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Ultras (2020)
Beautiful
Like it or not to the Neapolitan supporters who felt called into question and who contested it even before it came out, therefore without seeing it, Ultras is a good film. The first work by Francesco Lettieri, a Neapolitan and Napoli fan, tells a personal insight into the football support for the Neapolitan team. Enriching and omitting it, without pretending to photograph reality but offering a picture that contains some characteristics.
But Ultras tells a story above all, as director Lettieri has kept to clarify, a film debutant but author of video clips for many artists (from Liberato which is an important presence in the Ultras soundtrack, in Calcutta, Emis Killa, Thegiornalisti, Motta and other).
The Apaches of San Paolo
It is not a real group of Ultras that we are talking about, but it could be. In the film, football is never seen, but it is a presence that surrounds all the events. Although it would be more correct to say that football, in the end, is only a pretext, because cheering becomes a gym of abuse and violence, of hierarchical codes and aggressive behaviors that really have nothing to do with football as such.
And to those who accuse Lettieri of having exploited the phenomenon, it should be answered that it is instead a certain way of cheering, if we can say so, that exploits football and the genuine passions of those who love their team. The ultras leaders don't even watch the game, back to the field to direct the choirs, to lay down the law in their curve. Material for sociological studies. A philosophy that those who simply love football and a team struggle terribly to understand and share.
The protagonist of the story, Sandro "Il Mohicano", can no longer even go to the stadium, obliged by Daspo (the measure that prohibits entry into sports facilities for those who have become the protagonist of violent behavior) at the police headquarters signature whenever Napoli play.
While not sparing strong and violent scenes, Ultras avoids judging: it merely shows. Entering the dynamics of a generational change that pits one against the other even in the same group of Ultras and providing a framework of training and models, a sense of honor and courage to say the least questionable.
Indeed, Lettieri sweetens the story with a love and sex story that sends the protagonist Sandro into crisis, who gives signs of fatigue after a life spent "fighting" in that parallel and crazy championship lived by the less sporty fringes of the fans.
The clashes, the knives, the bombons, the chains. And reality reminds us that if we still want to call it typhoid, we can even die. Falling under the blows of an opposing fan or the gunshot of a policeman.
The film is shot with skill and personality. Flying over the predictable and obvious closing sequence, we appreciate the sex scenes shot in an alternative way, in a certain sense audacious, because the director sets aside the routine and dares in unknown territories, pausing the lens on the feet and tattoos of Sandro and Terry, more than sexual action.
Lettieri wanted to make a film, one hundred percent realistic but not real, not a documentary. Otherwise he would have at least mentioned the ties of too many ultras with organized crime and political extremists. Ultras tells the dark side of typhus, even raising pretext accusations for having evoked incidents. The cast is excellent and functional for the story. But the interpretation of Aniello Arena (the ex inmate launched by Matteo Garrone's Reality) stands out, which gives tenderness, anger and depth to a character in identity crisis.
Midsommar (2019)
Masterpiece
Country you go, custom you find. Most of the time, we are talking about celebrations culminating in gargantuan binges of food and / or hectoliters of alcoholic beverages, but in the presence of closed communities, which perpetuate long-standing habits, it is possible to witness unexpected events, literally alien to the conception of time.
All the more when we move into an unknown reality, it is desirable to take the necessary precautions, not to break the eggs in the basket, to avoid making it out of the jar (here, in the literal sense) and keep the eyes open.
In extreme cases, as happens in Midsommar - The village of the damned, there is no other option but to be sucked into a bewitching and hallucinogenic vortex, within which even the most elementary form of free will is not contemplated.
Coming from a multiple grief, Dani (Florence Pugh) decides to join Christian (Jack Reynor), her boyfriend, and friends Mark (Will Poulter), Josh (William Jackson Harper) and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgran), on the organized trip to visit a community in the remote Swedish countryside, with the intention of attending their traditional midsummer party.
From their arrival on the spot, they will witness unpredictable events, which will become increasingly violent and insidious, to the point of making them the main protagonists without their knowledge.
The Last Heroes (2019)
unwatchable
A rubbish with flakes ... after 35 minutes I was sleepy and I removed, ridiculous dubbing and acting, I do not recommend it.
Climax (2018)
Masterpiece
The cinema of Gaspar Noé reconfirms itself as a unique visual experience, its long-awaited return has not disappointed expectations and brings us back to the world of psychedelics as only he can do.
We are in the 90s and a dance company meets in an abandoned building to practice and have fun. The title is clear, it is a real ascendant climax, everything flows in the right direction until they start one at a time to feel bad and the atmosphere becomes more and more anxious. The reason is discovered shortly after, in the buffet next to the improvised dance floor LSD is placed in the sangria, creating panic, death and destruction among the dancers.
Gaspar Noé is a provocateur, a director from whom you never know what to expect exactly, but you know he will be able to enchant you and horrify you. Trying to make comparisons with his filmography we can say that he has extreme scenes that can be traced back to Seoul Contre Tous and Irreversible, which remain his cinematographic apex, and Enter the Void as use of the video camera and theme, so he places himself in the middle. As for the cinema in general, it is a fusion of Salò by Pasolini and Step Up, a crazy combination that works.
I think the purpose of this film is to disorient, starting with the credits that appear first on the screen, followed by the opening credits 10 minutes later. I particularly appreciated the fusion of psychedelics and the fully articulated dancers, I am not kidding about hypnosis, anyone who has seen that Enter the Void trip will know what I mean. The physical skill of the actors and their naturalness make their mental failure caused by drugs very credible, regressing in a few minutes to primitive beings and making the climax explode in all its delicious violence. For the rest there is not much to say, we have the usual long and wonderful sequence plans that follow the actors, we have an omnipresent care for the lights and colors, in particular the red, in short everything that was expected from the genius of Noah.
Viewing is not recommended, it is mandatory.
Decay (2015)
Pretty
Jonathan is a man with many problems, he finds himself trapped in a routine that seems to be the only thing to keep his fragile mental stability. All his problems are caused by his mother, whom we see through several flashbacks, too apprehensive and severe with his only son. Jonathan becomes a compulsive accumulator, which leads him to keep the body of a girl who died of an accident in her home.
I did not expect such a maniacal care for photography, with scenes to say the least stunningly visual, with an actor looking absolutely perfect for his character. Unfortunately I regret to admit that they have focused too much on photography, but not so much on the screenplay and the plot, not developed not at full potential. The flashbacks are the backbone of the film, the only scenes really disturbing, but not visually, it destroys you in thinking of the physical and psychological torture suffered by poor Jonathan because of the mother, who is obsessed with germs and the possibility of dying because of a lit stove or an open door. It is very easy to empathize with the protagonist, both as an adult and as a child, which I really appreciated.