The official poster for the forthcoming release Blitz from director Steve McQueen, starring Saoirse Ronan, has just been released.
Sir Steve McQueen’s Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
Written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning McQueen, the film stars Academy and BAFTA Award nominee Ronan and newcomer Heffernan, with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman and Sally Messham rounding out the cast. McQueen’s Lammas Park produces alongside...
Sir Steve McQueen’s Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
Written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning McQueen, the film stars Academy and BAFTA Award nominee Ronan and newcomer Heffernan, with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman and Sally Messham rounding out the cast. McQueen’s Lammas Park produces alongside...
- 9/19/2024
- by Editor
- CinemaNerdz
Here’s a first look at the brand new trailer for Blitz.
Sir Steve McQueen’s film follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
Apple Original Films’ Blitz will debut in select theaters November 1, 2024 before premiering globally on Apple TV+ November 22, 2024.
Written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning McQueen, the film stars Academy and BAFTA Award nominee Ronan and newcomer Heffernan, with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman and Sally Messham rounding out the cast.
Sir Steve McQueen’s film follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
Apple Original Films’ Blitz will debut in select theaters November 1, 2024 before premiering globally on Apple TV+ November 22, 2024.
Written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning McQueen, the film stars Academy and BAFTA Award nominee Ronan and newcomer Heffernan, with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman and Sally Messham rounding out the cast.
- 9/19/2024
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Apple Original Films has revealed the trailer and poster for Blitz, the new historical drama from writer and director Sir Steve McQueen Cbe. The film will debut in select theaters on November 1, 2024, before premiering globally on Apple TV+ on November 22.
Blitz has been rated PG-13 for thematic elements, including some racism, violence, some strong language, brief sexuality, and smoking.
Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside.
George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
Written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning McQueen, the film stars Academy and BAFTA Award nominee Saoirse Ronan and newcomer Elliott Heffernan.
Blitz has been rated PG-13 for thematic elements, including some racism, violence, some strong language, brief sexuality, and smoking.
Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside.
George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
Written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning McQueen, the film stars Academy and BAFTA Award nominee Saoirse Ronan and newcomer Elliott Heffernan.
- 9/19/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
Saoirse Ronan plays a distraught mother searching for her missing son in World War II East London in the trailer for Steve McQueen’s Blitz, which dropped on Thursday.
The drama follows George, a 9-year-old boy, played by Elliot Heffernan, in wartime London after his mother Rita (Ronan) sends him as an evacuee to safety in the English countryside. But defiant and determined to get back home on his own to his mother and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, George encounters real danger as a distraught Rita tries to find her footloose son as he faces mounting peril.
“Why can’t you tell me, where’s my boy?” Rita pleads with London police officers at one point in the trailer. Meanwhile, George is seen scurrying for shelter alongside other Londoners in underground subway stations or bombed-out buildings as German Luftwaffe planes continue to bomb the British capital’s east end.
The drama follows George, a 9-year-old boy, played by Elliot Heffernan, in wartime London after his mother Rita (Ronan) sends him as an evacuee to safety in the English countryside. But defiant and determined to get back home on his own to his mother and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, George encounters real danger as a distraught Rita tries to find her footloose son as he faces mounting peril.
“Why can’t you tell me, where’s my boy?” Rita pleads with London police officers at one point in the trailer. Meanwhile, George is seen scurrying for shelter alongside other Londoners in underground subway stations or bombed-out buildings as German Luftwaffe planes continue to bomb the British capital’s east end.
- 9/19/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Steve McQueen is debuting his latest period piece, this time starring Saoirse Ronan.
McQueen writes and directs “Blitz,” which follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside.
Per the official synopsis, “George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.”
Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman, and Sally Messham also star.
Academy Award winner McQueen reunites with production designer Adam Stockhausen, costume designer Jacqueline Durran (“Small Axe”), and composer Hans Zimmer (“12 Years a Slave”) for the production. The feature is also a reunion...
McQueen writes and directs “Blitz,” which follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside.
Per the official synopsis, “George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.”
Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman, and Sally Messham also star.
Academy Award winner McQueen reunites with production designer Adam Stockhausen, costume designer Jacqueline Durran (“Small Axe”), and composer Hans Zimmer (“12 Years a Slave”) for the production. The feature is also a reunion...
