October 1, 2018

September Films / películas de setiembre

There is something about art and about beauty that can touch us in ways we cannot predict. True art can shake us, wake us up and force us to see the world in a new way. That is precisely what Italian director Luca Guadagnino accomplishes in Call Me By Your Name (2017), a cinematic masterpiece that confronts us with characters so uniquely human that they become real for us, and what’s more, their feelings become our own. James Ivory’s screeplay adapts André Aciman's novel about Elio a 17-year old teenager who has a special relationship with Oliver his father's research assistant. Timothée Chalamet’s impressive acting skills bring to life the character of Elio, and Armie Hammer (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) does the same with Oliver. The boy is in a process of self-discovery, he’s trying to figure out who he is and what he wants; Elio spends his summer days swimming in the river or masturbating, but soon he feels captivated by Oliver’s outgoing personality. Together they’re surrounded by an intellectual elite of archaeology professors but also by the indisputable beauty of the Greco-Roman sculptures and pieces of art that highlight the cult of the male body, much in the same way that Oliver finds in the teenager the image of true beauty. Guadagnino extraordinarily recreates the peaceful life in an Italian villa, and slowly but surely, we feel submerged in the narrative, and we also witness the way in which an introvert Elio finally finds the courage to have a romantic relationship with Oliver. Although there is nothing exaggerated or terribly tragic in Guadagnino’s film, the ending is still heartbreaking. Without a doubt, Call Me By Your Name is the best film of 2017. 

Marc Webb’s The Only Living Boy in New York (2017) is an honest and thought-provoking coming of age story that revolves around Callum Turner (Green Room), a young man who is trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. Constantly pressured by his rigid father, Pierce Brosnan (A Long Way Down), to enter into the family business, the protagonist will soon fall in love with his progenitor’s mistress, Kate Beckinsale (Underworld), while befriending an alcoholic and very charismatic novelist, played by Jeff Bridges. Marc Webb creates characters that are complex, with unique fears and concerns, but also with the kind of sensibility that can turn them into outcasts in the highly competitive world of New York’s intellectual elite. The Only Living Boy in New York won me over not only because of the dubitative behavior of the protagonist but also because of the wonderful portrayal of the power of writing and the unstoppable necessity to elaborate fictional stories, even if we get hurt in the process.
  
Kids in Love (2016), directed by Chris Foggin, is a splendid coming of age tale that focuses on Will Poulter (We’re the Millers), a teenager who is torn aside when he must decide between his predictable and boring life and the excitement and instability that comes with the arrival of a beautiful French girl, Alma Jodorowsky, who steals his heart. Instead of volunteering and doing an internship, as was expected of him, this boy falls head over heels for this girl, and suddenly his life is turned upside down. As he spends more time with the girl and her group of bohemian friends, he becomes seduced by the possibility of a life without structure and free of conventionalisms, only to learn later that the girl’s boyfriend subsidizes this way of living by prostituting young boys. Will Poulter has his first sexual experience and runs away from his home, pursuing the elusive dream of freedom, ignoring that freedom always comes at a cost. 
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Hay algo en el arte y en la belleza que nos conmueve de una manera que no podemos predecir. El verdadero arte puede sacudirnos, despertarnos y obligarnos a ver el mundo de modo distinto. Eso es precisamente lo que el director italiano Luca Guadagnino logra en Call me By Your Name (2017), una obra maestra cinematográfica que nos confronta con personajes tan singularmente humanos que se vuelven reales para nosotros, y lo que es más, sus sentimientos se hacen nuestros. El guión de James Ivory adapta la novela de André Aciman sobre Elio, un adolescente de 17 años que tiene una relación especial con Oliver, el asistente de investigación de su padre. Las impresionantes habilidades de actuación de Timothée Chalamet le dan vida al personaje de Elio, y Armie Hammer (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) hace lo mismo con Oliver. El adolescente está en un proceso de autodescubrimiento, está tratando de averiguar quién es y qué quiere; Elio pasa sus días de verano nadando en el río o masturbándose, pero pronto se siente cautivado por la personalidad extrovertida de Oliver. Ellos están rodeados por una élite intelectual de profesores de arqueología, pero también por la belleza indiscutible de las esculturas y obras de arte greco-romanas que destacan el culto al cuerpo masculino, y al mismo tiempo Oliver encuentra en el adolescente el signo de la verdadera belleza; Guadagnino recrea extraordinariamente la vida pacífica en una villa italiana, y poco a poco, nos sentimos sumergidos en la narración, y también somos testigos de la forma en que un introvertido Elio finalmente encuentra el valor para tener una relación romántica con Oliver. Aunque no hay nada exagerado o terriblemente trágico en la película de Guadagnino, el final sigue siendo desgarrador. Sin lugar a dudas, Call Me By Your Name es la mejor película del 2017.

The Only Living Boy in New York (2017), de Marc Webb, es una historia de iniciación honesta y estimulante que gira en torno a Callum Turner (Green Room), un joven que intenta descubrir qué quiere hacer con su vida. Constantemente presionado por su rígido padre, Pierce Brosnan (A Long Way Down), para entrar en el negocio familiar, el protagonista pronto se enamorará de la amante de su progenitor, Kate Beckinsale (Underworld), mientras se hace amigo de un novelista alcohólico y muy carismático, interpretado por Jeff Bridges. Marc Webb crea personajes que son complejos, con miedos e inquietudes únicos, pero también con el tipo de sensibilidad que puede convertirlos en marginados en el mundo altamente competitivo de la élite intelectual de New York. The Only Living Boy in New York me llamó la atención no sólo por el comportamiento dubitativo del protagonista, sino también por la maravillosa representación del poder de la escritura y la necesidad imparable de elaborar historias ficticias, incluso si nos lastimamos en el proceso.

Kids in Love (2016), dirigida por Chris Foggin, es un espléndido relato sobre la adolescencia que se centra en Will Poulter (We’re the Millers), un adolescente escindido que debe decidir entre su vida predecible y aburrida y la emoción e inestabilidad que viene con la llegada de una hermosa chica francesa, Alma Jodorowsky, quien le roba el corazón. En lugar de seguir con su voluntariado y hacer una pasantía, como se esperaba de él, este muchacho se enamora perdidamente de la jovencita, y de repente su vida se pone patas arriba. Conforme pasa más tiempo con la chica y su grupo de amigos bohemios, se deja seducir por la posibilidad de una vida sin estructura y libre de convencionalismos, sólo para comprobar después que el novio de la chica subsidia esta forma de vida prostituyendo a chicos menores de edad. Will Poulter tiene su primera experiencia sexual y huye de su casa, persiguiendo el escurridizo sueño de la libertad, ignorando que la libertad siempre tiene un costo.

4 comments:

  1. Call me by your name was awesome. Had not read the book, but the adaptation felt right. Chalamet and Hammer did bring those characters to life. One of the last scenes, where the father and son have a tete a tete was especially vivid. You are right. It may be (one of the) best movie(s) of the year.

    xoxo

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    1. Oh yes, the conversation between him and his dad is one of my favorite moments in the film. Simply amazing!

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  2. I've heard of the first two but haven't gotten around to seeing them yet.

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    1. Kids in Love is kind of more under the radar...

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