Kékszakállú starts off with a disadvantage: it adamantly recreates a sort of purgatory, first in privileged youth malaise and summer daze, then, more interestingly, in the progression to adulthood and responsibility. Though inspired by Hungarian composer Bela Bartok’s opera, director Gaston Solnicki eschews narrative, depicting the lives of various young women briefly immersed in singular activities. That all three parts of the film, each briefly linked by the eponymous opera and each vaguely presenting a sort of phase of life, all embody a suffocating atmosphere is a bold take on mundanity — how society and structure of life forces conformation.
Specific developments and narratives as a whole are quite difficult to pinpoint, but each shot is effective in isolation. Cinematographers Diego Poleri and Fernando Lockett impeccably design every image, aesthetically pleasing because of their mathematically crafted perfection while simultaneously suffocating at times for the same reasons. Bodies, frozen stiff, fit...
Specific developments and narratives as a whole are quite difficult to pinpoint, but each shot is effective in isolation. Cinematographers Diego Poleri and Fernando Lockett impeccably design every image, aesthetically pleasing because of their mathematically crafted perfection while simultaneously suffocating at times for the same reasons. Bodies, frozen stiff, fit...
- 7/20/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSOver the weekend we lost two greats: Filmmaker George A. Romero, best known for inventing the modern version of all things zombie, and actor Martin Landau. Patton Oswalt has pointed out that a 19-year-old Romero worked as a pageboy on North by Northwest, Landau's second movie.The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has again added more names to its membership, and this latest batch includes even more unexpected additions from the world of international art cinema, including directors Pedro Costa, Lav Diaz, Ann Hui, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Kira Muratova, Johnnie To and Athina Rachel Tsangari.Did you see that the lineup of the Locarno Film Festival has been announced? With a huge retrospective devoted to Cat People director Jacques Tourneur and a competition including new films by Wang Bing, F.J. Ossang, Ben Russell,...
- 7/19/2017
- MUBI
Ignore the jumble of accent marks and consonants that make up the title. Kékszakállú is the Hungarian word for Bluebeard, but that doesn’t matter. Nor is it particularly important to know that Béla Bartók’s 1911 opera Bluebeard’s Castle served as this experimental film’s (very, very) loose inspiration. The less you fret about meaning, the more you can concentrate on first-time director Gastón Solnicki’s striking images. Kékszakállú works best as pure cinema, mostly divorced from narrative; some of its most memorable moments don’t even really contribute to the vague theme that gradually emerges. Solnicki just seems to have shot a ton of random material, Terrence Malick-style, and given a home to anything that’s worth looking at for its own sake. This makes for a slightly frustrating experience, even at just 72 minutes, but only because the film feints at being something more than a ...
- 7/19/2017
- by Mike D'Angelo
- avclub.com
One of the most acclaimed films of the last year (since its debut at the Venice Film Festival), Kékszakállú will be getting a U.S. theatrical release this week, and now we have a new trailer to go along with it. Coming from Cinema Slate and Cinema Tropical, Gastón Solnicki’s debut feature, inspired by Béla Bartók’s opera, follows a handful of women in Argentina at the threshold of adulthood. This new trailer, which features just five shots and a few quotes, is a gorgeous one and teases just enough to hook one into making this a priority.
“In a year somewhat short on groundbreakers from experimental cinema, Solnicki’s operatic, radically loose portrait of teens trapped in limbo stood out,” our own Zhuo-Ning Su said, naming it one of his favorite films of 2016. “The scenes, if they can be called that, are minutely styled and observed, wholly self-centered...
“In a year somewhat short on groundbreakers from experimental cinema, Solnicki’s operatic, radically loose portrait of teens trapped in limbo stood out,” our own Zhuo-Ning Su said, naming it one of his favorite films of 2016. “The scenes, if they can be called that, are minutely styled and observed, wholly self-centered...
- 7/17/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Although there’s no shortage of regional film festivals throughout the year, few — if any — are better curated than the Maryland Film Festival. With a slate organized by Director of Programming Eric Allen Hatch, the downtown Baltimore festival, which takes place from May 3-7, offers the finest in independent and international cinema of the past year, as well as some of our most-anticipated world premieres.
