Filmele anului 2024 in Romania, topul meu

 din Culturama de decembrie (cu modificarile de rigoare).  Topul total urmeaza aici. 

2024: The Good The Bad & The Ugly

Un an de filme bune, filme rele și filme despre care nu îmi pasă (mă refer aici doar la premiere în cinematografele românești).

Un an greu din toate punctele de vedere ;)

Pe scurt, trebuiesc punctate (chez moi:):

Internationale:

Furiosa (George Miller, O saga Mad Max) pentru mine (v Culturama de iunie), e filmul-cult al anului.

Și #1, far from the madding crowd ;)

Anora (Sean Baker) e cel mai bun film și totodată cea mai bună comedie, Palme d'or la Cannes și va fi la Oscaruri la greu, 

dar se va lupta cu:

Emilia Perez de Jaques Audiard, premiul Juriului și de interpretare (colectiv) la Cannes , un muzical risque cu carteluri mexicane și schimbare de sex, votat drept filmul european al anului, cinci premii EFA și favoritul la premiul pentru cela mi bun film străin (sure bet!) .

Civil War/ Războicivil-un film politic, cam anti-american și nihilist de Alex Garland.

Joker: Folie a Deux (Todd Phillips) -muzicalul anului și totodată cel mai ciudățel și non-climatic sequel făcut vreodată.

The Apprentice: Sebastian Stan este e impecabil ca un june Donald Trump, școlit de ”avocatul diavolului”, Roy Cohn (un excepțional Jeremy Strong): Biopicul care trebuia să ia premiul de interpretare la Cannes, boicotat pe cît se poate de Trump & co.

The Bikeriders, deși flawed, filmul lui Jeff Nichols documentează minuțios o epocă pierdută și va deveni un film-cult. 

Horror: MadS/Noapte decoșmar, pentru mine (Franța, s/r: David Moreau)

Interesante au fost și Blink Twice, Sting, Oddity, Never Let Go, chiar si Longlegs și Heretic (Eretic: Labirintul morții) 

-(despre Nosferatu din 2025 aici).

fun sequel (& musical): Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 

Indie art-house: Love Lies Bleeding (Dragoste, minciuni și sînge), de Rose Glass.

Al doilea Lanthimos al anului, Kinds of Kindness/Forme de bunătate, de la Cannes, unde a luat premiul de interpretare masculină (Jesse Plemons).

Danezul Bastarden/Bastardul/Promised Land (Nikolj Arcel), cu un excepțional Mads Mikkelsen, dar e de anul trecut.

Tot de anul trecut (v. topul meu total aici!):

PoorThings / Sărmane creaturi(Yorgos Lanthimos, 4 premii Oscar din 11 nominalizări, via Veneția), Perfect Days/Zile perfecte (Wim Wenders, cel mai bun actor la Cannes),                                              The Zone of Interest/ Zona deinteres (Jonathan Glazer, Oscar pentru cel mai bun film străin și cel mai bun Sunet).

Cele mai ”ciudate” premiere (toate cu an de producție 2023):

Francezul Vincent doit mourir/ Să moară Vincent !, de Stephane Castang.

italiano-elvețianul LaChimera de Alice Rohrwatcher

chinezul He bian de cuo wu /Râul ucigaș, de Wei Shujun

canadianul Les ChambresRouges/Camera roșie, de Pascal Plante

și teutonul Die Theorie von Allem/Teoria universală de Timm Kroger, care a luat premiu la Veneția și la Sitges, un thriller stilizat alb-negru despre Multivers și fizică cuantică

România.

Filmul românesc al anului (și nu numai): Anul nou care nu a fost -premiii de la Veneția la Cairo, Frankfurt, etc, peste 100.000 de spectatori în cinema ! V. interviu în numarul trecut din Culturama cu Bogdan Mureșanu, regizor, scenarist și producător. Vești bune pentru ce care nu l-au văzut (și cei care vor să îl revadă): un nou Cadou de Crăciun (re: scurt metrajul său premiat din 2018, care, după cum am mai scris poate fi văzut pe canalul Cinepub de pe youtube), de pe 22 decembrie ANCNF intră pe streaming pe Netflix.

Trei kilometri pînă la capătul lumii, filmul lui Emanuel Pârvu, propunerea României la Oscar, via Cannes și Queer Palm, premiul Universităților europene la EFA (European Film Awards). Deocmadată nu e pe streaming.