- 9/19/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Steve McQueen’s Blitz, starring Saoirse Ronan and Elliott Heffernan will be the Closing Night selection of the 62nd New York Film Festival
Film at Lincoln Center has announced that Steve McQueen’s Blitz (shot by Yorick Le Saux and with a score by Hans Zimmer), starring Saoirse Ronan and Elliott Heffernan with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller (of The Jam and Style Council), Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman, and Sally Messham will be the Closing Night selection of the 62nd New York Film Festival.
“It is with immense pride, gratitude, and fondness that I’m able to return to the New York Film Festival with Blitz,” said Steve McQueen. “I’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed a number of memorable experiences at the festival and with New York audiences, and I’m enormously grateful...
Film at Lincoln Center has announced that Steve McQueen’s Blitz (shot by Yorick Le Saux and with a score by Hans Zimmer), starring Saoirse Ronan and Elliott Heffernan with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller (of The Jam and Style Council), Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, Cj Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman, and Sally Messham will be the Closing Night selection of the 62nd New York Film Festival.
“It is with immense pride, gratitude, and fondness that I’m able to return to the New York Film Festival with Blitz,” said Steve McQueen. “I’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed a number of memorable experiences at the festival and with New York audiences, and I’m enormously grateful...
- 7/25/2024
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
At six of the last 11 Oscars, Best Cinematography has gone hand-in-hand with Best Director: Emmanuel Lubezki and Alfonso Cuaron for “Gravity” (2014); Lubezki and Alejandro G. Inarritu for both “Birdman” (2015) and “The Revenant” (2016); Linus Sandgren and Damien Chazelle for “La La Land” (2017); Cuaron doing double duty on “Roma” (2019) and Hoyte van Hoytema and Christopher Nolan for “Oppenheimer” (2024). Will that trend hold true this year? (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Cinematography.)
The academy usually regards award-winning cinematography as pretty pictures within an epic technical feat of filmmaking. While great lighting and framing are laudable on their own, having a movie that looks like it was difficult to shoot goes a long way to snagging an Oscar. Recent lensing winners “Avatar” (2009), “Inception” (2010), “Hugo” (2011), “Life of Pi” (2012), “Gravity” (2013), “Blade Runner 2049” (2018) and “1917” (2020) also took home the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
While the lensers of “Oppenheimer,” “Inception” and...
The academy usually regards award-winning cinematography as pretty pictures within an epic technical feat of filmmaking. While great lighting and framing are laudable on their own, having a movie that looks like it was difficult to shoot goes a long way to snagging an Oscar. Recent lensing winners “Avatar” (2009), “Inception” (2010), “Hugo” (2011), “Life of Pi” (2012), “Gravity” (2013), “Blade Runner 2049” (2018) and “1917” (2020) also took home the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
While the lensers of “Oppenheimer,” “Inception” and...
- 7/16/2024
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Steve McQueen’s World War II drama “Blitz” will world premiere as the opening night gala of the 68th BFI London Film Festival (Lff). The Apple original film, directed, produced, and written by McQueen, marks the Academy Award and BAFTA winner’s return to the festival.
“Blitz” follows George (Elliott Heffernan), a nine-year-old boy in wartime London, as he’s sent to the countryside for safety by his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan). The film chronicles George’s journey back to London and Rita’s search for her missing son.
The cast also includes Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller and Stephen Graham. McQueen’s Lammas Park produces alongside Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films, and Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer for New Regency.
This premiere marks McQueen’s third time opening the Lff, following “Widows” in 2018 and “Mangrove” in 2020. The London-born director received...
“Blitz” follows George (Elliott Heffernan), a nine-year-old boy in wartime London, as he’s sent to the countryside for safety by his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan). The film chronicles George’s journey back to London and Rita’s search for her missing son.
The cast also includes Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller and Stephen Graham. McQueen’s Lammas Park produces alongside Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films, and Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer for New Regency.
This premiere marks McQueen’s third time opening the Lff, following “Widows” in 2018 and “Mangrove” in 2020. The London-born director received...
- 7/1/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Tom Waits, Charlotte Rampling, Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat have joined the cast of Jim Jarmusch’s anticipated next film, “Father Mother Sister Brother.”
They’re joining Cate Blanchett and Vicky Krieps, who were previously rumored to be starring after being photographed on set. “Father Mother Sister Brother” recently wrapped production in Paris following shoots in Dublin, Ireland and in the Northeastern U.S. Post-production has begun New York, and the film is expected to be finished later this year.
