Directed by Victor Erice and screenplay by Erice and Michel Gaztambide from a story by Erice, Cerrar los ojos (Close Your Eyes) is the story of an actor who had disappeared on a film set where a TV show revives the case of his disappearance where those close to the man are forced to confront the past and piece together what happened. The film marks a 31-year return to feature-length film for Erice as it explores a man’s disappearance as well as the film that he was working on until he left and never returned. Starring Manolo Solo, Jose Coronado, Ana Torrent, Petra Martinez, Maria Leon, Mario Pardo, Helena Miquel, Antonio Dechent, Jose Maria Pou, Soledad Villamil, and Juan Margallo. Cerrar los ojos is a ravishing and evocative film by Victor Erice.
The film revolves around a novelist who is asked to participate in a TV show about an unresolved case in which an actor disappeared on set more than 20 years ago on a film the novelist was making that was never finished. It is a film about a man who is forced to return to the past about the disappearance of his best friend with many interested to find out what happened to him and why he disappeared. The film’s screenplay by Victor Erice and Michel Gaztambide is straightforward in its narrative though it opens with the actor Julio Arenas (Jose Coronado) acting on a film set, and it would be the last time anyone would see him. More than 20 years later, his best friend in novelist/filmmaker Miguel Garay (Manolo Solo) is asked to appear in a TV show to talk about Arenas’ disappearance as well as the unfinished film entitled The Farewell Gaze that Garay was shooting with Arenas.
The film’s first act is set in Madrid where Garay visits an old friend in editor/archivist Max Rocaq (Mario Prado) as well as talk to Arenas’ daughter Ana (Ana Torrent) and a former lover in Lola (Soledad Villamil). The film’s second act takes place in Asturias where Miguel lives a simpler life as he spends his time fishing, translating novels for publishing houses, and living in a trailer with his dog Kali and Romani neighbors. It displays a man who once had an exhilarating life with Arenas only to stop authoring novels in favor of a short story every now and then while preferring to live in anonymity with a few people. Then he receives news emerged from the people at the show about claims that Arenas is alive as it adds a lot more intrigue. The script does play a lot of references into Erice’s own life and career considering that his second film was only half-finished when it was released only to make a documentary 9 years later about an artist and spent more than 30 years making short films instead of a feature-length film.
Erice’s direction is majestic in not just its simplicity but also in the way he presents layers upon layers of ambiguity into the film. Shot on various locations in Spain including Madrid, Asturias, and the provinces of Granada and Almeria, Erice creates a film that is a somber and meditative film that follows a man coping with the past. The film opens with a scene from the film-within-a-film in The Farewell Gaze where Arenas plays a man asked by this old man (Jose Maria Pou) to find his daughter. It is in this scene where Arenas walks out of the camera frame and never returns to the set making that film unfinished. Much of Erice’s compositions rely on wide and medium shots in not just getting the depth of field into the locations but also to play into the different cultures of Spain whether it is the modernistic tone of Madrid to the more simplistic world of the beach towns. There are close-ups in Erice’s direction, yet it only plays into intimate moments such as scenes in The Farewell Gaze while much of his work has him using medium shots.
Erice also plays into the idea of the past where Garay’s time with Max has them talking about films in the old days and film projectors becoming nearly extinct while a scene at Garay’s home that he shares with his dog and gypsy neighbors has him singing a country/western song in English from a Howard Hawks film. Still, Erice maintains this sense of melancholia as it plays into regret when the film reaches its third act where Garay is given news about a man who might be Arenas. The film then becomes this study of identity where Garay would meet this man but with caution where he does not want to say anything that would be upsetting towards him but also for Garay. Erice also plays into the idea of what could trigger old memories as it relates to a picture this man is carrying as it is from the film that Garay was making. The film’s ending is an ambiguous one as it relates to the past with people who might know this man or had known him for a while witnessing something that is about loss, regret, identity, and the idea of miracles. Overall, Erice crafts a rapturous and enchanting film about a filmmaker trying to cope with the disappearance of his best friend and the past that continues to haunt him.
Cinematographer Valentin Alvarez does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its low-key approach to lighting up some of the exterior scenes at night along with some sunny and naturalistic look for some scenes at the beachside areas. Editor Ascen Marchena does excellent work with the editing with some transitional fade-outs to help structure the story as well as some rhythmic cuts to play into the drama. Art director Curru Garabal does brilliant work with the look of Garay’s home on the beach with the small trailer that he sleeps in as well as the hotel rooms he would live in with all its space. Costume designer Helena Sanchis does fantastic work with the costumes as it is casual in what many of the characters wear while the costumes in The Farewell Gaze are more refined to play into its look.
Hair/makeup supervisor Beatushka Wojtowicz does amazing work with the look of Garay as both a younger man in the 1990s and the look of this mysterious old man he would later meet. Visual effects supervisor Juliana Lasuncion does nice work with the visual effects as it is set-dressing for some of the film’s locations as well as scenes in The Farewell Gaze. Sound designer Juan Ferro does superb work with the sound in capturing the layers of natural sounds at a location including scenes on the beach or at the estate for the scenes in The Farewell Gaze as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s music by Federico Jusid is wonderful for its understated and somber piano orchestral score that plays into the sense of loss and melancholia that looms throughout the film with a soundtrack that features available music on set whether it is tango-based music or the country/western song that Garay sings from a Howard Hawks film.
The casting by Pablo Ini and Pilar Moya is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Venecia Franco as the daughter of the old man in The Farewell Gaze, Jose Maria Pou as that old man in The Farewell Gaze, Juan Margallo as a neurologist Garay meets in the third act about the old man he meets, Helena Miquel as a news journalist in Marta that asked Garay to be on her show, Antonio Dechent as a gossip columnist in Tico Mayoral that Gary dislikes because of his thoughts on Arenas, Maria Granados as a nurse in Belen who works at a retirement home facility who believes that the old man who works there is Arenas, Petra Martinez as one of the heads of the retirement home in Sister Consuelo who is fascinated by the identity of this old man who works at the home, and Soledad Villamil as a former lover of Arenas in Lola who invites Garay for a drink as they talk about the past as well as lamenting over Arenas’ state of mind at that time.
Mario Pardo is excellent as Garay’s friend Max who is a film editor/archivist who kept Garay’s copies of his unfinished film while also providing some witty commentary about Arenas’ disappearance as well as saying a lot of things about cinema including a funny joke about Carl Theoden Dreyer. Ana Torrent is brilliant as Arenas’ daughter Ana as a woman who declines to take part in the TV special about her father as she is unsure about her father’s mental state as she is only seen once in the first and returns in the third act to meet the man who might be her father where she copes with his mental state. Jose Coronado is incredible in the dual role of Julio Arenas and the mysterious man called Gardel where Coronado provides this sense of liveliness as Arenas who would endure a mental breakdown that would lead to his disappearance while his performance as Gardel is restrained as a man who prefers to live in isolation. Finally, there’s Manolo Solo in a phenomenal performance as Miguel Garay as a novelist/filmmaker who was Arenas’ best friend as he laments over his friend’s disappearance and the past while confronts the idea that he is responsible for what might have happened. Even as he deals with the idea that this old man he meets is his long-lost friend where he ponders whether he should try to get this man to remember something or to just let him be as it is a somber and riveting performance from Garay.
