A splendid thriller, which has more strength in its background than in the police investigation, and possibly the best English cast of the year. It's a clever idea that reveals important data for the police plot, but also to build an environment of hostile coexistence, talking about the inability to face a future that was taken by a privatization of industries that meant a dismantling of the economic base of the UK.
[Netflix] Another amazing creation of Spanish Alberto Mielgo that has a connection with his Oscar-winning short film "The Windshield Wiper" (2021), regarding how toxic relationships can be, here two predators involved in a battle without winners . The background of colonization and ambition is mixed with animation that experiments with colors, sounds and a complex editing, made by the director's company pinkman.tv.
[DOK.fest '22] A beautiful, spectacular and passionate love letter to science, through the images filmed by two lovers, the volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft. But the strength of the film is its condition of narration in which the tragedy always underlies, the one towards the scientists seemed to be heading without fear. There is an extraordinary editing with the material filmed and an outstanding use of music.
[NRK] No, it doesn't take ten hour-long episodes to tell a deep story. In its five 30-minute episodes, this series reveals much more about the dark process of growing up facing harsh and painful realities. But it does so with a sense of humor and irony, with an ability to balance drama and comedy, and with such lovable characters, that it ends up being one of the most revealing series in recent years.
Although the female point of view is corny and puerile in the voice-over texts, Sheridan manages to create a melancholic, sad and violent western with characters doomed to despair. And that reconstruction of a disillusioned colonialism provides characters as complex as Shea (Sam Elliott), who represents the beginning of the disappearance of a way of life and an era, for better and for worse, which is what masterfully connects the spirit of this prequel with "Yellowstone".
[NRK] Get the perfect balance between family drama and the chronicle of the enrichment of a small country like Norway thanks to the discovery of oil. Endowed with a great production design, focused more on indoor settings, it exposes on screen its status as the most expensive series in the history of Norwegian television. And draws political, religious and family scenarios with equal interest.
The director finally returns to the places where he feels most comfortable, building a comedy that seems to be reflected in Luis García Berlanga, and that manages to portray the idiosyncrasies of an entire country in a particular story. Impressive Javier Bardem in a character that balances perfectly between cartoon and reality, supported by a script that is precise in timing and structure.
A risky, tough film about reconciliation and forgiveness that Icíar Bollaín shows with deep respect for the characters (the real people), who avoids speeches and provokes all kinds of emotions. It's a film that transforms the viewer, so sure of our own opinions, to launch arguments that are difficult to understand but are moving. The point of view of forgiveness in the face of terror, of peace in the face of death.
[Cuatro] Spielberg uses an excellent calligraphy that reflects double realities: the painting, the mirrors, the wall that separates and the bridge that unites, East and West, two for one... The sense of patriotism depends on the point of view, while Tom Hanks uses the Constitution to demonstrate that being an American is not a matter of origin, but of integrity. There are also many scenes that are repeated, but showing two results: the looks on the train, the jump over the fence... Life is full of double meanings
A story about the small details of life, when it has an expiration date. John prepares for death and prepares his son for absence in scenes that are overflowing with emotion. James Norton supports the weight of his character and supports the child Daniel Lemont by interpreting his gazes, of a moving expressiveness. A wonderful film of a precise economy of resources that nevertheless slowly breaks our hearts.
[Filmin] It contains the best elements of Xavier Dolan's cinema, but above all, it manages an episode structure that allows it to focus on each of the characters, and it even intelligently uses the cliffhanger. A 100% Dolan's story, with the family disruption from an event in the past and complex relationships between siblings, and especially between the mother and her children. It fearlessly indulges in drama through close-ups, flashbacks and dark, stifling photography, backed by a splendid score by Hans Zimmer and David Fleming, surprisingly fitting perfectly into the director's universe.
[TV2 Play] Through an energetic proposal, the director and creator of the series offers a look at the youth of the Norwegian town of Sarpsborg in 2001, involved in a criminal life. There are echoes of Joachim Trier, Guy Ritchie and Danny Boyle, but the series manages to balance an eminently local personality with a recognized universal view of addiction and life on the edge. Although there is nothing new, it is reminiscent of wild proposals like "Spun" (2002) and feels comfortable in alternating formats and narrative chaos. It transmits adrenaline in all its essence.
[tv+] Without a doubt, it's the Apple's best foray into the science-fiction genre, an approach to a dystopian society that is based on George Orwell's "1984" raising questions about populism, control of the female body, and the construction of a state that keeps secrets to build coexistence. There's outstanding suspense management, as in episode 3, and a proper balance between personal traumas and the overview of a silo holding on fragile basis. Although sometimes it's too obvious, especially towards the end, it has a coherent ending to broaden the field of vision of its main themes.
If throughout the two seasons it manages to be a story that uses police drama as an excuse to talk about abuse and domestic violence, the Season 3 develops the tragedy of the scars of trauma and the stigma that remains on the victims, even if the culprit is convicted. The introduction of Ryan as a character who is unaware of the drama and the danger that his father represents is a splendid way of reflecting on the external gaze of a society that can hardly understand the wounds that remain in the victims of abuse.
A look at the fragility of the world from the point of view of a girl who doesn't need big events to build a subtle narrative of looks and gestures. In fact, sometimes it can be somewhat explanatory, as if the director wasn't sure of conveying the sensitivity that he manages to convey without difficulty. Rarely have relationships between adults and children been shown with this ability to find the right balance between sensitivity and distance. It is a beautiful film in all its senses, which has Carrey Crowley and especially Catherine Clinch as its best allies.
