I’ve only seen a couple of his works.
First was his remake of Suspria which I’ve come round to liking more. At first I wasn’t into draining Suspria of all its colour(Although I understand it’s a good way to separate itself from the original) but 70’s West German was a great setting and showing an American crying at the mention of free rent was a beautiful way to open.
It definitely more of witch film than the original which was nice and so are close ups of faces. Tbh overall the body horror is pretty excellent(Although minus point for cgi blood!). I’ve got to say Guadagnino is great at filming the movements of bodies.
It definitely captures the paranoia and guilt vibe of a society which contains people who have horrific pasts. Although I don’t know if it says more than that. Also to the film credit it’s full of beautiful naked women but it never comes across as sexual or vulgar which speaks to Guadagnino as a director.
More recently Mubi added Guadagnino first movie The Protagonists. I really enjoyed it. Crime thriller but shot almost as a tv documentary. Guadagnino nails 90’s London and the film has the energy of someone first work as he is chucking everything at the screen.
I’ve also watched a short film he did called - The Staggering Girl which had a great cast of Julianne Moore, Kyle MacLachlan).
I really like Suspiria, I feel it's a bit of a blueprint of how a remake should be made to have some value - I feel like Guadagnino really understood Argento's film but rather than trying to modernize it or just remake it in a similar manner, he takes the essence of it and makes a truly personal version of it. It's a really great film.
I would recommend watching:
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A bigger splash is a cool film, with notably Ralph Fiennes seemingly having the time of his life on screen, and Tilda Swinton being as always wonderful; I like how music and food are totally at the heart of several scenes (there's a great moment where Fiennes's character dances through the house listening to a Stones song), it's a really enjoyable one I'll watch from time to time and never get bored of
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Call me by your name is a lovely coming of age film with a genuine love story at the heart of it; Chalamet was 21-22 when he filmed this and brings great depth to his character struggling with his emotions and sexuality, and there's true heart and kindness throughout the film (I love the father character and some of his interactions with his son, Michael Stuhlbarg is wonderful in it)
- I really enjoyed
Bones and all and thought it was a bit of a fresh take on the vampire genre, with again lots of sensitivity; its retro-feel is also quite nice, but I think this one might have been more divisive (I don't know so many people who have seen it and liked it to be honest)
Brilliant review(Includes spoilers)of
Anora -
https://angelfoodmag.com/romance-labor
The conversation took a weird tone after you posted it but yeah that was a very good review that went in-depth about why that person didn't like it, and gave an interesting perspective.
until you read that “review”
hey listen, if Sweet Square can embody the mind and thoughts of a real life sex worker and writer when watching a movie then fair play!
Anyway, I wouldn't call it a brilliant review at all. Ok, fine, the movie doesn't do enough to highlight the challenges sex workers face in the US, but it's also not trying to? It feels a harsh criticism to label at it. I can understand why the reviewer is writing it as it's probably the most attention a film with a sex worker has gotten in a very long time, but it seems to be arguing against the film for no good reason. I thought the film had a pretty simple point which was that we should be very careful of objectifying these young women because they have feelings and emotions and can get hurt just like like the rest of us.
The dick pics were just too much.
You posted it and said “brilliant review” without elaborating on why you thought it was. Not sure why you would not expect people to react to that about a film that, as you say, is almost universally liked.
I mean, it really did and Sean Baker seems to have been quite vocal on it - sure, it gives the perspective of one story on it, but also dedicated his prizes to "all sex workers", and had lots of consultants on set. I think it's entirely fair-game for one person involved in that industry to share why they felt the characterization was flawed, it's her subjective perception of the film. But considering the film has been marketed as a "modern day Pretty Woman" and the fact sex-work is at the heart of the film, it's a very interesting perspective. What she writes about the whole conclusion of the film in particular was something that had really disturbed me at the time of seeing it without necessarily being able to verbalise it. Her piece is well written and well thought-out. I personally thought it was a good film when I saw it a couple of months ago, then having discussed it with some friends and one of my brothers, I've realised I was more annoyed by it than I initially thought, and this latest piece is an interesting addition to my perception of it - it doesn't change that it's overall well acted, but it does elaborate on the social messaging that has been praised by a lot of critics (who, I would assume, have little insight about that industry).
Also, as to your initial message ("I don't believe any of that entered your mind before reading it" or whatever it was) - I never read reviews before seeing a film but I might do so after seeing one, if it was thought provoking, if I'm left confused, or if I'm just curious about what's being said about it. And sometimes, a review might cristalize certain things that might have been playing in the back of my mind, but that I wouldn't necessarily know how to put in words. I'm not saying that's what happened for Sweet Square and Anora as most of it is quite specific to sex workers, but there's also a big part of that review (like everything bout the conclusion of the film, notably) that isn't particularly about the sex working industry, just the film and its narrative.
The fact he posted it here and said "brilliant review" seems to have really bothered you for some reason, it's a generally well received film and it's a genuinely really well written review that gives a different view on it - even if it had been one of my favourite films of the year, I'd still be able to recognize that it's a great review.
My Old Ass
About a girl about to go to college who inexplicably meets her 39-year-old self.
Ending was kind of predictable but still hit me like a ton of bricks. 8/10
I started watching this a couple of months ago with a friend, being very drunk, and never finished it - I really like Aubrey Plaza and it seemed mildly interesting so I should probably get back to it sometime!