Now in its 19th year, we’re pleased to debut the full line-up for the 6-screen festival, and can exclusively reveal that Brett Haley‘s The Hero (one of our favorite films from Sundance) will be the Closing Night film. World premiering at the festival is Stephen Cone‘s Princess Cyd, his follow-up to one of last year’s finest films, Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party, along with Josh Crockett‘s Dr. Brinks & Dr. Brinks.
We can also exclusively reveal the Opening Night Shorts — 5 short...
Now in its 19th year, we’re pleased to debut the full line-up for the 6-screen festival, and can exclusively reveal that Brett Haley‘s The Hero (one of our favorite films from Sundance) will be the Closing Night film. World premiering at the festival is Stephen Cone‘s Princess Cyd, his follow-up to one of last year’s finest films, Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party, along with Josh Crockett‘s Dr. Brinks & Dr. Brinks.
We can also exclusively reveal the Opening Night Shorts — 5 short...
- 4/21/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Panelists including Tribeca’s Frederic Boyer and Cercamon’s Sebastien Chesneau weighed in at the Rotterdam event.
The requirement of a sales agent was hotly debated at International Film Festival Rotterdam today (Jan 29) during a panel about how filmmakers can make the most of film festivals.
Speakers included industry veterans Frederic Boyer (artistic director, Tribeca Film Festival); Sebastien Chesneau (partner, Cercamon Sales Agency) and Katharina Suckale (producer, Bombay Berlin Film Production).
Film-maker Gastón Solnicki, whose second feature Kékszakállú is screening in Iffr’s Bright Future section this year, kicked off the discussion stating that his preference is to work without a sales agent in order to be in full control of the process of taking his films to a festival.
“I would rather be the person in direct contact with distributors, making the marketing materials and putting the posters up. I know my film best, and I know I will work hard to secure sales,” said Buenos...
The requirement of a sales agent was hotly debated at International Film Festival Rotterdam today (Jan 29) during a panel about how filmmakers can make the most of film festivals.
Speakers included industry veterans Frederic Boyer (artistic director, Tribeca Film Festival); Sebastien Chesneau (partner, Cercamon Sales Agency) and Katharina Suckale (producer, Bombay Berlin Film Production).
Film-maker Gastón Solnicki, whose second feature Kékszakállú is screening in Iffr’s Bright Future section this year, kicked off the discussion stating that his preference is to work without a sales agent in order to be in full control of the process of taking his films to a festival.
“I would rather be the person in direct contact with distributors, making the marketing materials and putting the posters up. I know my film best, and I know I will work hard to secure sales,” said Buenos...
- 1/29/2017
- ScreenDaily
We all experience drastically different film years. For simple logistical reasons, this Europe-based reviewer has yet been able to see Moonlight, Jackie, Silence, Fences, Lion, I Am Not Your Negro, 20th Century Women and – alas, our collective top film of year – Manchester by the Sea. Understandable, then, that my perception of 2016 at the cinemas wouldn’t quite align with that of my colleagues.
Based on the 281 films watched (yeah, this reviewer really gave 2016 its chances), it’s not been the most exciting year cinematically. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of good-great movies were released or screened at festivals these past 12 months – the final list-making proved just as difficult and arbitrary as always. But from the Spotlight-led Oscar season to an edition of Cannes that crowned I, Daniel Blake, accompanied by the overall weak turnout of Chinese-language cinema we’ve gone on about, there did seem to be a shorter supply of instant,...
Based on the 281 films watched (yeah, this reviewer really gave 2016 its chances), it’s not been the most exciting year cinematically. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of good-great movies were released or screened at festivals these past 12 months – the final list-making proved just as difficult and arbitrary as always. But from the Spotlight-led Oscar season to an edition of Cannes that crowned I, Daniel Blake, accompanied by the overall weak turnout of Chinese-language cinema we’ve gone on about, there did seem to be a shorter supply of instant,...
- 1/7/2017
- by Zhuo-Ning Su
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Iffr reveals lineup and jury for programme focused on emerging filmmakers.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) (25 Jan – 5 Feb) has announced the full line-up of its Bright Future programme, including the titles that will compete for the Bright Future Award.
Scroll down for the full lineup
The competition for the Bright Future Award 2017 consists of sixteen debut films, including Chinese documentary Children Are Not Afraid of Death, Children Are Afraid of Ghosts by Rong Guang Rong and Caroline Leone’s melancholy Brazilian road movie Pela Janela. Also competing are Belgian title Inside the Distance and German feature Self-Criticism Of A Bourgeois Dog.