“Father Mother Sister Brother” is a triptych, following three separate stories set in different countries and revolving around relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parents and each other. The first part, “Father,” is set in the east coast in Northeastern U.S., “Mother” in Dublin, Ireland, and “Sister Brother” in Paris, France.
Possibly one of Jarmusch’s most personal films, “Father Mother Sister Brother” is...
They’re joining Cate Blanchett and Vicky Krieps, who were previously rumored to be starring after being photographed on set. “Father Mother Sister Brother” recently wrapped production in Paris following shoots in Dublin, Ireland and in the Northeastern U.S. Post-production has begun New York, and the film is expected to be finished later this year.
“Father Mother Sister Brother” is a triptych, following three separate stories set in different countries and revolving around relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parents and each other. The first part, “Father,” is set in the east coast in Northeastern U.S., “Mother” in Dublin, Ireland, and “Sister Brother” in Paris, France.
Possibly one of Jarmusch’s most personal films, “Father Mother Sister Brother” is...
- 5/16/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy and Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Call it a remake, a reboot, or a rethinking, the “Irma Vep” series on HBO is above all meta. Start with Louis Feuillade’s 1915 French serial about a criminal gang, Les Vampires; jump eight decades into the future to 1996, when Olivier Assayas’ “Irma Vep” found Hong Kong star Maggie Cheung starring in a movie-within-a-movie adaptating the serial. Now, more than a quarter century later, the “Personal Shopper” director’s latest work both expands upon and in some ways contradicts the Cheung movie.
The fast-paced dialogue, twisty narratives, freewheeling soundtrack, and extraordinary visuals are back. Alicia Vikander plays Mira Harberg, a Swedish actor famous for American comic-book blockbusters, who arrives on set as director René Vidal (the remarkable Vincent Macaigne) is struggling with a special effects shot. As the series unfolds, relationships form and break, careers shift, and ghosts from the past haunt the set. But Assayas brings an honesty, sincerity...
The fast-paced dialogue, twisty narratives, freewheeling soundtrack, and extraordinary visuals are back. Alicia Vikander plays Mira Harberg, a Swedish actor famous for American comic-book blockbusters, who arrives on set as director René Vidal (the remarkable Vincent Macaigne) is struggling with a special effects shot. As the series unfolds, relationships form and break, careers shift, and ghosts from the past haunt the set. But Assayas brings an honesty, sincerity...
- 7/26/2022
- by Daniel Eagan
- Indiewire
Denis Podalydès as Philip with Léa Seydoux in Arnaud Desplechin’s adaptation with Julie Peyr of Philip Roth’s Deception (Tromperie).
In the second of my series of conversations with Arnaud Desplechin we discuss filming Frère Et Sœur, starring Marion Cotillard with Golshifteh Farahani and Melvil Poupaud, and working on Deception (Tromperie) with longtime collaborator composer Grégoire Hetzel (Oh Mercy!; Ismael's Ghosts; My Golden Days; La Forêt; A Christmas Tale; Kings & Queen) and for the first time with cinematographer Yorick Le Saux.
Marion Cotillard stars in Arnaud Desplechin’s upcoming Frère Et Sœur Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Arnaud Desplechin’s adaptation with Julie Peyr of Philip Roth’s Deception (Tromperie), starring Denis Podalydès, Léa Seydoux (Bruno Dumont’s France), Emmanuelle Devos, and Anouk Grinberg was a highlight of the 74th Cannes Film Festival and New York’s Rendez-Vous with French...
In the second of my series of conversations with Arnaud Desplechin we discuss filming Frère Et Sœur, starring Marion Cotillard with Golshifteh Farahani and Melvil Poupaud, and working on Deception (Tromperie) with longtime collaborator composer Grégoire Hetzel (Oh Mercy!; Ismael's Ghosts; My Golden Days; La Forêt; A Christmas Tale; Kings & Queen) and for the first time with cinematographer Yorick Le Saux.
Marion Cotillard stars in Arnaud Desplechin’s upcoming Frère Et Sœur Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Arnaud Desplechin’s adaptation with Julie Peyr of Philip Roth’s Deception (Tromperie), starring Denis Podalydès, Léa Seydoux (Bruno Dumont’s France), Emmanuelle Devos, and Anouk Grinberg was a highlight of the 74th Cannes Film Festival and New York’s Rendez-Vous with French...
- 3/23/2022
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
You have to feel for Léa Seydoux, the star who was slated to be the all-but-official face of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, with four vehicles in the official selection. Covid intervened, preventing her representing any of them in person. But the one she’s best in was also the lowest-profile.
