Top 10 Premier Venice film festival
Esquire chose the movies that 74 Venetian festival made history — from the favorites of the jury to invaluable masterpieces from potential hits to the cinema is an intimate perception experiments with virtual reality.
1. “FORM of WATER” / The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro
A romantic tale that violate the familiar Canon. Officially the best film of the competition; he was awarded the main prize “Golden lion of St. Mark”. In this story a big love in all possible manifestations — from friendly affection to full-on physical intimacy — overtakes anthropomorphic amphibian beast (Doug Jones) and mute Nekrashevich with a good heart and a naughty look (Sally Hawkins). The action takes place in the mid-twentieth century, at the height of the Cold war — with all the consequences: arms race, a desperate espionage, hard work in the secret military laboratories, which contains a captive in the Amazon monster, and the heroine works as a cleaner. An important role belongs to Michael Shannon — he plays infernal sadistic guard, embodying all earthly evil and intolerance of creatures, unlike the “normal” people.
Recently, on the eve of the festival, we talked about del Toro as one of the few major Directors of the Moscow open festival. Now, after winning the second after the Cannes film festival in the world but each monster is legally recognized as a real author, not just a commercially successful Director of Hollywood blockbusters with participation of charming monsters.
The prospect of an exit in the Russian hire: 100%. The company 20th Century Fox plans to release on 18 January, the beginning of the Oscar fever. That the American film Academy will not remain to “Form of water” indifferent, no doubt.
2. “THREE of a BILLBOARD ON the BORDER of EBBING, MISSOURI” / Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Martin McDonagh
The undisputed winner of the prize for the script, McDonagh is one of the biggest playwrights of our day (his plays are willing to put in Russia; among the most significant performances — “Man-pillow” by Kirill Serebrennikov in the Moscow art theatre. Chekhov); while the majority of Hollywood hacks bungles frankly, he comes up with cool stories — with real flesh and blood. “Three billboards” where is the place of the tragedy, and farce, and Thriller — the story of a strange revenge. Mildred Hayes (McDormand; Association with the film “Fargo” is not prohibited) — the mother of the girl is unknown bastard raped and burned alive, the — three rents a Billboard on the border of their dead-end town, to host a question — how to bezdeystvuete justice and to allow such atrocities to the sky. Residents of Ebbing, who sympathized with Mildred, the mother, hostility take action Mildred-buntari. And women rise up against not only the police — a cancer patient Sheriff Willoughby (woody Harrelson) and the object of ridicule, officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), but also simple inhabitants. Mildred — one against all. For the sake of such an ephemeral thing as justice.
The plot is exciting, the characters are colorful (McDonagh, like no other, able to enchant their heroes, they did not embellishing), but still it is unfair to mention only the dramatic merits of the film, “Three of a Billboard” is the movie that you want to watch, and not to repeat. One of the most powerful, wise and paradoxical works of the year.
The prospect of an exit in the Russian hire: 100%. The same Fox was appointed release date February 1, 2018, again, in the midst of Oscar season. For whom to cheer in the distribution of gold statues.
3. “MAKTUB, MY LOVE. The FIRST SONG” / Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno Abdellatif Kechiche
The film is overlooked by the awards jury, but immediately acquired almost cult status. 1994, the South of France, boys and girls (primarily immigrants from Tunisia, as the Director himself Keshish and customers, mainly young tourists) spend their holidays in a series of beach gatherings and parties. Dancing, the sun, the eroticism that filled the air, and delight in every frame (and every frame too). The main character is a young man, Amin, drove to their hometown from Paris, an aspiring writer, photographer and filmmaker, watching funny love carousel where the ride of his peers, but himself no one sleeps, speaking for many damsels friend and confidant.
However, things can change in the “second Song”, which has already taken: unlike the film “Life Adele. Chapter one” left without continuing this story Keshish intends to tell until the end. In the meantime, the incompleteness of this cinematic poem about the joys of the flesh gives the project an additional charm. Put in the title of an Arabic word and means prednachertano fate — although the movie looks spontaneous and unpredictable.
The prospect of an exit in the Russian hire: 70%. While distributor “Mektubu” no; some trouble could be found in his footage is atmospheric, with a muted story the movie lasts over three hours. However, the picture is so seductive and vital, which, we believe, someone, will decide to buy it. Moreover, “the Life of Adele” in Russia more or less know and love.
4. “EX LIBRIS: the NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY” / Ex Libris: New York Public Library Frederick Wiseman
Documentary 87-year-old American classic — 197 minutes about how the lives of the new York public library. Name no tangles, Wiseman sees, and captures, without obvious authorial comments. It seems that it must be hellishly bored: the library? Phew! But from the screen not to come off: NPL (abbreviation New York Public Library) — this is not a quiet page in the reading rooms and the archives (although it is about onion domes in the movie is), it’s huge, sophisticated, multi-headed organism. Its branches are scattered throughout the city, and a movie about new York, which turns to Ex Libris, cannot be boring by definition. But first and foremost, this movie is about civic engagement, about the brain, about the living social activities, the engine of which is NPL — with its lectures, discussions, concerts and performances. America, in some ways so similar to Russia (even the old ladies who gather at the free library events, surprisingly reminiscent of Moscow), is a role model of such social indifference we still only dream of.
The prospect of an exit in the Russian hire: 5%. Doc — not a frequent visitor even in select theaters; likely to catch the movie of Weisman on some festival of the documentary film Centre.