Pe listele criticilor de film anglo-americani (Sight & Sound, BFI, New York Times, etc.) se regăsește filmul lui Radu Jude despre care am scris deja (ca la majoritatea titlurilor, v. blogul meu sau arhiva Culturama), Nu te aștepta prea mult de la sfîrșitul lumii, care a ieșit în toamna lui 2023. Poate fi văzut pe max (HBO max).

Documentar: NASTY , de Tudor Giurgiu, Tudor T. Popescu, Cristian Pascariu.

Dezamăgirile anului- (top 3)

Morometii 3, absolut nenecesar si neinspirat (uninvolving)

Megalopolis (Coppola magnum opus propriu finanțat), 

și cel mai trist ”cash-in” , Gladiator II.

The Day of the Jackal (2024)

 the new version got me hooked

Eddie Redmayne that's why

some woke s*it but I got over it..

waited for it to be over to comment

Nicko Mc Brain retires

 at 72 and after being ill a lot these last two years, Nicko Mc Brain, Iron Maiden's drummer for the past 42 years announces his retirement, just when the 50th Anniversary Tour starts in a giffy...

Simon Dawson, from Steve Harris' band, British Lion will be the new Maiden drummer.

The Universal Theory/ Die Theorie von Allem (2023)

Die Theorie von Allem /The Universal Theory is a very strange little film. Deutsche Timm Kröger s third feature, after The Trouble with Being Born (2020) and The Council of Birds (2014).

Premiered in Venice 2023 fest and won Bisato d'Oro award, won the Jury Prize in Sitges and best visual effects and cinemtography at German Film Awards 2024.

Gorgeous black and white cinematography in 2.35.1 widescreen (shot in SudTirol by Roland Stuprich, in the splendor of a white majestic winter) 

and beautiful score, a pastiche of classical Hollywood thriller & drama music from the 40s raise the bar. Diego Ramos Rodríguez, composer, with David Schweighart.

Found the whole soundtrack on youtube here. 

Though there is terrible boredom in between and the film has no rhythm, could've been 15 mins. shorter, would've helped. A lot, IMO. Even flawed, it's a unique kind of film and deserves to be seen on the big screen (which in very limited release happens now in Romania, brought by Cay Films (Red Rooms, Oddity, The Apprentice), in what it is the most Curio of the year!-well, when I saw it there was no one in the theatre, so hurry up).

Mixed reviews complain about the third act mostly, which I think was the best. 

Mixing quantum physics with a Multiverse plot thriller its not easy. 1962 feels like 1930s here, the atmosphere is very in the inbetween wars (interbelique). The actors might be the week link, or such are they supposed to be (the lead, Jan Bülow as physician Johannes Leinert is like an alien, French Olivia Ross as Karin, the pianist, is like a Nouvelle Vague apparision (Karina?). There are the two scientists, dr. vs prof., Hanss Zischler (Munich), acting at his most severe and Gottfried Breitfuss, a grotesque character. The two cops (kommisaren) are out of a Billy Wilder picture. 

References,  subliminal or on purpose: Hitchcock, Lang, Wilder, Orson Welles The Trial, The Third Man, best B & W compared with Schindler's List, Cold War, Mank and Kafka (Soderberg's). People mention Lynch and Polanski, but all there it's way older. I bet. 

Thomas Mann's Der Zauberberg / Magic mountain  (obvious reference of the hotel Esplanade) mixes with The Lady Vanishes and Orson Welles' The Trial, Reed's The Third Man, reminded me also of 1964' odd thriller 36 Hours.

                                                ”A strange place between nostalgia and paranoia” (Timm Kröger)

interview with Kröger here: 

7 out of 10 / 3 1/2 out of 5 !

Rob Tognoni @Transilvania Blues Nights

 13. 12.24, Rockstadt club, Brasov, Transylavnia !!! Rob Tognoni, the Tasmanian Devil is Back !!!

Friday the 13th belongs to the Blues !!! A bit heavy blues, punk blues, rockin' blues, but nevertheless the Blues !!!

event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/582638714216754

The Tasmanian Devil Returns to Brașov!!!

Am avut plăcerea și onoarea de a-l aduce pentru prima dată în România pe însuși Diavolul Tasmanian, mr. Rob Tognoni. În Brașov, vineri 1 iulie 2022 la Transilvania Blues Nights! Chitarist exceptional de power blues-rock, cel mai bun din Australia, Rob T. se întoarce la clubul Rockstadt pentru un concert unic, vineri 13 decembrie, ora 20.00!