Placed out of competition in the new Premieres sidebar, Arnaud Desplechin’s “Deception” is a strange, stifling but frequently intriguing attempt to find a cinematic match for the literary voice of Philip Roth, from his autofictional 1990 novel of the same name. It often succeeds, which is to say the filmmaking often appropriates the self-aggrandizing indulgences and knowingly oppressive masculinity of a work that isn’t among the author’s finest. But it’s Seydoux’s sly, bright presence, as an obscure object of desire who gradually places the protagonist’s failings in relief, that keeps us involved.
That...
Placed out of competition in the new Premieres sidebar, Arnaud Desplechin’s “Deception” is a strange, stifling but frequently intriguing attempt to find a cinematic match for the literary voice of Philip Roth, from his autofictional 1990 novel of the same name. It often succeeds, which is to say the filmmaking often appropriates the self-aggrandizing indulgences and knowingly oppressive masculinity of a work that isn’t among the author’s finest. But it’s Seydoux’s sly, bright presence, as an obscure object of desire who gradually places the protagonist’s failings in relief, that keeps us involved.
That...
- 8/30/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Building on what has come before, the opening act of Kornél Mundruczó and Kata Wéber’s “Evolution” recalls a monologue from the Hungarian duo’s previous film, “Pieces of a Woman,” when a Holocaust-hardened Jewish matriarch played by Ellen Burstyn repeats the mythology of her own survival — the idea that she somehow chose to live when so many around her were murdered. She tells the story of being hidden under the floorboards as an infant, and how even the doctor considered her a lost cause: “He picked me up by my feet and held me up like a chicken and said, ‘If she tries to lift her head, then there’s hope.’”
In “Evolution” — which Mundruczó adapted for the screen from his longtime collaborator’s logistically audacious Proton Theatre stage production — three generations of Jewish survivors choose to lift their heads, one after the other, across a trio of bravura single-take vignettes.
In “Evolution” — which Mundruczó adapted for the screen from his longtime collaborator’s logistically audacious Proton Theatre stage production — three generations of Jewish survivors choose to lift their heads, one after the other, across a trio of bravura single-take vignettes.
- 7/11/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Léa Seydoux Enters Erotic Entanglement In Trailer for Arnaud Desplechin’s Cannes Selection Deception
Few films in Cannes, competition or otherwise, have us excited like Arnaud Desplechin’s Deception, the director’s adaptation of Philip Roth’s erotic, dialogue-laden novel. That combination’s sufficient reason for attention, but it’s not like we’ve just heard about the thing: Desplechin—a certified Film Stage Favorite—first told us about the film in 2015, saying “Perhaps it’s a book that I will never be able to adapt for the screen, and I know I will regret it for the rest of my days.” In 2016 we talked further:
“This book fascinates me because it’s just pure dialogue — the most beautiful dialogue I’ve read between a man and a woman. The film, it’s about intimacy — so how are you dealing with a worldwide political issue when the film is dealing with intimacy? So today, I guess, my perspective is that it would be a wonderful thing,...
“This book fascinates me because it’s just pure dialogue — the most beautiful dialogue I’ve read between a man and a woman. The film, it’s about intimacy — so how are you dealing with a worldwide political issue when the film is dealing with intimacy? So today, I guess, my perspective is that it would be a wonderful thing,...
- 7/8/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Every one of our conversations with Arnaud Desplechin eventually leads to Philip Roth. As far back as 2015 he told us of ambitions to adapt the author’s 1990 novel Deception, a play-like dialogue between an American author (very heavily based on Roth) and his lover—which sounds simple enough, and in most hands would be, but for Desplechin its period-piece aspects seemed an insurmountable hurdle. Shortly thereafter he told us the following:
“This book fascinates me because it’s just pure dialogue — the most beautiful dialogue I’ve read between a man and a woman. The film, it’s about intimacy — so how are you dealing with a worldwide political issue when the film is dealing with intimacy? So today, I guess, my perspective is that it would be a wonderful thing, but I’m not sure the screen would be the perfect tool. I’m always wondering if it would...
“This book fascinates me because it’s just pure dialogue — the most beautiful dialogue I’ve read between a man and a woman. The film, it’s about intimacy — so how are you dealing with a worldwide political issue when the film is dealing with intimacy? So today, I guess, my perspective is that it would be a wonderful thing, but I’m not sure the screen would be the perfect tool. I’m always wondering if it would...
