Hoping that the miserable state of the winter season will change with the opening of summer cinemas, theatres and distribution offices are preparing for a hot summer, betting on strong premieres and attractive re-releases. For this week, however, the choices are limited to just four new films, of which the standout is the subversive action comedy ’Everything Always“, starring Michelle Yeoh. Also showing are the thriller ”The Memory of a Murderer“, starring Liam Neeson, the children's animation ”Ainbo: Princess of the Amazon“ and the Turkish mystery film ”Kerr“, while for lovers of good old cinema there is a re-release of the Oscar-winning drama ”The Garden of the Finzi Contini“, by the great Vittorio de Sica.
Everything Everything (Everything Everywhere All at Once).
Comedy, American production of 2022, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Shiner, starring Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Hae Kwan, Jenny Slate, Jamie Lee Curtis and others.
Another unpredictable film from the unconventional art studio A24, from which we saw the horror film “X” a few weeks ago. A production that relies largely on Paul Rogers“ sharp and ingenious editing, but also on the well-written - though sometimes bordering on ”American“ - script and the performance of Michelle Yeoh (”The Tiger and the Dragon").
The two young directors, Dan Kwan and Daniel Cynert, attempt to combine different forms and cinematic genres, as they move in and out of satire, superheroic adventure and existential comedy, with subversive mood and entertaining results.
It all starts when a tired, middle-aged, Chinese-born woman who runs a laundry business gets into trouble with the IRS and is about to come face to face with the horror of being audited at the tax office. Desperation will give her the power to jump between parallel and different universes, with unexpected adventures and results.
The finding of terror in front of the tax collector - in this case, a stiff and tough as marble IRS employee, played delightfully by the almost unrecognizable Jamie Lee Curtis - is the fuse to set the film on fire and, with a demonic editing, the heroine to live, frenetically paced, incredible adventures, with parallel universes simultaneously folding into each other, in an inner journey that showcases the power of her big heart. And all of this is laced with a humor that, although it feels very American, does not lose its insight and sharpness.
Largely, though, it's also a film by Michelle Yeoh, who, though approaching 60, manages to regenerate herself from a tired woman into a heroine, imparting energy and vitality to the film, taking a bite out of the mouth of the likeable, but formulaic, Chuckie Chan, who was originally intended to play the lead role.
In so many words... Evelyn, an exhausted Chinese-American woman, not only can't get along with her father, husband and daughter, but she can't even pay her taxes. When she is given the opportunity to jump to other universes, nothing has prepared her for what awaits her.
The Memory of the Killer (Memory).
Thriller, American production of 2022, directed by Martin Campbell, starring Liam Neeson, Guy Pearce, Monica Bellucci, Harold Torres, Ray Stevenson, Taj Atwal, Ray Fearon and others.
Another dynamic adventure, a thriller for Liam Neeson, but this time a production that doesn't stoop to the level of the familiar grab for the once excellent protagonist, as it has both a decent script and a versatile director, such as Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”, “The Mask of Zorro”, “At the Edge of the Mist”).
Campbell's solid film, which is a remake of a 2003 Belgian film, starts off in a formless manner and keeps ratcheting up the tension and suspense, offering a pleasant two hours to fans of the genre, without of course going a step further or giving more than the basics to the characters, but also without leaving them completely hanging, as usual.
This is a renowned hitman who refuses to complete an assassination for a criminal organization, and while he is losing his memory, he becomes a target for both ruthless criminals and FBI agents.
In short, an adventurous thriller, with some good sequences, a well-tuned pace and twists, but without anything noteworthy in the genre, which has suffered in recent years.
In addition to Liam Neeson, in a tried and tested and not so uninteresting role, the adequate Guy Pearce co-stars, while Monica Bellucci has a supporting role.
IN LITTLE WORDS... Alex Lius is an experienced performer, renowned for his subtle precision. When he refuses to complete work for a dangerous criminal organization, he becomes a target and must hunt down those who want him dead. Veteran FBI agent Linda Amisted and Mexican spy Hugo Marquez are assigned to follow the pile of bodies Alex leaves in his wake. Chased by criminals and the FBI, Alex has all the tools to escape except one; he struggles with memory loss that affects his every move and makes his goal difficult. As the details blur and the enemies close in.
Aynbo: Princess of the Amazon (Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon)
Children's animated film, Peruvian and American production of 2021, directed by José Zelanda and Richard Klaus.
An adventurous, pleasant animation from Peru, which will appeal to our little ones and won't leave the older ones completely indifferent. The well-designed film satisfactorily conveys the richness of the Amazon, a lush nature threatened by human activity. Thus, a young indigenous woman decides, gaining the necessary faith in herself, to do what she can to save the natural wealth of her land, and of course the existence of her tribe.
Punctuated with humorous touches of the forest's graceful spirits and its permanent inhabitants, the animals, the film flows pleasantly, though at times it feels like an invisible cutter is at work, about the underlying causes of the destruction of the Amazon and the planet in general by profitable human pursuits.
The film is dubbed with the voices of Elena Delakoura, Andreas Evangelatos, Urania Furlanou, Petros Spyropoulos, Vina Papadopoulou, Yannis Yfantis, Akindinos Gikas, Vangelis Rokou and Nikoleta Kounenidakis.
IN SOFT WORDS... 13-year-old Ainbo lives in the depths of the Amazon with her tribe. One day, Ainbo discovers that her tribe is in danger. Not only is she threatened by the evil spirit of Yacuruna, but the entire jungle is being destroyed by people who are exploiting it for industrial mining. Together with the comic spirit guide duo, the adorable Dilo and the good-hearted Vaka, Aynbo decides to save her tribe.
The films are still being shown:
The Garden of Finzi Contini (ll Giardino dei Finzi-Contini)
Vittorio de Sica's brilliant anti-racist drama, winner of the 1970 Oscar for Foreign Language Film and the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, in a reissue and digitally enhanced print. The film by the father of neorealism, Vittorio de Sica, may not match the value and power of his classics The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D. and “Shoe Lounger”, but half a century after its premiere it remains a remarkable anti-racist drama, a study of the human being, a study of the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie, the penetration of fascist views and practices even in seemingly inaccessible areas and circles of society. Vittorio de Sica's camera invades the flowering gardens of the villa of an aristocratic Jewish family in Ferrara, Northern Italy, in 1938, where Mussolini ruled. The emotional adventures of the children of the wealthy family will become even more complicated and their endurance will be tested when new racist laws begin to be enforced.
The film, which probably shouldn't surprise us that even though it's 50 years old, it's still largely ageless and certainly the best choice of the week, stars Dominique Sada, Lino Capolitcio, Helmut Berger, Fabio Testi, Romolo Valli, Catina Morisani, Barbara Pilavin and others.
Kerr. Allegorical Turkish psychological thriller by Taifun Pirselimoglu, which was awarded the “Golden Orange” at the 58th Antalya Film Festival and is - apart from Turkish - also a Greek-French production (2021), as the photography is by the experienced Andreas Sinanos and the music by Nikos Kipourgos. The story has a man returning to town for his father's funeral and one strange event follows another, as he becomes the only witness to a murder, the police trap him, the deceased's acquaintances and friends put him even deeper into the mystery, while a curfew is declared in the town due to rabid dogs. Starring Erdem Shenochak.
