- MASCARADE
2022 – Drama – 2h 14m – 3,5 in scale 1-5
Director: Nikolas Bentos, Interpetations: Pierre Ninet, Marine Bact, isabel Adjani, Francois Clouzet.
The French creator Nicolas Bentos, of the elegant “Rendezvous at the Belle Epoque”, returns with a more ambitious film, which marries noir elements with the romantic thriller, while at the same time unfolding under the blinding light of the French Riviera.
There, amidst wealth and luxury lives the handsome Adrien, a former dancer forced to abandon his career after an accident, and now the paid partner of a middle-aged theater and film diva. At a party he meets Margo, also a beautiful young woman, who also takes advantage of her connections with rich gentlemen in the area.
The two fall head over heels in love and soon come up with a new scheme to con – a wealthy broker this time – in order to make their dreams come true.
Bentos borrows elements from Hitchcock’s delightful “The Hunt for a Thief”, without, however, adopting the latter’s purely playful mood.
His image is, of course, that of the dazzling Riviera, which however hides much darkness, despair and lost lives beneath the glittering surface. First and foremost are the two seductive protagonists – the casting of up-and-comers Pierre Ninet (“Yves Saint Laurent”) and Marine Bact (“Young and Beautiful”) is extremely successful – who are bogged down in lives full of hypocrisy and empty pleasures.
In general, there is a very interesting anatomy of the “surface” here: the beauty that covers the ugliness, the wealth that amuses the thwarted dreams, the amorous affirmation that comforts all kinds of insecurities. Even the true love passion, that between the two young people, will be put to the test in front of the relentless reality of “money is useful”.
All this in a package, which especially from one point onwards is more suited to the thriller, even the police, as most of the heroes end up in the courtroom in order to be condemned or atone for their sins.
On the other hand, the only real flaw of Bentos’s film is its rather long duration (134 minutes), which fatally affects its pace at some point.
- MODELO 77
2022 – Drama – 2h 5m – 3 in scale 1-5
Director: Alberto Rodriguez, Interpetations: Miguel Heran, Javier Gutierrez, Jesus Caroza.
The creator of the excellent crime thriller “The Marshland”, Alberto Rodríguez, returns with another remarkable film, intertwining his suspenseful, true-life plot with the history of post-Franco Spain. We are in the aftermath of the fall of the dictatorship and the young accountant, Manuel (Miguel Herran), goes to prison convicted of embezzlement. Gradually he will learn to endure the harsh conditions and the violence of the prison guards, waiting for the longed-for general amnesty, which, however, will only come for political prisoners. Eventually, he along with a few more pioneers and the help of some progressive lawyers will start an unyielding fight for justice and freedom.
Rodríguez draws inspiration from the story of a legendary escape from Barcelona’s Modelo prison to set his own drama within the setting of incarceration. Its protagonist, played by our well-known Miguel Hirán from “La Casa de Papel”, initially has no idea of the codes and horrors of prisons, but thanks to his strong character he will quickly get on his feet and take initiatives. “If the country is starting from scratch, so are we”, argue the prisoners, but the Republic, which is taking its first uncertain steps, is still deeply rooted in the Frankish conservatism, extreme violence and fascist tactics that it used for decades power.
“What impressed me the most was the existence of a prison union that acted as a mediator and had an authority that was recognized by all. It was as if time had stopped for them, and the conditions were unchanged from those of the past, that is, medieval and inhuman. Homosexuals, anarchists, homeless and psychiatric prisoners were equated with murderers and robbers. But finally, this breath of freedom reached the prisons and the prisoners did everything they could to make themselves heard,” says the Spanish director.
His film presents all of this, sometimes in the foreground and sometimes more subtly in the background, simultaneously dealing with the small and daily routine of incarceration. His cinematography does not really have the grandiose character of “Marshland”, it is nevertheless solid and ties in with the rhythm and suspense that dominates several parts.