The film practices the exercise of increasing tension in which the director feels comfortable, but makes a brave turn in which the point of view is broken, causing less physical but more suffocating anguish. There are great moments in sequence shots that allow the actors to demonstrate their commitment to their characters, and an intelligent reflection on utopias and realities, on empty Spain and irrational hatred. Which places it along with "Speak no evil" as the two most disturbing representations about the human being that have been made this year.
[Filmin] One of the richest episodes in references, from David Cronenberg to Stanley Kubrick, and one of the darkest in the entire series. It introduces us to a disturbing environment, building two stories in one, which provoke a feeling of uneasiness, despite the fact that there are elements of humor (very dark), and using the old British television commercials for children from the 70s as a disruptive element.
[NRK] While S1 feels like a more conventional youth heartbreak story, S2 is radically elevated to offer one of the best portraits of youth recently produced. It is missed to go deeper into the psychological problems of young people, but the characters are so close and real that it is easy to empathize with them, and the "rånere" car culture becomes a reflection of the spirit of community and friendship.
A stark, heartbreaking look at a closed world that is shown in shots at the height of children (great performances by Maya Vanderbeque and Günter Duret). It is a world of school where a primal, visceral cruelty is shown, intrinsic to the human being ("I have not taught her that," says an adult). That is why the film addresses in a deeper way, beyond the harassment, a system that is damaged from its foundations.
[Human IDFF] The simplest is sometimes the most difficult. As simple as transmitting sensations through the contemplation of life in the countryside. In animal sanctuaries or organic farms. But the end is inevitable. Those final fifteen minutes so expressive, so heartbreaking. The expression of life (and death) in hypnotic images. The poetry of survival.
[Disney+] Progressively, the series has been transformed from a children's proposal that adults can watch, to a story that addresses adult themes that child viewers can also enjoy. In fact, that this episode exceeds the usual length is an approach that seems to have more of an eye on adult viewers than on children. The structure of this episode allows the creation of two parallel plots that nevertheless come together intelligently in the main idea, which talks about the difficult decisions that are made to achieve greater family well-being, even if this means leaving some important things behind. It is a beautiful story, more emotional than funny, with a certain farewell tone. If throughout its three seasons it has achieved some of the best children's episodes of recent times, this one is outstanding, with some especially exciting sequences such as the final montage with the acoustic version of the song "Lazarus drug", performed by the singer Meg Washington.
A beautiful film about loss and resistance that has ramifications for the impact that the 2011 earthquake had on Japanese society, but is so rich in themes and representations that it provides different layers of readings. It is an attractive story with excellently executed animation, typical of director Makoto Shinkai, which has a depth in the characters and plot that elevates it above the good level of animated cinema. And it is already part of a trilogy of great films directed by Shinkai that demonstrate his abilities, not only formal, but also narrative.
[Tivify] An extraordinary example of creating tension and suspense with minimal elements, especially in the masterful first part that takes place exclusively in Gondo's apartment. There are all the elements of Akira Kurosawa's cinema brought together in one of the most intense thrillers, with a description of Japan divided into impoverished classes that look up the top of the hill at the arrogant splendor of economic success. Splendid actors, an excellent script and a masterful sense of pacing serve to enrich the film.
[HBO Max] Jesse Armstrong manages to wrap up the main arc of the series in the final episode. A Shakespearean tragedy that serves to reflect today's society, with kingdoms of clay and a poisoned legacy on which the root of the confrontation is sustained. It will remain as one of the best fictions of recent times, which has been given the opportunity to conclude as the tragedy that it has always been, wrapped in splendid moments of humor and irony. And it builds such a clear look at the fragility of the US political and business system that could only have been described from the outside.
It builds a narrative and visual language that is impressive in the creation of images that have an emotional background in which the affection between father and daughter sustains a good part of the story. The use of reflections and objects that stand in front of the image of the characters, that delimit and break it, is particularly significant in those idyllic vacations that have a melancholic background. And the point of view from the fragmentation, when we really discover where it comes from, is one of the most fascinating narrative devices that have been seen this year.
One of the most enjoyable adaptations of the vampire universe, to which the years has only improved. It achieves the balance between terror and black humor, especially in the Grand Guignol of the last act, and almost poetically reflects the contradictions of its protagonist, the vampire who does not want to be a vampire, and the confusion about his own identity, with actors generously given to an LGBT party.
[HBO Max] There are doubts about whether reality is also a fiction, but whether it is or not, it is a fascinating path that always finds ways to surprise. There are echoes of Charlie Kaufman, but also of Jean Rouch's experiments in "La pyramide humaine" (1961), and although it may seem somewhat narcissistic when Nathan Fielder himself gets involved in one of the trials, practically expelling the protagonist, finally it serves to make an ethical questioning of his own experiment.
A resounding drama about police violence and state terrorism, but above all about the racism impregnated in French society. It is a series that practices a necessary Manichaeism, that strives to give the exact place to the consequences of an act of irrational violence, covered up by the government. And that places Oussekine in the emotional center to give identity to those who were denied.
[NRK] A social chronicle with a dark and ironic sense of humor about a fishing community burdened by catch quotas. There is a construction of characters that are twisted but at the same time attractive, wrapped in a certain existential melancholy, in a depressive environment. The fiction takes some elements of historical events, dissects Icelandic society and creates a unique and fascinating community.
[HBO Max] George Pelecanos and David Simon offer mastery in dialogue and character building, connecting with "The Wire" in the dissection, not of a corrupt police force, but of a political and social system that feeds corruption. This amplified look at the hard-won mistrust of the security forces is a vision of a rotten society, reminiscent of the documentary "The Force" (2017) in the pessimistic conclusion that the corrupt will be replaced by the corrupt.
