flaneur_peintre

Napeolon was a weird guy, and I'm glad Phoenix plays him as a weird lil guy. History likes to paint "great" figures in virtue and glory - but it's simply not accurate. Napoleon was a tactical genius, strategic failure, a leader that got leapfrogged by his competitors, and was spared twice by his enemies. A protoclassic wife guy, obsessed with idealized versions of himself, his love, his military, and his country. Emerged from peril and lead his men to their doom multiple times. Napoleon was a terrible person and this is the reason film his legacy deserved: unfocused, momentarily glorious, uneven, rambling, and failing in its own beauty.

A perfect airplane movie. I went into this with no expectations, honestly expecting a terrible but silly movie. In actuality the film seems completely aware of its own ridiculousness, leans into it, and comes out the other side at 8000 RPM. The performances are engaged and deep. The inclusion of audio notes from Gran Turismo games of past is a nice touch for us OG Playstation Gamers. All-in-all I wish my father was alive to watch this kind of B/C movie with. Our childhood den was loaded with discount bin DVDs of late 90s and early 00s films, and I miss this kind of low-pressure, low-stakes film viewing.

One of the most extraordinarily beautiful films I've seen, hopefully a prelude to a long and glorious career in filmmaking. Understated simplicity of characters combined with lush, gorgeous cinematography makes this a special film, and one id love to see again. Grateful to have seen this in Locarno and i hope I gets a wider release. The location and events bring something new to the world, a sort of poetic recalibration. First film in a while where I was totally transfixed, took notes, and felt inspired. I'd be curious to know more about these characters, but their poetic portrayal forced me to look inside for parallels in my own lived experiences.