Cerrar los ojos is an outstanding film by Victor Erice. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, and its compelling study of memory, loss, identity, and the idea of the soul. It is a film that explores the idea of who people were and who they are in the present as well as the idea of loss and regret as it relates to the past. If this film is Erice’s final feature-length film, then he goes out with a winner. In the end, Cerrar los ojos is a magnificent film by Victor Erice.
Well, this year has been a total fuck-fest. Let us see, American citizens here in America including children are getting deported to other countries. Spain and Portugal have no power (hope you are OK Ruth). Tariffs brought by the U.S. have gotten out of control. A has-been pop singer, Oprah’s BFF, Jeff Bezo’s dumbass girlfriend, and other women set women empowerment backwards through a stupid stunt where they went to outer space for 11 minutes. Yeah, this is great. U.S.A. Greatest country in the world. Right… Boy are we the most hated group of people out there. We are beefing with the Canadians. We are just at war with everyone, which is proof of why democracy does not work. This is what happens when you allow the common and uncommon imbecile as well as the ignorant the right to vote and now, they are fucked. Let us also not forget those who voted the other way. Well, they too are fucked because they are not rational either. Al Gore was right. Manbearpig does exist and he is sitting at the White House having a dick-measuring contest with his buddy Elon to see how big it is though we all know it is smaller than the Crock’s own dick which is smaller than a pebble.
With spring, I often complain about allergies, but this year really takes the cake in terms of how bad pollen is this year. Last month, I went to my local urgent care for a cold and then weeks earlier. I went again as I was getting pink eyes of the worst kind. My eyes are better, but I caught the cold again this past weekend and my sinus is bad. There has not been enough rain, and it would often come on days when you did not need it. For my mother, the pollen allergies has been bad as she loves to have a clean house outside as there was one rainy day where a tree branch on the other side of our backyard nearly broke our fence. We just got it repaired along with the fence next to the garage. Now we are just dealing with this unexpected cold as my mother is focusing on her citizenship test.
In the month of April, I saw a total of 12 films in six first-timers and six re-watches. Yes, I have been slacking as I had to deal with things at home when I made the decision to postpone my Auteurs piece on David Lean as I have been stuck on it for months as it has not gone where I want to. Instead, I am focusing on Ryan Coogler who will be the next Auteurs piece as I have already gotten started on him. One of the big highlights of the month has been my Blind Spot film in Love Streams. Here is the top 3 films that I saw for April 2025:
Benny Hill is a comedian that I grew up watching as a kid as this documentary from the BBC about the British comedian is about his life and career. The film features interviews from various comedians and a small panel of young people reacting to Hill’s comedy where some things that he did has not dated well Yes, there are moments where Hill played characters in blackface or squinting his eyes to play an Asian though his intentions were not racist as a black British comedian defends Hill while it should be stated that there were not a lot of comedians of black, Asian, or South Asian at that time and they would not have been presented by the BBC at that time. Despite some of the controversies, Hill remains loved by many including African-Americans while accusations that Hill was sexist is also untrue considering that he is the butt of the jokes while he allowed women to direct for him on set whenever he is performing. It is a well-made documentary for anyone that wants to know about the genius Benny Hill.
Locks
Having started my Auteurs piece on Ryan Coogler, there are two of the three shorts that are available online. Unfortunately, one of them in Fig is only available on Kanopy, which I do not have access to because my local library does not use the service. Fortunately, there is another short that is available on YouTube in this six-minute student film short Coogler made when he was in USC about a man contemplating about his identity through his dreadlocks. It is a simple short film that does not have any dialogue but there is a beauty to the way Coogler presents the film as it is shot on location in Oakland as it also features a beautiful music score by one of his future collaborators in Ludwig Goransson. It is a short worth seeking out with Coogler already becoming a made man with the success he is getting from his newest film Sinners.
Andor (season 2, episodes 1-4)
The second season of the Star Wars series is intriguing for not just the setting of events of what is to come but also how the Rebellion is starting on different areas with Cassian Andor still doing things for the Rebellion. Yet not everything is going well with Mon Montha realizing the sacrifices she needs to make with Luthen Rael trying to get information with the Empire focusing on a planet whose resources they need for the construction of the Death Star. There are a lot of things happening so far in the first four episodes as the show is aiming for a slow burn of characters struggling with the roles they play on both sides as well as planting seeds for a deadly conflict.
Well, that is all for April. Next month, I will be attempting to do a marathon of films that played at previous editions of the Cannes Film Festival from the past 15 years to celebrate this year’s edition. Along with theatrical releases such as Thunderbolts* and The Phonecian Scheme and the Blind Spot for next month will be Limite. I will focus much of my time on the Auteurs piece on Ryan Coogler that will be followed by James Gunn in anticipation for the release of Superman. Other than a few personal things including getting tickets to see Nine Inch Nails this coming September. That will be all that I am planning for next month.
Before I bid adieu, I must acknowledge on those that have passed this month such Pope Francis who has been an immensely important figure this century as he brought hope to many including a lapsed-Catholic such as myself. He was a humble and giving man that really did a lot to bring people together no matter what they believed in as there will never be a Pope like him ever again. Other noted figures who passed away this month include Clem Burke of Blondie, Mike Peters of the Alarm, Chicago Bears legend/Four Horseman Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Priscilla Pointer, Pere Ubu vocalist David Thomas, Lar Park Lincoln, game show host Wink Martindale, Sophie Nyweide, Jean Marshall, basketball legend Stan Love, pro wrestlers Hisashi Shinma and Black Terry, novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, music producer Roy Thomas Baker, filmmaker Ted Kotcheff, Nicky Katt, Mel Novak, those who died at the Jet Set nightclub at the Dominican Republic including singer Rubby Perez, Jay North aka Dennis the Menace, and Val Kilmer. You will always be our Huckleberry and wingman Val. We will miss you all. This is thevoid99 signing off…
Based on a play by Ted Allen, Love Streams is the story of two middle-aged siblings who reunite following their own respective relationships with other people falling apart. Directed by John Cassavetes and screenplay by Cassavetes and Allen, the film is an exploration of two adult siblings whose respective family lives have fallen into chaos as they turn to each other for emotional support. Starring John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Seymour Cassel, and Diahnne Abbott. Love Streams is a riveting and heart wrenching film by John Cassavetes.
The film is the story of two adult siblings who have not seen each other in years as both endure turmoil in their individual lives where they reunite to understand what is wrong with them. It is a film that explores two people who both deal with loneliness with one breaking away from her family while her brother is losing himself to a lifestyle that has become fleeting. The film’s screenplay by John Cassavetes and Ted Allen, which is based on the play by the latter, is a study of sibling relationships as well as two people who are in and out of love. Robert Harmon (John Cassavetes) is a novelist who spends his time going to nightclubs as he is doing research for a novel as he spends his time at home with a bevy of women while is pursuing a singer in Susan (Diahnne Abbott). His sister Sarah Lawson (Gena Rowlands) has just divorced her husband Jack (Seymour Cassel) as they are in a custody battle over their teenage daughter Debbie (Risa Martha Blewitt) who is choosing her father instead of Sarah due to Sarah’s own emotional issues.
The first act is about the individual lives of Robert and Sarah where the two become lost in their own lives with the former continuing a troubling lifestyle while he wants to go out with Susan but does not want any emotional attachments. For Sarah, Debbie’s decision to be with her father becomes emotionally and mentally crushing where she would take bad advice from her psychiatrist to distract herself from her issues only to put herself in a worst situation. The second act begins with not just Sarah’s own reunion with Robert but also an unexpected visitor to his 8-year-old son Albie (Jakob Shaw), whose mother is going away for the weekend, forcing Robert to spend a day with him. Despite Robert’s faults as a man who cares more about himself than Albie, he is aware of his faults as he knows he is not the parental figure Albie needs where he would have an unfortunate encounter with Albie’s stepfather. The third act relates to Sarah trying to do something for Robert as he is alone in his house while she is also trying to deal with her own situation where elements of surrealism would occur.