- 12/9/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The San Sebastian audience became the first in the world to see all eight episodes of Luca Guadagnino’s HBO and Sky Italy’s eight-part series “We Are Who We Are.”
The second episode of the series aired on HBO in America this week. The media had only received the first four episodes to review in advance. Thus, it was at San Sebastian Film Festival, where Guadagnino is president of the competition jury, that the acclaimed director fully unveiled what he calls “my new movie” to the world.
At a press conference in San Sebastian, Luca Guadagnino revealed that he sees “We Are Who We Are” as a film rather than a series, that he used digital technology to give the story a contemporary aesthetic and the show is an American “Paradise Lost,” signaled by the election of President Trump. He also weighed in on the new Academy Award qualification rules.
The second episode of the series aired on HBO in America this week. The media had only received the first four episodes to review in advance. Thus, it was at San Sebastian Film Festival, where Guadagnino is president of the competition jury, that the acclaimed director fully unveiled what he calls “my new movie” to the world.
At a press conference in San Sebastian, Luca Guadagnino revealed that he sees “We Are Who We Are” as a film rather than a series, that he used digital technology to give the story a contemporary aesthetic and the show is an American “Paradise Lost,” signaled by the election of President Trump. He also weighed in on the new Academy Award qualification rules.
- 9/22/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
The sunny subterfuge of Wasp Network, about a knotty web of anti-Castro groups and Cold War residuals, is a relief from the blue skin, suits and shadows of heavy political thrillers. It’s an Olivier Assayas film after all, shot in Cuba, Miami and the blue sky and ocean in between. As on Carlos, Assayas’ go-to DPs Denis Lenoir and Yorick Le Saux shot their own half of Wasp Network. With Carlos, Le Saux started the film and chose the film stock, lenses, etc. On Wasp Network, Lenoir shot the first […]...
- 7/15/2020
- by Aaron Hunt
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The sunny subterfuge of Wasp Network, about a knotty web of anti-Castro groups and Cold War residuals, is a relief from the blue skin, suits and shadows of heavy political thrillers. It’s an Olivier Assayas film after all, shot in Cuba, Miami and the blue sky and ocean in between. As on Carlos, Assayas’ go-to DPs Denis Lenoir and Yorick Le Saux shot their own half of Wasp Network. With Carlos, Le Saux started the film and chose the film stock, lenses, etc. On Wasp Network, Lenoir shot the first […]...
- 7/15/2020
- by Aaron Hunt
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
After last weekend’s influx of movies from big-name directors like Spike Lee and Judd Apatow, the landscape for movies looks to be comparatively calmer this weekend. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a fair share of worthwhile releases hitting VOD and streaming services this weekend, from studio movies with big stars, independently produced treasures coming off of buzzy festival runs and projects from major foreign filmmakers being distributed in the United States.
Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried star in Blumhouse Productions’ latest thriller “You Should Have Left.” Following its release strategies for “Trolls World Tour” and “The King of Staten Island,” Universal has decided to give the movie a “home premiere” and price 48-hour digital rentals at $19.99.
Meanwhile, French director Olivier Assayas’ latest film “Wasp Network” is premiering on Netflix nine months after its debut at the Venice Film Festival last September. The primarily Spanish language film...
Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried star in Blumhouse Productions’ latest thriller “You Should Have Left.” Following its release strategies for “Trolls World Tour” and “The King of Staten Island,” Universal has decided to give the movie a “home premiere” and price 48-hour digital rentals at $19.99.
Meanwhile, French director Olivier Assayas’ latest film “Wasp Network” is premiering on Netflix nine months after its debut at the Venice Film Festival last September. The primarily Spanish language film...
- 6/19/2020
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
Literary adaptation delivers more than $27m in UK, $10m in Australia, $6m in Italy.
Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-winning Little Women is on course to cross $100m at the international box office this spring according to sources, as the period drama’s remarkable trajectory continues to charm fans.
At time of writing Columbia Pictures’ Louisa May Alcott adaptation stood at $178m worldwide, with international markets contributing $75.1m, and North America accounting for $102.9m through Sony’s distribution pipeline.
Ever since the film premiered in New York on December 7, 2019, Gerwig and her cast including Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet and...
Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-winning Little Women is on course to cross $100m at the international box office this spring according to sources, as the period drama’s remarkable trajectory continues to charm fans.
