- LOST ILLUSIONS
2021-Seasonal – 2h 29m, 4-in scale: 1-5,
Director: Xavier Giannoli, Interpretations: Benjamin Voisin, Xavier Dolan, Cecile de France, Salome Dewaels, Vincent Lacoste, Gerard Depardieu.
One of the best films we saw at the last Venice Film Festival. The French creator Xavier Giannoli travels us to Paris in the early 19th century, a time of restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. There arrives the young Lucien, an aspiring poet from the countryside, who will soon realize that for his aristocratic patrons he counts less than he expected. Looking for a way out, he will turn to journalism, thus entering fascinating liberal circles of the city where art criticism, literature, etc. go hand in hand with the complete absence of moral barriers and ethics. At the same time he meets and falls in love with an up-and-coming theater actress, while his fame is constantly growing.
The protagonist is baptized in the name of “non-existent rumors”, “bad faith and advertising”, which then makes its dynamic appearance, along with new inventions that allow the publication of many more leaflets per day. The journalistic profession is the first to come into focus here and you shoot ruthlessly. Unscrupulous pens, some less talented and some more talented, sell their favor or ridicule for the right amount to the right bidder.
In an environment of almost complete decay and deception, we see plays whose fate is decided by professional whistleblowers and the important publisher of the city – ideally interpreted by Gerard Depardieu – an incredible guy who does not know how to read and write but is extremely good at financial accounts. All of the above are given to the viewer enjoyable through a mixture of drama and clever ironic humor, until the former prevails, as the hero is rather inevitably directed to his downfall. Giannoli, for his part, outlines a society dedicated to profit and dominated by hypocrisy, clearly pointing his arrows at its current version. The only flaw in his film is perhaps its long duration.
- THE REPORTS ON SARAH AND SALIM
2018 – Drama/Romance – 2h 7m, 3–in scale: 1-5,
Director: Muayad Alayan, Interpretations: Sivane Kretchner, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Adeeb Safadi, Ishai Golan, Hanan Hillo, Kamel El Basha.
A forbidden love affair between Palestinian Salim who distributes coffee in the Israeli Sarah’s cafe in Jerusalem, with whom he has an affair. However, they are both married with their illegal relationship not to be revealed in their case, of course, infidelity is probably the least of their “sins”.
Director Muayad Alayan together with his brother Rami, who signs the script, compose a classic but fascinating story, which passes effortlessly from the staff to the wider community. In a city where everything is monitored by secret services and well-wishers, freedom and dignity are often related concepts. Jerusalem itself, which could be said to be the real protagonist of the film, is extremely cinematic and becomes a field of conflict of passions, religions and interests, which often do not take into account the lives of people.