Cassavetes’ direction is stylish for some of the moments that involve surrealism as it plays into Sarah’s own thoughts about her family. Yet, Cassavetes maintains a sense of normalcy in terms of the compositions he creates with much of the film set in Robert’s home which is the home that Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands own in Los Angeles, California. Shot on locations in Southern California including Los Angeles and parts of Las Vegas, Cassavetes creates a film that is lively yet also full of uncertainty in his compositions with the wide and medium shots to get a look into the locations including Robert’s home where the hallways has this sense of claustrophobia to play into Robert’s own isolation. There are also close-ups that play into the loneliness that both Robert and Sarah deal with, as Cassavetes also aims for this sense of drama that does feel theatrical only because it is set at Robert’s house. Cassavetes’ usage of tracking shots is also key as its help play into the movement of one location at the house to another instead of aiming for something loose with hand-held cameras.
Cassavetes’ approach to surrealism plays more into Sarah’s own thoughts as her own family life begins to crumble. Notably a violent scene in the first act when she is in Paris thinking about her husband and daughter as well as a few other moments in the film’s third act. It all plays with Sarah trying to make sense of her faults where she decides to do something for Robert since he no longer has his many girlfriends at the house. What she does is a shock to Robert, but he cares about Sarah that he is willing to go along with it despite his own faults. Even when Sarah goes into a state of delirium as she becomes overwhelmed with her own drama as Robert begins to do anything to get her out of her state. Cassavetes would create a sense of urgency in the drama while also keeping things uncertain as it relates to the fates of both Robert and Sarah as they are both at a crossroad over their own individual lives as they need each other more than ever. Overall, Cassavetes crafts a somber yet rapturous film about two siblings who reunite to deal with their own loneliness.
Cinematographer Al Ruban does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with the way some of the nighttime interior/exterior scenes are presented along with the sunny look of the daytime exterior scenes. Editor George C. Villasenor does excellent work with the editing with its stylish approach to jump-cuts while knowing when not to cut during some of the long tracking shots. Production designer Phedon Papamichael and art director Maria Caso do amazing work with the look of Robert’s home with its array of picture galleries as well as the hotel room he and his son stayed in Vegas as well as the home of Susan. Costume designers Jennifer Smith-Ashley and Lydia Manderson do fantastic work with the costumes in the posh dresses that Sarah wears to the suits and tuxedos that Robert wear as it plays into their lifestyles.
Makeup artist Michael Stein and hairstylist Deann Power do terrific work with the look of the characters in some of the performance parts such as the nightclub and a weird ballerina performance in the film’s third act. The special effects by John Eggett does nice work with some of the film’s minimal effects that play into a few surreal moments that Sarah dreams about. Sound mixers Bo Harwood, Richard Lightstone, and Mike Denecke do superb work with the sound in capturing everything that is happening on location including music that is played in a room or at a club. The film’s music by Bo Harwood is wonderful for its music score that only appears sparingly in its mixture of jazz and electronic music that plays into the drama and some of the surreal elements while its music soundtracks consists largely of jazz, folk, and cabaret music including the stuff played at the nightclub that Robert goes to.
The film’s marvelous ensemble cast include some notable small roles from Raphael de Niro as Susan’s son, Xan Cassavetes and Dominique Davalos as backup singers for Susan, John Roselius as a man that Sarah meets in a bowling alley, David Rowlands as Sarah’s psychiatrist who gives her bad advice, Robert Fieldsteel as a doctor that appears late in the film, Tom Badal as Jack’s lawyer, Al Ruban as Sarah’s lawyer, Joan Foley as the judge in the custody case, Christopher O’Neill as a drag performer named Phyllis that Robert meets at a nightclub, Julie Allan as Robert’s secretary Charlene, Magaret Abbott as Susan’s mother Margarita whom Robert would party with, Eddy Donno as Albie’s stepfather who hates Robert, Michele Conway as Albie’s mother, and in the role of Robert’s girlfriends at his house include Leslie Hope, Renee Leflore, Joan Dykman, Bronwyn Bober, Victoria Morgan, Barbara Difrenza, and Cindy Davidson.
Jakob Shaw and Risa Martha Blewitt are fantastic in their respective roles as Robert’s son Albie and Sarah’s daughter Debbie as two kids who are in complicated situations with the former trying to get to know his dad is despite Robert’s troubling lifestyle while the latter is someone who feels smothered by her mother and prefers to be with her father. Diahnne Abbott is excellent as the cabaret singer Susan as a woman that Robert pursues as she is hesitant about spending time with him while being aware of his charms and good qualities though she is troubled by his bad qualities. Seymour Cassel is superb as Sarah’s ex-husband Jack Lawson who is weary of his ex-wife’s mood swings and behavior where he is trying to get custody of their daughter even though he admits to knowing much in how to deal with a teenage girl.
Finally, there’s John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands in tremendous performances in their respective roles as the siblings Robert and Sarah. Cassavetes brings a charm and liveliness to the character of Robert who likes to party and be around women while also works as a writer where he goes to nightclubs to do research as is reluctant to get serious in being in a relationship despite his feelings for Susan. Rowlands is the more dramatic of the two as a woman that is in anguish over her custody battle and often loving too much where she is coping with not just uncertainty in her life but also the fear of being truly alone. Cassavetes and Rowlands together are electrifying to watch as two broken people who are troubled by the past as well as issues in their own life as they play into this sibling dynamic of two people who really need each other.
Love Streams is a spectacular film by John Cassavetes that is highlighted by the performances of himself and wife Gena Rowlands. Along with its supporting cast, colorful visuals, study of loss and loneliness, and a playful yet eerie music soundtrack. The film is an intense dramatic film that is about two siblings who are both falling apart in their own lives as they also try to help each other after a long period of estrangement. In the end, Love Streams is a sensational film by John Cassavetes.
John Cassavetes Films: (Shadows (1959 film)) – (Too Late Blues) – (A Child is Waiting) – (Faces) – Husbands - (Minnie and Moskowitz) – A Woman Under the Influence - (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie) – (Opening Night) – Gloria (1980 film) - (Big Trouble (1986 film))
Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, Sinners is the story of twin brothers living in the American South in the early 1930s as they return home where they deal with an evil force that threatens themselves and their diverse community. The film is a period-horror film set during the Great Depression as twin brothers cope with not just trying to create something new in their hometown but also dealing with mysterious forces that want to destroy them. Starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Jack O’Connell, Lola Kirke, Li Jun Li, and Delroy Lindo. Sinners is a gripping and haunting film by Ryan Coogler.
Set in the span of 24 hours at Clarksdale, Mississippi in the fall of 1932, the film revolves around twin siblings who bought a mill to create a juke joint for the locals with the help of people they have known for years where the music their young cousin plays unknowingly attracts a group of mysterious individuals who comes to destroy all. It is a film that is not a conventional vampire film but rather an exploration of American folklore and the temptations of humanity through music during a dark period in American history in a world where African-Americans try to create something for themselves. Ryan Coogler’s screenplay has a unique narrative structure where it opens with a young man in Sammie (Miles Caton) arriving to a local church holding a broken guitar neck where his preacher father (Saul Williams) asks what happened. It then shifts to what happened a day earlier where Sammie’s twin cousins in Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore (Michael B. Jordan) have returned from Chicago with money they stole from gangsters to buy a mill from this racist landowner Hogwood (David Maldonado) who claims that the Ku Klux Klan are dead.