The jury for the award will be made up of Italian film producer Marta Donzelli (Le Quattro Volte); Marleen Slot, Netherlands producer for Viking Film (Neon Bull) and chair of Film Producers Netherlands (Fpn); and Jean-Pierre Rehm, director of the French film festival Fid Marseille.
Outside of this competition, Bright Future also presents...
International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) (25 Jan – 5 Feb) has announced the full line-up of its Bright Future programme, including the titles that will compete for the Bright Future Award.
Scroll down for the full lineup
The competition for the Bright Future Award 2017 consists of sixteen debut films, including Chinese documentary Children Are Not Afraid of Death, Children Are Afraid of Ghosts by Rong Guang Rong and Caroline Leone’s melancholy Brazilian road movie Pela Janela. Also competing are Belgian title Inside the Distance and German feature Self-Criticism Of A Bourgeois Dog.
The jury for the award will be made up of Italian film producer Marta Donzelli (Le Quattro Volte); Marleen Slot, Netherlands producer for Viking Film (Neon Bull) and chair of Film Producers Netherlands (Fpn); and Jean-Pierre Rehm, director of the French film festival Fid Marseille.
Outside of this competition, Bright Future also presents...
- 1/4/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
It’s not hard to get a sense for the big movies at this year’s edition of the New York Film Festival. Ava Duvernay’s Netflix documentary “13th” will open the festival with much fanfare over its powerful message about America’s broken justice system. Ang Lee’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” has many anticipating its inventive storytelling technology, and “20th Century Women” is said to be a terrific showcase for Annette Bening. Add in a number of festival favorites, from “Moonlight” to “Manchester By the Sea,” and the current edition of Nyff looks like a terrific consolidation of 2016 cinematic highlights.
But these headline-grabbing titles aren’t the whole story. A tightly-curated program assembled by a handful of discerning cinephiles, the festival offers a number of lower-profile titles that are just as worthy of your attention. Here’s a look at 10 of them.
“Aquarius”
Like so many...
But these headline-grabbing titles aren’t the whole story. A tightly-curated program assembled by a handful of discerning cinephiles, the festival offers a number of lower-profile titles that are just as worthy of your attention. Here’s a look at 10 of them.
“Aquarius”
Like so many...
- 9/28/2016
- by Eric Kohn and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The Untamed and Toni Erdmann will screen at the 18th edition of the Brazilian event next month alongside tributes to the late David Bowie and Prince.
All in all 250 films from more than 60 countries in 15 sections will screen in 20 venues, including the new Olympic Boulevard unveiled for the recent summer Olympics.
Three new sections debut at this festival, which runs from set to run from October 6-16.
Cinema Marginal explores two critical Brazilian film movements, while Universal Monsters features seven restored Universal classics, and Wanderer Artists includes a tribute to Brazilian plastic artist Tunga.
Programmes include World Panorama, Première Brasil, Première Latina, Expectations, Generation, Midnight Movies & Docs, Frontiers, Threatened Environment and Unique Itineraries.
World Panorama selections include Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake and Mare Ade’s Toni Erdmann and Cristi Puiu’s Sieranevada.
Premiere Latina includes Venice selections The Blind Christ (Chile-France) by Christopher Murray’s and Amat Escalante’s The Untamed (pictured), as well as...
All in all 250 films from more than 60 countries in 15 sections will screen in 20 venues, including the new Olympic Boulevard unveiled for the recent summer Olympics.
Three new sections debut at this festival, which runs from set to run from October 6-16.
Cinema Marginal explores two critical Brazilian film movements, while Universal Monsters features seven restored Universal classics, and Wanderer Artists includes a tribute to Brazilian plastic artist Tunga.
Programmes include World Panorama, Première Brasil, Première Latina, Expectations, Generation, Midnight Movies & Docs, Frontiers, Threatened Environment and Unique Itineraries.
World Panorama selections include Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake and Mare Ade’s Toni Erdmann and Cristi Puiu’s Sieranevada.
Premiere Latina includes Venice selections The Blind Christ (Chile-France) by Christopher Murray’s and Amat Escalante’s The Untamed (pictured), as well as...
- 9/26/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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