or political agenda and no desire other than to be ridiculous. ‘Empire’ sees two hostile forces coming from the frontiers of space, choosing the shores of Normandy to dominate the universe and invading the bodies of the local population to do so. The mix of ‘slapstick’ and absurd humor is losing its impact As the movie progresses, but the first 30 minutes of footage are so funny that they are enough to sustain the movie. The reason why German Matthias Glasner’s new film ‘Sterbern’ was also invited to the competition is similar. Focused on different members of a family particularly dysfunctionalIts 180 minutes of footage include various terminal illnesses, various funerals, suicides, accidents, addictions and various socially catastrophic situations, and it always feels like it aspires to be something grand and epic, like an update of ‘Fanny and Alexander’. ‘ Written by Ingmar Bergman. Even though it doesn’t meet expectations in any way, it doesn’t need it.