The film’s first act is about Smoke and Stack gathering people in Clarksdale for this juke joint party hoping it would bring money to a community that is largely African-American as well as a Chinese couple in Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li and Yao, respectively) who are shopkeepers in the town. They also bring in local bluesman Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) while Sammie meets a married woman in Pearline (Jayme Lawson) who would go to the joint. Stack meanwhile, bumps into a former flame in a white woman in Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) who is in town for her mother’s funeral as she harbors resentment for leaving him years ago. Smoke would reunite with his estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) who is an occultist as Smoke harbors resentment towards her over the death of their infant child years ago as she would help cook for the joint. The film’s second act is about the party with Mary also attending and getting reacquainted with Stack, yet the party is briefly interrupted by a trio of mysterious visitors led by the Irish immigrant Remmick (Jack O’Connell). Notably as they are drawn by the blues music that Sammie plays as they would play traditional Irish folk music as things go wrong. Notably as it leads to a third act of terror and violence.
Coogler’s direction is entrancing for not just its depiction of the American South during the Jim Crow era and in the final days of Prohibition during the Great Depression. It is also in playing up the many myths and spiritual elements about the American South as it is shot on location in and around New Orleans, Louisiana. Coogler opens the film with images of American folklore as it relates to the American South, Africa, and the Mississippi Choctaw tribe as they are seen briefly as they are in pursuit of something they deem is evil. The film then shows Sammie driving a car as he is covered in blood and holding a broken guitar neck as it would be shown again towards the end as it sort of plays into a reflective narrative. Coogler’s usage of wide and medium shots do allow him to get a lot of depth of field into the locations of the American South with a lot of coverage of cotton fields and ponds that do have this air of richness at a time when there is a lot of disparity and turmoil. A lot of its vast look is because Coogler shoots the film on 65mm IMAX film stock which allows him to get more coverage of the locations and the settings for the overall presentation.
Coogler also uses close-ups and medium shots to play into characters interacting with one another as well as some inventive tracking shots such as a scene of Smoke at a small town to meet the Chows. The direction also has this element of surrealism where Sammie plays a song on the Dobro resonator acoustic guitar that Stack claims is from Charley Patton. It plays into the way music can transcend all sorts of things where it can reach into the past as well as the future. The usage of music whether it is the blues or traditional Irish folk music is a key proponent of the film where Coogler also play into the sense of mysticism and spirituality that the music conjures. With the aid of choreographer Aakomon Jones, Coogler also play in the way music can bring together as it also has this sense of dread and terror that would play into the film’s third act where it does become a pure horror film. It is also where loss comes into play where many of the people who have become vampires are those filled with loss as well as resentment.
The third act is also filled with elements of surrealism as well as revelations about the mill that Smoke and Stack purchased. Notably as it forces people at the joint to fight for their own survival with Sammie at the center due to the music he played as well as being a survivor of what had happened. Coogler uses that film’s opening scene to also be an ending of sorts that would also include a mid-credit scene as it relates to Sammie and everything he endured back in his life. A lot of which plays into the legend of American blues as Clarksdale is a legendary area of where American blues came from dating back to Robert Johnson and the legend that he sold his soul to the devil. Coogler does a lot to play into these myths as it relates to the blues as he creates a film that does act like a blues song. Overall, Coogler crafts an unsettling yet ravishing film about twin brothers trying to create a juke joint in their hometown unaware of the evil forces they are inviting.
Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw does incredible work with the film’s cinematography where the usage of the 65mm film stock allows the film to have beauty in the nighttime interiors for the scenes at the juke joint with the usage of candles and available light as well as the gorgeous and colorful imagery for some of the daytime exteriors as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Michael P. Shawver does excellent work with the editing with its usage of stylish montages for some early bits in the film as well as some rhythmic cut to play into the suspense and horror. Production designer Hannah Beachler, with set decorator Monique Champagne and supervising art director Jesse Rosenthal, does brilliant work with the set design of the town of Clarksdale with its shops as well as the mill where Smoke and Stack have their juke joint as it is the centerpiece of the film. Costume designer Ruth E. Carter does fantastic work with the costumes in the posh-like dresses that Mary and Pearline wear in the juke joint as well as the expensive suits Smoke and Stack wear as well as the ragged look of some of the characters.
Special effects makeup artists Kelsey Berk, Bailey Domke, Lauren Spencer, and Kevin Wasner, along with hair designer Shunika Terry Jennings, do amazing work with the look of the characters in their vampire state with the colorful eyes as well as the hairstyle that many of the characters had at that time. Special effects supervisor Matt Kutcher and visual effects supervisor Michael Ralla do marvelous work with the visual effects as it play into the surreal elements of the film with the elements of mysticism and for some moments of set-dressing for the exterior scenes. Sound designer Steve Boeddeker does superb work with the sound as the layer of sound of what is heard on location as well as the way the music is presented when it is performed live as there are a lot of things that are presented as it is a highlight of the film.
The film’s music by Ludwig Goransson is phenomenal for its hypnotic and unsettling score that is a mixture of ambient, blues, and folk music. With additional production by Goransson’s wife Serena, the music is this collage of styles that play into elements of traditional music with elements of modern music including metal, hip-hop, and electronic music with contributions from musicians like Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, Raphael Saadiq, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Bobby Rush, and Buddy Guy. The soundtrack also features elements of traditional blues and Irish folk songs along with original songs performed on set from Miles Caton, Jayme Lawson, Delroy Lindo, Jack O’Connell, Lola Kirke, Peter Dreimanis, and other recorded music from Hailee Steinfeld and Rod Wave. The soundtrack and score is a tremendous highlight of the film as it is a major proponent in the film’s story.
The casting by Francine Maisler is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Helena Hu as the Chow’s daughter Lisa, Saul Williams as Sammie’s preacher father Jedidiah, Mark L. Patrick as a Choctaw horseback scout, David Maldonado as a landowner in Hogwood who sells the mill and its property to Smoke and Stack, Lola Kirke and Peter Dreimanis as married KKK members in Joan and Bert who later join Remmick in wreaking havoc, Yao as Grace’s shopkeeper husband Bo Chow, and Omar Benson Miller as a longtime friend of Smoke and Stack in Cornbread who works at the juke joint as a bouncer. Li Jun Li is fantastic as Grace Chow as a Chinese shopkeeper who creates the sign for the juke joint as well as serving alcohol as she also copes with the chaos that is happening later in the film as well as threats towards her daughter. Jayme Lawson is excellent as Pearline as a young married woman Sammie falls for as she would also prove herself to be a solid blues singer while also dealing with the chaos happening later in the film including being hesitant to eat garlic.
Jack O’Connell is brilliant as the Irish immigrant Remmick who arrives mysteriously as is later revealed to be a vampire as he is fascinated by the music that Sammie plays as he would channel his own traditional Irish folk music to seduce those who follow him. Delroy Lindo is incredible as Delta Slim as a blues musician who knows a lot about music as he is also someone who loves to drink where he is elder statesman of sorts who is aware of Sammie’s talents while also delivering some of the funniest lines in the film. Wunmi Mosaku is amazing as Smoke’s estranged wife who also works in the occult as she believes in superstitions and such while harbors resentment towards Smoke who left Clarksdale after the death of their daughter while also being someone who knows about how to deal with vampires. Hailee Steinfeld is phenomenal as Mary as a former flame of Stack who harbors resentment for being left behind where she hopes to rekindle their relationship while also dealing with the evil outside of the juke joint.
