piszczatowski-mateusz

Winner of this year's Palme d'Or is a Sean Baker's crime dramedy about a stripper who starts an affair with the son of a Russian oligarchy. Titular character is portrayed by Mikey Madison, who's only 25, but still dazzles in the title role with her impressive range of acting - she is believable in both parts of the movie: first which is chill and comedic, and in the second which is far more dramatic. I remember when I saw her in "Scream" and I thought she's definitely going to win an Oscar at some point, but I did not think it would happen so soon. It is also worth shouting out the scene-stealer, Yuriy Borisov, who's character says very little most of the time and starts as a comic relief, but over time becomes a suprisingly deep and likable character.

"Anora" has an interesting visual style. In the first half there is a lot of strong, artificial lightning because of the fact that many events take place in builidings such as clubs or casinos, but in the second part there's more cold colors and natural lighting, which contracts with the first half and increases intimacy and bleakness. Overall, the first and second half of "Anora" are very different. And here is the main problem with this film - the comedy and crime part does not flow from one to the other smoothly. It's almost feels like two movies in one which threw me off. I would prefer that change to be a much slower process. Another problem - jokes. Most are funny, but some do not hit. There is a bit too much swearing. I am not virtuous and I have no problem with them, but when there's like an f word in one sentence 4 times and it happens for dozen minutes, it stops being funny and starts being tiring.

In terms of technical elements, it is also worth appreciating Sean Baker's editing. It is fast-paced and dynamic, especially during the action scenes, which allow the comedic parts of the movie to shine.

"Anora" is an absolute must-see. It's filled with sex and lots of vulgarity, which might be a problem for some people, but it's a surprisingly tender portrait of a stripper, facing class inequalities and the unattainable "American dream".

An extremely charming and enjoyable film. The main character, played by 95-year-old June Squibb, who, despite her old age, performs her own stunts (this is also the first leading role in her career!!!), is robbed and then inspired by Tom Cruise, she decides to prove to her family that despite her age she can still be resourceful and decides to recover the money from the fraudsters on her own. I don't like feel-good movies, but "Thelma" grabbed my heart. I laughed, I cried and, above all, I had a lot of fun. The director skillfully constructs action scenes during which even stairs or a protruding carpet become an obstacle, the overcoming of which becomes exciting and thrilling. June Squibb is accompanied by the sadly deceased Richard Roundtree. Their dynamic duo have a lot of chemistry and they are a blast to watch. Of course, I can complain about artificial dialogues at times, etc., but I'm not going to nitpick because in the end I had a great time. I would like more action films with older people in the main roles and more June Squibb on the screen!

"Maria" is the third installment in Larrain's series about tormented famous women who, despite their recognition, were incredibly lonely. I haven't seen "Jackie," I loved "Spencer," and "Maria"... maybe I didn't hate that movie, but I definitely didn't like it. It's a collection of random scenes in which Callas is a narcissistic and unlikable person whose favorite activity is to order her servants to drag a piano from one window to another. Am I supposed to feel sorry for her? "Maria" is all style, no substance. Or maybe I'm just sick of all these biopics made for the Oscars. Just to be clear - Angelina Jolie is okay in the movie, although it's still not on the same level as Kristen Stewart in "Spencer", who redeemed with that role all the sins committed against cinema with her acting in "Twilight". But Jolie still doesn't save this film, in which she is constantly forced to say idiotic lines and act crazy and weird for no reason. There are plenty of hallucination scenes here, which are just laughable with how bad they are executed. I must admit the film visuals are very good - the cinematography, costumes and set designs are pleasing to the eye, but we already had a visual feasts in Larrain's previous works, so it's not as impressive as before. The sound design is also impressive, allowing Callas' beautiful voice to shine, however the music is very bad - it's some boring, monotonous twang. Okay, enough of this rant, because I won't hide the fact that there are much worse biographical films released every year. Larrain's new film is still better than Netflix's Oscar-nominated crap like "Nyad" or "Rustin". "Maria" is a beautiful on the surface but empty on the inside and made for the Oscars movie that doesn't says anything interesting about Callas.