martino-sanzovo

Not an easy task for Paolo Sorrentino to come back 2 years after "La Grande Bellezza" worldwide success. True, we shall not be comparing the two movies but unfortunately this is an easy trap to fall in. Straight to the point: "La Giovinezza" is a good movie but not fully convincing. Sorrentino and Bigazzi's cinematography does not convince (Rome's natural set design is not there this time to "simplify" the job), the different supporting characters are not always functional to the story (the extremely annoying group of young screenwriters, for instance), the soundtrack is not effective as the Italian director accustomed us. On the other hand, in every scene we have Sorrentino's signature behind it (the movement of camera, the cinematic creations, etc.) and this is pure pleasure for his fans. Michale Caine offers an outstanding performance (the music director Fred Ballinger,a role that deserves an award) which alone is worth the price of the ticket. Brilliant is Maradona's alter ego and a strong performance is delivered by Rachel Weisz (Ballinger's daughter). But the relationship between the old friends Michale Caine and Harvey Keitel stands above all: a relationship so beautifully depicted which provokes a strong emotion in the viewer (emotion…remember about this word) So what is the movie about? Like for every Sorrentino's movie, interpretations are multiple. "Youth" mainly talks about the future and how we look at the future; and it does it from the heart yet without falling into sentimentalism. A couple of hours at the movie theater for Sorrentino's works are always well invested time; just beware of few drawbacks here and there.

Roy Andersson sits on a branch and looks at us: this is how we can summarize the film in one sentence. The movie is amusing, a sublime collection of "paintings" where the director cleverly moves from common situations (a mother enjoying his baby in a park) to the most absurd ones (King Charles XII having a mineral water in a bar before a battle). The viewer shall not struggle to find a standard, linear plot but, through putting together, one by one, all these paintings, she/he will have a reliable picture of human beings. Death, friendship, money, exploitation of people and animals: you find them all in Andersson's pigeon. Characters are mainly old, corpulent, pale, slow-moving but depicted in magnificent way and extremely real. The two salespeople involved in the entertainment business stand out: seeking debtors while not being themselves able to fulfill their obligations, they eventually realize that their friendship is the thing that really matters. Songs also play an important role in the movie (Lilla vackra Anna, above all) and they will stick in audience's head for a while after the viewing. At the end of his trilogy on human being, we can in fact say that the director has a positive message for us: Wednesday will come again and Roy Andersson is happy to see that we are doing fine.

Abdelkerim sees a bush of green grass in the middle of the desert, stops the car, takes his rifle and shoots at it. This is one of the most powerful moments of the movie. There must be desert in Timbuktu: no room for cultural activities, for entertainment, for socialization, for making your own decision, for green grass. There are no differences in Timbuktu: wooden sculpture can be destroyed in the same way as humans can be killed in the sand. It is difficult to keep your equilibrium while walking in this thick sand: it is difficult for local people and for animals but also for the jihadists (emblematic the fact that Abdelkerim smokes and everybody knows about it). Sissako enlightens us with his direct film, through use of shallow focuses and a balance between close ups (an extreme one on the dying cow) and long shots (an amazing one on the river at the end of the struggle between the shepherd and the fisherman). The scene of the football match with an invisible ball (any reference to Antonioni's Blowup?) is also very powerful. Can we anyway escape the crude reality with illusion? Timbuktu is certainly a movie that will raise questions in your head once you leave the movie theater.