Miles Caton is tremendous in his film debut as Smoke and Stack’s cousin Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore as a preacher’s son who is also a gifted musician that can play the blues in a way that is entrancing. Yet, he is also someone that is unaware of how gifted he is in how it would attract a form of evil that would haunt him where Caton brings a naturalism to a young man that would encounter fear of the worst kind as it is a major discovery in the film. Finally, there’s Michael B. Jordan in a spectacular dual-performance as the twin siblings Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore. Jordan’s performance as these twins has him bring different subtleties to two different characters with Smoke being the more serious and somber of the twins while Stack is a livelier person than Smoke as there are a lot of nuances that Jordan brings in the two performances. Even as things would intensify where Jordan adds elements of fear and terror in the roles to add up to the suspense and horror as it is a career-defining performance for Jordan.
Sinners is an outstanding film by Ryan Coogler. Featuring great performances from its ensemble cast, a gripping story of loss and fear in the American South, a balance of different genres, intoxicating visuals, an immersive sound design, and a grand yet unsettling music score and soundtrack. This is a film that does not define itself in any genre while also playing into the power of music as it transcends all sorts of things including past, present, and future in all its beauty and ugliness. In the end, Sinners is a magnificent film by Ryan Coogler.
Directed, shot, designed, co-scored, and edited by Gints Zilbalodis and written by Zilbalodis and Matiss Kaza, Straume (Flow) is the story of a cat trying to survive with other animals in a post-apocalyptic world where water levels are rising. The film is a silent animated film made with free and open-source software in Blender where it explores a cat who deals with its surroundings as well as other animals in a world that is filled with the unknown. Straume is a majestic and intoxicating film by Gints Zilbalodis.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world with rising water levels, the film is the simple story of a cat who struggles to survive the dangerous environment and other animals where it would board a boat shared by a capybara and later joined by a lemur, a dog from a previous encounter, and a secretary bird. It is a film that has a simple premise with no dialogue or narration but rather be told through images, expression, and animals encountering each other and their surroundings. Gints Zilbalodis’ screenplay is minimal in terms of its structure with this black cat being its main protagonist as this cat also deals with a world with water as well as other animals on the land, he is in that include lots of dogs including a white Labrador Retriever who would become one of the passengers on the boat they would board later in the film. During the trip on the boat, the cat would also learn to swim thanks to the capybara as well as gain an ally in a secretary bird who refused to kill him for his flock.
Zilbalodis’ direction is astonishingly ravishing in its imagery as he is aided by animation director Leo Silly Pelissier who is also the film’s co-director. In the usage of the free and open-source Blender software, Zilbalodis also serves as the film’s editor, cinematographer, and art director where he and a team of animators put a lot of effort into creating a world that has an element of realism in the animation. Notably in the way water moves and how a cat would swim underwater to catch fish as there is a lot of diligence in how a school of fish is shown underwater. Zilbalodis’ creation of the animals has an air of crudeness in the animation, yet it has a sense of charm in the way they move and how water is presented on an animal. Zilbalodis also creates some unique compositions as well as a lot of shots that linger on for minutes where the camera would follow a character in one part of the location and to another.
Since this is a film where this is no dialogue spoken, it is in the animals in how they speak where they all communicate with one another even though a dog, a cat, a secretary bird, a capybara, and a lemur all speak differently. With the aid of sound designer Gurwal Coic-Gallas, the sound of the environment in the way water sounds underwater and above water as well as how nature is presented from afar. Zilbalodis’ direction does use a lot of wide and medium shots to get a vast scope of these locations. The mindfulness in the design of the landscape, rock towers, and places where humans used to inhabit as it help play into the intense atmosphere of rain and heavy water currents with close-ups of the cat dealing with that intensity. Adding that sense of intensity is the film’s music by Zilbalodis and Rihards Zalupe that has this bombastic mixture of orchestral elements and ambient-electronic music as it would help play into the drama and suspense. Even to the film’s end where there are moments that are mystical yet also grounded in realism as it relates to everything these animals have been through. Overall, Zilbalodis crafts a ravishing and exhilarating film about a cat surviving a post-apocalyptic flood with a bunch of different animals on a boat.
Straume is a magnificent film by Gints Zilbalodis. Featuring gorgeous animation, a simple yet compelling story of survival and friendship, and a wonderful music score. It is an animated film that proves that even if a story has been told through many versions where it can find new ways as well as knowing how to keep it simple. In the end, Straume is an outstanding film by Gints Zilbalodis.
Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes, Challengers is the story of a tennis prodigy who becomes a coach following a career-ending injury as she tries to help her husband who is on a losing streak as he is set to go into a match against her former boyfriend. The film is a romantic-sports drama that explores a love triangle between three tennis players from their time when they were filled with promise to later becoming more professional with a young woman being the coach as she finds herself caught in a triangle again. Starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, AJ Lister, and Hailey Gates. Challengers is a gripping and evocative film by Luca Guadagnino.
Told in the span of 13 years from 2006 to 2019, the film explores the dynamic between three tennis players as they engage into a love triangle that would play into their personal and professional lives. The film is an unconventional genre-bending film where it plays into the intensity of the game of tennis and how the game also play into the lives of these three people who love the game. Justin Kuritzkes’ screenplay is told in a non-linear narrative where it shifts back and forth from this challengers’ match between two once-close friends in Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) who were once partners and won the boys’ junior doubles title at the U.S. Open in 2006 is where they would meet the tennis prodigy Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). The narrative takes place in 2019 where Donaldson has become a major star but has returned from injury and is on a losing streak with Tashi as both his wife and coach as she books him as a wild card for a Challenger event in New Rochelle, New York. Also, at New Rochelle there is Zweig whose career has fallen into hard times as he lives in his car and enters tournaments for money as he also takes part in the event.
Kuritzkes’ script explore the dynamic of the three where Tashi and Donaldson would both go to Stanford University in continuing their career in college with the former being slated to go pro until an injury threatened her career. Around that time, Tashi was dating Zweig who got her number after a game that Donaldson and Zweig played the year before. Yet, part of the reason into why Zweig and Tashi’s relationship had issues is due to the former’s immaturity and the latter’s own desire to be great in the game of tennis. After a few years in which Tashi and Donaldson reconnect with the latter asking the former to coach him, she finds a new lease on life, yet the presence of Zweig still looms. It all would be inter-cut with these images from what is happening at New Rochelle where there is a lot at stake in this match between Zweig and Donaldson for both.
Luca Guadagnino’s direction is stylish in the way he presents the game but also the period of 13 years in the life of these three people. Shot on location in Boston and areas near the city including some of its tennis stadiums, Guadagnino creates a world where these characters are driven by a game that requires a lot of skill, timing, strength, and mental capabilities. Guadagnino’s usage of wide and medium shots play into the length of a tennis court and the places the characters go to with the latter also appearing for intimate scenes involving the protagonists as they interact with one another. Most notably a scene in 2006 where Zweig, Donaldson, and Tashi are all talking and later engage into a threesome that highlights a lot of emotions that occur as it would also mark a change in the relationship between Zweig and Donaldson who knew each other in boarding school since they were 12. Guadagnino’s compositions do play into sexual tension among all three protagonists as well as this sense of competition that does play like a mental tennis match.