At time of writing Columbia Pictures’ Louisa May Alcott adaptation stood at $178m worldwide, with international markets contributing $75.1m, and North America accounting for $102.9m through Sony’s distribution pipeline.
Ever since the film premiered in New York on December 7, 2019, Gerwig and her cast including Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet and...
- 2/12/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Little Women movie review is here. The coming of age period drama written and directed by Greta Gerwig is said to be the seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.
Nominated in six categories at the 92nd Academy Awards that includes best picture, best actress (Ronan), best supporting actress (Pugh), and best-adapted screenplay, The movie stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timoth?e Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Chris Cooper, and Meryl Streep. Does it fulfills the expectations and stays true with the hype?. Let?s find out in the movie review of Little Women.
Immediate reaction when the end credits roll
Every generation deserves Little Women and Greta Gerwig?s retelling of this 1868 classic by Louisa May Alcott may be non-linear but it?s preciously seamless.
The Story of Little Women
It?s...
Nominated in six categories at the 92nd Academy Awards that includes best picture, best actress (Ronan), best supporting actress (Pugh), and best-adapted screenplay, The movie stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timoth?e Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Chris Cooper, and Meryl Streep. Does it fulfills the expectations and stays true with the hype?. Let?s find out in the movie review of Little Women.
Immediate reaction when the end credits roll
Every generation deserves Little Women and Greta Gerwig?s retelling of this 1868 classic by Louisa May Alcott may be non-linear but it?s preciously seamless.
The Story of Little Women
It?s...
- 2/5/2020
- GlamSham
Unlike most critics groups, the National Society of Film Critics (Nsfc) discloses the results of voting. Forty-two of the 60 members of the society cast ballots on Saturday, January 4, with 20 in attendance at Lincoln Center and another nine joining in via Skype from cities nationwide. In addition, 14 members voted by proxy but their votes only count in races that are decided on the first ballot.
Below: The complete list of winners, including the voting scores for each award (note how one-sided some of the contests were). Read the full winners report on the 2020 Nsfc Awards.
Best Picture
“Parasite” (44 points)
Runners-up
“Little Women” (27 points)
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (22 points)
Best Director
Greta Gerwig, “Little Women” (39 points)
Runners-up
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” (36 points)
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman” (31 points)
Best Actress
Mary Kay Place, “Diane” (40 points)
Runners-up
Zhao Tao, “Ash is Purest White” (28 points)
Florence Pugh, “Midsommar” (25 points)
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas,...
Below: The complete list of winners, including the voting scores for each award (note how one-sided some of the contests were). Read the full winners report on the 2020 Nsfc Awards.
Best Picture
“Parasite” (44 points)
Runners-up
“Little Women” (27 points)
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (22 points)
Best Director
Greta Gerwig, “Little Women” (39 points)
Runners-up
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” (36 points)
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman” (31 points)
Best Actress
Mary Kay Place, “Diane” (40 points)
Runners-up
Zhao Tao, “Ash is Purest White” (28 points)
Florence Pugh, “Midsommar” (25 points)
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas,...
- 1/4/2020
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
“Parasite” has been named Best Picture by the National Society of Film Critics. It’s the latest win for South Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s film, which won the Palme d’Or by a unanimous vote after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival.
The critics group convened in New York and Los Angeles to vote Saturday using a weighted scoring system, choosing winners and runners up across a variety of categories.
Bong’s genre-bending look at class in South Korea also won Best Screenplay, which the director co-wrote with Han Jin Won, while Song Kang Ho was a runner up for Best Supporting Actor. Bong was also a runner up for Best Director, an award won by Greta Gerwig for “Little Women.”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Little Women” were runners up for Best Picture and those films, along with “Marriage Story” were particularly favored by the society.
The critics group convened in New York and Los Angeles to vote Saturday using a weighted scoring system, choosing winners and runners up across a variety of categories.
Bong’s genre-bending look at class in South Korea also won Best Screenplay, which the director co-wrote with Han Jin Won, while Song Kang Ho was a runner up for Best Supporting Actor. Bong was also a runner up for Best Director, an award won by Greta Gerwig for “Little Women.”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Little Women” were runners up for Best Picture and those films, along with “Marriage Story” were particularly favored by the society.
- 1/4/2020
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
The National Society of Film Critics held its vote on the best of 2019’s film Saturday, with “Parasite” taking the top prize for best film as well as best screenplay for Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won.