Rob Tognoni e originar din Tasmania, Australia și e cunoscut sub numele de "The Tasmanian Devil" / Diavolul Tasmanian.
Rob are un stil energic, inventiv și exploziv, proaspăt deși este sexagenar, supranumit acum și ”Errol Flynn al blues-rock-ului”. Rădăcinile sale sunt blues, blues rock și classic rock și influențele sale sunt variate, de la Cream la Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King și AC/DC.
Cariera sa acoperă peste 40 de ani, a scos 27 de albume, a cântat pe scenă alături de Peter Green, Sting, ZZ Top, Bo Diddley. Concertele sale sunt speciale, de la Cupa Mondială FIFA, la pușcăriile de maximă securitate din Australia sau Sala Mozart din Viena.
Rob vine la Brașov alături de trupa sa, Rob Tognoni Trio pentru a promova noul său album ”Rebel” (2024), descris de revista de specialitate Eclipse Magazine: ”Asskicker”.

https://www.robtog.com

Un eveniment marca Transilvania Blues Nights recomandat de Rock FM și Zile și Nopți.
Sponsori: BCR, Butan Gaz, BitDatamining, Tehnic Mihor.
Parteneri culinari: A-HA Bistro, Coliba Haiducilor 

The Master and Margarita/Master i Margarita (2023)

The new cinematic version of Mihail Bulgakov's masterpiece, The Master and Margarita (in ingles), Margareta in romanian, Master i Margarita in original Russian. The novel was a closet one, written between 1928 and 1940 when Bulgakov died, and kinda unfinished, published only in 1966-and that was censored-and in 1967 in Paris. It's considered one of the most importnat novels of the Xxth century, and it is. And more.

There were various try-outs, from an Italian film in 1972 to TV series to other Russian versions in 1994 and 2025. It was considered unfilmable and there was a project in the 90's that fell apart because of budgetary reasons, Roman Polanski (!) was supposed to direct it and he said he had the best script he read in all his life !! I wished he would've done that, even flawed it surely would've been an interesting take on Bulgakov and a subversive political anarchic one. I read the novel when I was in high school, in Ceausescu's Romania, and made a huge impression on me. Was day-dreaming to make a film with Jack Nicholson as Woland, Michelle Pfeiffer as Margarita and Max von Sydow as the Master. The cat Azaello was problematic :) that was 1986 or 87. That was befoe Bowie became Pilate but I would've chosen him, or someone like Orson Welles ;) It read like a very spectacular extrvaganza, with effects and epic filmmaking. And then I saw on video, in glorious black and white, The Witches of Eastwick. Jack was the Devil, alright. That was before Tim Burton's Batman, ok? About Witches, was hugely dissaponited when I read John Updike's novel, in the early Nineties. I stick with the movie and its grand guignol finale...

The cast is eccelctic with two foreign additions *that in the Russian version are horribly dubbed over by a Ruski male voice ;(

Deutsch August Diehl (Inglorious Basterds, A Hidden Life, Plan A), as Woland (reminded me of a cool young Chris Walken!) 

Dane Claes Bang as Pontus Pilates (Bang was an exceptional Dracula in the series of 2020, streaming on netflix).

Yulia Sigir as Margareta, a spellbinding beautiful woman with the bluest eyes

Evghenyi Tsiganov as the Master 

a cool Behemoth (voiced by Anora's Yura Borisev !)and a cooler Azazello /Azazel.

Co-written (with Roman Kantor) and Directed by Michael Lockshin (his second film after his debut, Silver Skates), a Russian-American director that now is persona non grata in Russia, under crime & punishment for defaming the country's BS. He even received death threats !

17 mill. $ that look like 100 !!! shot in Russia and Croatia with post production in the US. 

1930's Moscow looks like Hitler's Berlin designed by Speer if the nazis would've won. This is Stalin's Megalopolis, a monumental grandeur, Big and massive, making people like pygmeys. 

And then the Russian scandal started. And they took off Lockshin's name from the film and all promotional markets in Russian cinemas and from all materials, and he was banned from Russia sine die. The film tho made 26 mill. $ in the Russian Box office and people who could see it then loved it. International distribution is a problem still, just heard it was selling at AFI market now. Hopefully some streaming service will get it, eventually it will but I think they are afraid to upset Putin & co these tense moments.

Amazingly the film played at Bucharest International Film Festival this fall, with the director attending. Would've loved to see it on the big screen.

About the production and the censorship and the debacle: 

BBC here 

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240430-the-master-and-margarita-the-russian-box-office-hit-that-criticised-the-state

LA Times here  including an interview with Lockshin.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-10/russia-michael-lockshin-putin-master-margarita 

The film has drawn 5.5 million people to date, making it the top-grossing film in its 18-plus ratings category in Russian history. People email Lockshin to say they’ve seen it two or three times.