Guadagnino also create some unique set pieces such as a meeting late in the film between Zweig and Tashi on a late and windy night that plays into a lot of the emotional chaos that is happening. Even as it leads to this match that Zweig and Donaldson are to play where the match itself has Guadagnino create some unique compositions. Notably in a point-of-view shot from their perspective as they hit the ball with their rackets as well as other stylish shots that only adds to the intensity of the game. Guadagnino also plays into Tashi’s perspective as she is seen sitting in the middle where she would look at one of the men at times and sometimes at the middle. The final set for the match point is where everything comes into play as it is about the game and who wants to win it. Overall, Guadagnino crafts an exhilarating and riveting film about a love triangle between three players that come to ahead at a Challenger tennis tournament match.
Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom does amazing work with the film’s cinematography in the way many of the daytime exterior scenes are shot as well as the scenes set at night including some of the interior scenes in the hotel suites that Tashi and Donaldson stay at. Editor Marco Costa does brilliant work with the editing where it has a lot of style in its rhythmic cutting and jump-cuts to play into the intensity of the tennis game as well as in the dramatic moments as it is a highlight of the film. Production designer Merissa Lombardo, along with set decorator Jess Royal plus art directors Paul Alix, Jasmine Cho, and Matthew Gatlin, does excellent work with the look of the hotel rooms and hotel suites the characters stay in as well as a few places at the tennis club where the Challengers game happens. Costume designer J.W. Anderson does fantastic work with the costumes where some of it is stylish in some of the posh clothing that Tashi would wear as well as the clothes the men wear in the different years of their lives.
Hair designer Massimo Gattabrusi and makeup designer Fernanda Perez, along with prosthetics designer Howard Berger, do nice work with the look of the characters in the youthful and shaggy look of Donaldson early in the film that would later become Zweig’s look later along with the hairstyles that Tashi would have as she gets older. Special effects supervisor John Ruggeri, along with visual effects supervisors Brian Drewes, Harut Harutyunyan, and Riza Patel, does terrific work with the visual effects as it relates to some of the tennis scenes including the climatic game in the film. Sound designer Paul Carter and sound editor Craig Berkey do superb work with the sound in how a ball sounds when it hits a tennis racket as well as the atmosphere of a tennis stadium where is a lot of detail that is captured in the sound.
The film’s music by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross is phenomenal for its pulsating and hypnotic electronic-based score that include themes that play into the characters as well as the games that occur in the film while music supervisor Robin Urdang compiles a music soundtrack that features music from Nelly, David Bowie, Spoon, Fine Young Cannibals, Devonte Hynes, Lily Allen, Blu Cantrell, Bruce Springsteen, Benjamin Britten, Patty Pravo, Caetano Veloso, Extreme Music, and some classical pieces that add to drama in the film.
The casting by Francine Maisler is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Burgess Byrd as a USTA official who was also a line judge at earlier Zweig/Donaldson match, Nada Despototvich as Tashi’s mother who often watches her granddaughter, Naheem Garcia as Tashi’s father in the 2006 scenes, Darnell Appling as the umpire for the Challengers game between Zweig & Donaldson, A.J. Lister as Tashi and Donaldson’s daughter Lily, and Hailey Gates as a blind date that Zweig meets in New Rochelle at the hotel where Tashi and Donaldson were staying at. Mike Faist is marvelous as Art Donaldson as a reserved young man who would be more of a friend to Tashi and later her husband where he deals with recovering from his own injury and a losing streak where he becomes unsure if he wants to continue.
Josh O’Connor is remarkable as Patrick Zweig as the more arrogant of the two men as he is skilled in the game, but he is also immature when it comes to emotions where he would deal with living in his car and barely making money while also having feelings for Tashi. Finally, there is Zendaya in a tremendous performance as Tashi Duncan as a former tennis prodigy turned coach who has a love for the game as well as a better understanding of it in terms of chemistry, emotion, and strategy. Zendaya’s performance is also filled with a lot of grit as well as a sensuality that makes her appealing for the men to be entranced to as she also has amazing chemistry with both O’Connor and Faist as it is one of her finest performances to date.
Challengers is a sensational film by Luca Guadagnino that features great performances from Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. Along with Justin Kuritzkes’ compelling script, gorgeous visuals, its mixture of sports and drama, and a phenomenal music score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The film is a fascinating and ravishing film that is both a unique study of the sport of tennis as well as the people who play the game as they are caught in a chaotic love triangle. In the end, Challengers is a spectacular film by Luca Guadagnino.
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Luca Guadagnino Films: (The Protagonists) - (Tilda Swinton: The Love Factory) - (Mundo civilzado) - (Cuoco contadino) - (Melissa P.) - (The Love Factory No. 3 Pippo Delbono - Bisogna morire) – I Am Love - (Bertolucci on Bertolucci) – A Bigger Splash - Call Me By Your Name - Suspiria - The Staggering Girl - (Fiori, Fiori, Fiori) – (Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams) – (We Are Who We Are (2020 TV series)) – Bones and All - (Queer) - (After the Hunt)
If there was ever the story of someone monumental that people want to see on the big screen, it would have to be an audacious project. A film about the Beatles would fit that description but one film covering the lives of John, Paul, George, and Ringo would impossibly considering that the story of the Beatles do not play into the conventions of what is expected in a bio-pic. News about a bio-pic on the Beatles have been told over many years but in February of last year. British director Sam Mendes announced plans to direct and produce not one but four films about the Beatles with each film told from the perspective of one of the Beatles. It is an idea that could work in which audiences can see period of the Beatles be shown by one of them and another period from another Beatle.
This is the right way to go and with the announcement of the four actors to play the Beatles in Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. The potential for something astronomical is happening yet this is only the beginning as the film is set for an April 2028 release. Still, there is a long way to go in not just writing the script on all four films but also the approach into the narrative of the Beatles on where to start and where to end. There is also no announcement about who else will be in the film. There are a lot of things audiences want to see in these films about the Beatles as I have produced a list of 10 things I want to see in these four films about the Beatles.
1. Balanced Perspectives of the Period from the Beatles
If one were to make a film about the Beatles told from the perspective of one member of the Beatles. Each film must share a similar running time but also coverage of how they saw things from a certain period of the band’s career. The idea of how Ringo saw things when he was officially part of the band, and the early days of Beatlemania would have him deal with sudden fame and such could be an example. In John’s story, it could be the third film in how he coped with the death of the band’s manager Brian Epstein, his failing marriage to Cynthia Powell, and how he met Yoko is another idea. There are many ways the story of the Beatles could be told as there is a period of 13 years from their formation to their dissolution that could split into four parts. The thing that needs to work is that each film must have a strong narrative to see how all four of these men saw things.
2. Not Playing into Traditional and Cliched Bio-Pic Narratives
Music bio-pics have become big hits in the box office although not everyone is happy about it as some claim that these films are Wikipedia pages on films that tells a basic element of the story but not the whole story. With the Beatles, a traditional narrative does not work because there is so much ground to cover not just the music, they were making but also the cultural impact they had on the world. Jake Kasdan’s 2007 spoof film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story made fun of those conventional narrative takes to the point that recent films such as Bohemian Rhapsody on Queen, Baz Luhrmann’s film about Elvis Presley, and the recent film on Bob Marley in Bob Marley: One Love play too heavily in these traditional narratives where an artist rises, falls, alienates certain people, make a comeback, and then die.