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” Dp Claire Mathon was lauded for her work, as well as Laura Dern for “Marriage Story” and Mary Kay Place for “Diane.” “Pain & Glory’s” Antonio Banderas took best actor while “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” star Brad Pitt scooped best supporting actor.
The Nsfc this year consisted of 38 critics, who voted by proxy and in person in L.A. and New York.
Full list of winners:
Best Picture
“Parasite” (Runners-up: “Little Women”; “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Best Screenplay
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, “Parasite”
Best Cinematography
Claire Mathon, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt, “Once...
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” Dp Claire Mathon was lauded for her work, as well as Laura Dern for “Marriage Story” and Mary Kay Place for “Diane.” “Pain & Glory’s” Antonio Banderas took best actor while “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” star Brad Pitt scooped best supporting actor.
The Nsfc this year consisted of 38 critics, who voted by proxy and in person in L.A. and New York.
Full list of winners:
Best Picture
“Parasite” (Runners-up: “Little Women”; “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Best Screenplay
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, “Parasite”
Best Cinematography
Claire Mathon, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt, “Once...
- 1/4/2020
- by Erin Nyren
- Variety Film + TV
Bong Joon Ho‘s “Parasite” won Best Picture from the National Society of Film Critics, which met at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City on Saturday to choose its winners for the 54th time. The South Korean drama also won Best Screenplay from the group.
The society recognized two indies for the top acting prizes: Mary Kay Place for “Diane” and Antonio Banderas for Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory.” The supporting acting honors went to Brad Pitt for “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and Laura Dern for her work in both “Marriage Story” and “Little Women.”
The National Society of Film Critics was established in 1966, with its co-founders including Pauline Kael, Joe Morgenstern and Richard Schickel. The group currently has 60 active members. Members who have not seen most or all of the contending films can disqualify themselves from voting.
Also Read: New York Film...
The society recognized two indies for the top acting prizes: Mary Kay Place for “Diane” and Antonio Banderas for Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory.” The supporting acting honors went to Brad Pitt for “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and Laura Dern for her work in both “Marriage Story” and “Little Women.”
The National Society of Film Critics was established in 1966, with its co-founders including Pauline Kael, Joe Morgenstern and Richard Schickel. The group currently has 60 active members. Members who have not seen most or all of the contending films can disqualify themselves from voting.
Also Read: New York Film...
- 1/4/2020
- by Steve Pond and Thom Geier
- The Wrap
The National Society of Film Critics (Nsfc) will be the latest voting group to chime in with their list of winners today. Keep checking back for a full list of winners, updating live.
See Over 100 interviews with 2020 Oscar contenders
For almost half a century, the National Society, which was founded in 1966, rarely previewed the Oscar winner for Best Picture, doing so only five times in 49 years. Then in 2016, it foreshadowed the two Oscar wins for “Spotlight”: Best Picture and Best Screenplay. In 2017, it went all in for “Moonlight” over Oscar rival “La La Land” naming it Best Picture, and awarding prizes to director Barry Jenkins, supporting actor (Mahershala Ali ) and lenser James Laxton. The next year, it was enamored with “Lady Bird,” which won four awards including Best Picture. Rookie solo helmer Greta Gerwig won both the directing and screenplay prizes while Laurie Metcalf claimed Supporting Actress.
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See Over 100 interviews with 2020 Oscar contenders
For almost half a century, the National Society, which was founded in 1966, rarely previewed the Oscar winner for Best Picture, doing so only five times in 49 years. Then in 2016, it foreshadowed the two Oscar wins for “Spotlight”: Best Picture and Best Screenplay. In 2017, it went all in for “Moonlight” over Oscar rival “La La Land” naming it Best Picture, and awarding prizes to director Barry Jenkins, supporting actor (Mahershala Ali ) and lenser James Laxton. The next year, it was enamored with “Lady Bird,” which won four awards including Best Picture. Rookie solo helmer Greta Gerwig won both the directing and screenplay prizes while Laurie Metcalf claimed Supporting Actress.
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- 1/4/2020
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Greta Gerwig named best director for Little Women.
Bong Joon Ho’s impressive awards season continued on Saturday night (January 4) as Parasite was named best picture of the year in the National Society Of Film Critics’ 54th annual vote.
The South Korean dark comedy, which is in the running for best foreign language film in Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, earned 44 votes under the Society’s weighted ballot system, finishing ahead of Little Women on 27 and Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood on 22.