With the Beatles, it does not work in that way as films such as Todd Haynes’ anti bio-pic on Bob Dylan in I’m Not There and Oren Moverman’s film on Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy strayed from those narratives. With the Beatles, they do not fit into those conventions and condensing certain things about parts of the band’s story would be upsetting to fans of the Beatles. Since it is also likely to not be a conventional bio-pic, this would allow Mendes and his crew to present the film in different ways in terms of its photography and film formats.
3. The Presentation of the Music
Music rights have been a particular issue in why certain films about artists could not be made though some have attempted to make films without the music of that artist as the 2020 film Stardust about David Bowie’s first trip to America in 1971 was poorly-received as one of its faults was that the filmmakers were refused permission to use his music by Bowie’s estate including Bowie’s son Duncan Jones. Mendes is fortunate that he is working with Apple Corp Ltd. CEO Jeff Jones in the film as he will get to use the music of the Beatles. Yet, Mendes does need to avoid making the four films into a musical jukebox as every fan knows the hits but there are also album tracks and deep cuts that the fans would want to hear.
Another thing that Mendes wants to avoid is what Baz Luhrmann did with his Elvis movie had other artists interpret the Beatles as the result of what Luhrmann did polarized audiences as some of those songs were used with modern equipment including Autotune that must have angered fans of Presley. While it is likely that Giles Martin would be involved in the music as he had been remastering and remixing the original recordings with the MAL software. The music of the Beatles must be presented with great respect in a way that a new generation can be introduced to this great music.
4. A Strong Supporting Cast in the Roles of the Fifth Beatles
A film about the Beatles would need to have people to play certain parts as the story of the Beatles is incomplete without the involvement of those who played major roles in their ascent. Notably the role of the Fifth Beatle as there are several individuals who are all important in what they did for the band. Obviously, the films must include Beatles manager Brian Epstein and Beatles producer George Martin as they were instrumental into their ascent in different parts of the Beatles’ inner circle. Then there are people like longtime assistants in Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans, engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick, publicist Derek Taylor, fan club president Freda Kelly, publisher Dick James, and Billy Preston. It is one thing to play one of the Beatles but for anyone to play these individuals would be a major coup as there is a dream ensemble that can be made for this. My choice for George Martin would be Benedict Cumberbatch and Maisie Williams as Freda Kelly.
5. Humor
If there is anything that the Beatles are known for throughout their career, it is the fact that they never took themselves seriously. They were always providing a sense of fun and joy in what they did. Part of the problem with some bio-pics is that there is not enough humor and everything is taken seriously. The Beatles are known for not taking themselves seriously through the films they made as well as the press conference they did when they first arrived in America. The Beatles story must have moments that can get audiences to laugh along with some jokes every now and then. Even in some of the stories about some of the people they met where there could be a funny moment where the band met Bob Dylan who introduced them to marijuana. There also could be moments in the recording studio as it plays into the sense of fun as there were a lot of those funny moments in The Beatles: Get Back.
I do have one request for the film regarding humor in which there is a moment where Sgt. Pepper is about to release where someone in the band or in their inner circle say, “I hate to be the sod that has to release the record on the same day as this”. It then cuts to people at the record shop getting the album while a young man is there sitting on a chair trying to sell his own debut album. That young bloke is… David Bowie.
6. Maintaining a Sense of Authenticity into the Small Details
One thing about bio-pics that annoy the fuck out of me is inaccuracy. Watching some of these bio-pics about certain artist has me seeing things where I am like “wait a minute, that did not happen.” Other things include the instruments the musicians play where there was a moment in Bohemian Rhapsody where the band is playing the song Another One Bites the Dust and Brian May is playing a Gibson Les Paul and I was like… “I do not remember him playing a Gibson Les Paul” and anyone who knew about Queen knew that May played a few guitar models including his Red Special but never a Gibson Les Paul. It is among these things that these four films must understand, which is why there must be a consultant for these things. Otherwise, you would have fans nitpick over every little detail over what instrument the band played and what model. People do take this shit seriously as it is something these four films must avoid as Mendes is likely to be aware of what he needs to do and what not to do.
Then there is the fact that these films will be set in the 1960s as it is not just in the models of the guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards that was used but also the recording equipment in those times. There are also some famous locations that the Beatles were famous for such as the Cavern Club which is still around although it is unlikely that they could shoot scenes in that film. There are a lot of things that Mendes and his crew need to do to recreate that sense of
7. A Fair and Balanced Portrayal of Yoko Ono and the Spouses/Girlfriends of the Beatles
Once considered to be the villain of the Beatles story in an unfair way, Yoko Ono fortunately has gained apologies from fans over the years of her involvement in John Lennon’s life and being in the Beatles recording sessions because John wanted her there. Ono is a key figure of the story of the Beatles as someone that did play a sense of discord of how the band did things back then, but she was never this disruptive figure when it came to the band making music. Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back destroyed the myth of Ono breaking up with the Beatles as the band’s break-up was more complicated than just someone’s girlfriend involved. Ono is likely to be a major character in the film the roles of the Pattie Boyd, Maureen Starkey, Linda McCartney, Cynthia Powell, and other women in the lives of the Beatles are likely to be minor, but they must be told with respect as a few of them were in the recording while Maureen Starkey should be known as the #1 fan of the Beatles. Thanks Mo!
8. Not Being Afraid to Show the Flaws of the Individual Members
Bio-pics often skirt around certain things about the individual they are exploring as they often delve into parody like Walk Hard in which Dewey Cox goes to rehab as he needs more blankets, less blankets, and more and less blankets. The Beatles themselves are flawed individuals as I am sure that Mendes has been able to talk to McCartney, Starr, Olivia Harrison, and John Lennon’s estate about the portrayal of themselves. Lennon was known for having an attitude while McCartney was often seen as bossy. While Walk Hard had a scene of Cox and his band meeting the Beatles who are portrayed in the most exaggerated and humorous ways.
That film succeeded in playing into Lennon and McCartney’s ego with Harrison wanting more songs on the album and Starr trying to get his input into the music. It could be told in a humorous way, but it should not skirt the fact that these men are human and had their bad moments. It would at least allow the audience to see these men as just four guys from Liverpool who made it big but also had a hard time with fame and their own responsibilities as men. Plus, they were not those clean-cut boys that were the object of affection for teenyboppers. These were four foul-mouthed assholes from Liverpool but that is why people love them.
9. No Stupid Stunt-Casting on Smaller Roles
Last year saw the release of the Brian Epstein bio-pic Midas Man starring Jacob Lloyd-Fortune as Epstein that also featured the much-reviled late night talk show host Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan. The film has not been seen widely by audiences while it has also received criticism from fans of the Beatles as the idea of Leno as Ed Sullivan is just poor stunt-casting. Since this film is going to be set in the 1960s where it would feature actors playing roles like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks, and many others, the Beatles met along the way. It would be annoying if there is a certain celebrity in playing a certain part though I do have an idea of having Tom Hanks play the role of Ed Sullivan is something I would not mind. Yet, it should be kept to a minimum as the idea of a popular celebrity in today’s world playing someone like Mick Jagger would be distracting.
10. PLAY IT FUCKING LOUD!
When it comes to the Beatles, the fact that these four films will be released simultaneously as part of a cinematic binge is a way to get people in the movie theaters and just lose themselves. Since the pandemic, it has been slow for people to find a reason to go to the cinema as there has not been a lot of excitement with streaming being the thing where people can watch a film and stay home. Yet, what Mendes is hoping to create is something different as there has not been a major cinematic event in years that can get people to go the movie theaters. More importantly, the fact that these four films will be about one of the greatest acts in popular music has to be more than just a cinematic event.
It must be grand in the way that Barbenheimer was in the summer of 2023 where audiences got to see 2 different films in Barbie and Oppenheimer. Yet, this feels a lot bigger as it must be seen on the biggest screen possible with the loudest sound available. This is not fucking rocket science! This is motherfucking rock n’ roll! A film in which the audience can sing-along to these old songs with people of all ages. From those who saw them back in the 1960s to the kids who were given 1 greatest hits album from the Beatles in 2000. This is a chance for audiences to experience something that few people have experienced as this might be the last thing that Paul and Ringo will offer to the world.
Spring has arrived once again and well; things are pretty fucked up here in America. Yeah. We are in some bad times as everything is now costing more these days. Eggs. Canned food. Imported food and material. Yeah, thanks a lot Elon and Dookie Tank you fucking cunts. I recently joined Reddit as I have created my own account just to check out conversations and news as X is not a place to go to anymore. I have found a lot of interesting things including how the rest of the world sees the U.S. as there was a Swedish newsclip that had a picture of Russian president Vladimir Putin mentioned as the U.S. president. Honestly, they are not wrong. That is right Americans, we are now Russians so we will now have to sing their anthem. Putin is our real president with Elon as the vice president. Dookie Tank as our puppet-in-chief and J.D. Vance is the Bottom Bitch of that bunch.
News reports about people getting taken and deported as there has also been people at the University of Columbia in New York getting arrested with one person having been detained where no one knows where he is. The idea of forced disappearances now feels like a reality as it is now dangerous to live in the U.S. It is amazing that this country is supposed to be the representative of the free world where immigrants can be welcomed and be given the opportunity to prove themselves. That dream has already fucking died. I do not blame the rest of the world for looking down on us and I do not blame Canada and Mexico for putting tariffs on this country since Dookie Tank put tariffs on them first. After all, we did this to ourselves, and we have no one to blame but ourselves for believing in a bullshit system that allows ass-clowns like Dookie Tank to take power with politicians complaining about drag queens.
In the month of March 2025, I saw a total of 15 films 10 first-timers and 5 re-watches with 4 of those first-timers being films directed/co-directed by women as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. Down from last month as I just spend time not doing anything while I still have writer’s block for my Auteurs piece on David Lean. The big highlight of the month and the best film of the month easily is my Blind Spot pick in The Sting. Here are the top 9 first-timers that I saw for March 2025:
One of the 2 short films that I saw on MUBI as the first is from Pawel Pawlikowski as it is a five-minute black-and-white silent film short with sound effects as it plays into the dynamic between a piano player and his muse. It is a comical short that explores that dynamic as it stars Malgoratza Bela and Marcin Masecki as the latter also does the music in the film. It is a fun and entrancing short that Pawlikowski makes with an ending that is shocking yet inventive.
Rotten: Behind the Foodfight
Ever wondered what it is like to participate in making one of the worst animated films ever made for the span of 15 years of production? Well, there is this documentary I found on YouTube about the making of the 2012 animated debacle that is Foodfight! Starring Charlie Sheen, Eva Longoria, Hilary Duff, Wayne Brady, and Christopher Lloyd among others as it is widely considered one of the worst films ever made. The 54-minute documentary film by Ziggy Cashmere is an exploration of the chaos that went into production that include its director falling for one his animated creations, poor working conditions, theft, and a director’s ego as he tried to schmooze many studios into funding this film that cost ranging from $45 million to $65 million with a final gross of $120,000 where it was released to a few countries including Britain.
Someday
Directed by Spike Jonze and starring Pedro Pascal, this five-minute commercial/short has Pascal dealing with a break-up as he listens to music on his new Apple AirPods 4. It is a five-minute short that plays into a man’s emotions as he deals with heartbreak in the cold weather, but things will be fine as he might get someone new. It is a short filled with unique dance choreography as it displays the many talents that Pascal has dancing and moving around in different color schemes. Jonze creates something that is so fun to watch although who the fuck would break-up with Pedro Pascal?
Leguas
Lucrecia Martel’s 12-minute short that she made in 2015 has her exploring her themes of people living outside of conventional society as it revolves around kids from an Indigenous community in Argentina. Especially as it relates to them dealing with people from conventional society trying to take over their land as it plays into the importance of education. Even as it plays into this post-colonial world where Indigenous communities are shrinking with kids from that community dealing with the lack of a future.
Autobiografia di una Borsetta
The second short that I saw on MUBI is the 29th entry in Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales short films series and easily one of the best entries from that series from director Joanna Hogg. This 24-minute short film is told from the perspective of a Miu Miu handbag as it is purchased by a rich family for their teenage daughter. Then, a series of events happen where the bag would be in possession of one owner and then another throughout the film as it is set in Italy where a lot of things happen. A lot of it is said from that bag’s perspective as it is an unconventional short but one that shows the richness of a handbag that has a lot of personality.
Dark Side of the Ring(season 6, episode 1)
The newest season of the wrestling series on Vice opens with a story that every wrestling fan knows about, which is the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view event from WWE that featured the now-legendary match between the Undertaker and Mick Foley as Mankind in the Hell in the Cell cage match. The match is known for Undertaker throwing Foley off the top of the cage and Foley landing on the Spanish announce table and later being choke-slammed on top of the cage only for that top to break and Foley landing on the ring. The episode is more about Foley’s desire to do something memorable and at the cost of his own health as it features interviews with his wife Collette and a few of their kids including Noelle as the episode featured the infamous clip from Beyond the Mat in which Collette, Noelle, and one of Foley’s other kids watching the Rock hitting Foley with chair shots to the head. While Foley is still in good health having retired from wrestling, the effects of the physical abuse he took in wrestling still looms as his family worry about his mental state as he is getting older. It is an excellent episode though some of the things I learned about the cage including the fact that zip ties were used to hold some of the stuff on top of the cage is scary.
Well, that is all for March. Next month, the theatrical release I will watch will be Ryan Coogler’s Sinners though my Auteurs piece on him will have to wait longer as I want to finish my piece on Lean despite my writer’s block as I prefer to do an essay one at a time. The Blind Spot for next month is going to be Love Streams by John Cassavetes as I had a review prepared for it, but I went with The Sting since it was on Netflix and was about to leave the service. There will be other films I hope to catch up on though it is now more likely that I will not be posting a lot of reviews that I used to years ago.
Before I bid adieu, I want to express my condolences on those who passed away this month in such figures as Richard Chamberlain, George Foreman, Richard Norton, music engineer Terry Manning, Dodgers organist Nancy Bea Hefley, Denis Arndt, New York Times journalist Max Frankel, Bill Mercer, BBC Radio 1 DJ Andy Peebles, music video director Marty Callner, Emelie Dequenne, Jesse Colin Young of the Youngbloods, Wing Hauser, Jim Breazeale of the Atlanta Braves/Chicago White Sox, Bruce Glover, the original Emperor Palpatine in Clive Revill, film producer Stanley R. Jaffe, D’Wayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Tone`!, Roy Ayers, George Lowe aka Space Ghost, Angie Stone, and Joey Molland of Badfinger. We will miss you. This is thevoid99 signing off…