Greta Gerwig was named best director for Little Women, edging out Bong with 39 votes against 36, while Martin Scorsese...
Bong Joon Ho’s impressive awards season continued on Saturday night (January 4) as Parasite was named best picture of the year in the National Society Of Film Critics’ 54th annual vote.
The South Korean dark comedy, which is in the running for best foreign language film in Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, earned 44 votes under the Society’s weighted ballot system, finishing ahead of Little Women on 27 and Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood on 22.
Greta Gerwig was named best director for Little Women, edging out Bong with 39 votes against 36, while Martin Scorsese...
- 1/4/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Little Women is a paradox. It’s a movie that is so warm, so innocent and so full of life that you leave excited for whatever comes next in your own. Yet it’s also a movie that makes our everyday lives look boring by comparison. The world outside the theater can’t compare to Greta Gerwig’s beautiful adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s wonderful novel.
The eighth version of the American classic is a return to the book’s roots. The time is the 19th century and the place is Massachusetts. A Civil War looms just beyond the woods. It’s a war that leaves the March girls without their dad (Bob Odenkirk) and without money. But the girls are rich in spirit, with a courteous glow that extends to everything around them.
Autumn leaves and golden hour light shower the countryside. Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) is running...
The eighth version of the American classic is a return to the book’s roots. The time is the 19th century and the place is Massachusetts. A Civil War looms just beyond the woods. It’s a war that leaves the March girls without their dad (Bob Odenkirk) and without money. But the girls are rich in spirit, with a courteous glow that extends to everything around them.
Autumn leaves and golden hour light shower the countryside. Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) is running...
- 1/2/2020
- by Asher Luberto
- We Got This Covered
When director Greta Gerwig introduces each of the four March sisters, at the beginning of her adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” each has already gone off in her own direction of adulthood. Even when the illness of the youngest sister Beth (Eliza Scanlen) brings them back home, the four sisters are never again reunited.
“They’re never all together again, not the four of them,” said Gerwig when she was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “When I realized that about the book, once they are in their separate lives that’s it, I found that unbearably heartbreaking. I thought, ‘Oh, the thing you miss is already gone.'”
Gerwig plays with time in structuring her adaptation, starting with the sisters on their own in early adulthood, and then flashing back seven years to when they were living in the family home as teenagers. In essence,...
“They’re never all together again, not the four of them,” said Gerwig when she was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “When I realized that about the book, once they are in their separate lives that’s it, I found that unbearably heartbreaking. I thought, ‘Oh, the thing you miss is already gone.'”
Gerwig plays with time in structuring her adaptation, starting with the sisters on their own in early adulthood, and then flashing back seven years to when they were living in the family home as teenagers. In essence,...
- 12/26/2019
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
On the surface, a remake of Little Women seems unnecessary, and arguably even a waste of Greta Gerwig’s filmmaking talents. Sure, this story is hardly told as often as others, but the most recent version is still well regarded, so many were hoping Gerwig would tackle something more original. However, her take on Little Women is more than different enough to make its own case for existence. With a modern touch, some strong acting, and a wit that shines through, this new take on the old story is very solid. Is it as good as the internet is telling you? No, but it’s also nothing to be avoided, like other parts of the internet are stating. As always, the discourse is terrible, when in truth, this is just a charming movie. The film is a new take on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott. As always, it...
- 12/25/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
It’s the Louisa May Alcott novel that most women cherish and some guys approach like Kryptonite. Far from it. Instead, she shows why this story of four sisters and their mother, living in a house without men (their chaplain father is off serving in the Civil War), is both surprisingly timely and enduringly timeless.
Isn’t Alcott’s warhorse novel milked dry, you ask? Not with Gerwig, who scored a hit with her own coming-of-age story in Lady Bird, in charge. Plus, the last film version, directed by Gillian Armstrong,...
Isn’t Alcott’s warhorse novel milked dry, you ask? Not with Gerwig, who scored a hit with her own coming-of-age story in Lady Bird, in charge. Plus, the last film version, directed by Gillian Armstrong,...
- 12/23/2019
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Greta Gerwig wrote and directed Sony’s “Little Women,” a new look at Louisa May Alcott’s much-loved 19th-century classic. Eager to pay tribute to her artisan colleagues, Gerwig says, “It was a joy for me to work with all these people. It’s a movie that’s impossible to create without world-class artists. They killed themselves for me!”
Yorick Le Saux, cinematographer
“We shot on film, which was critical to having the film look like we wanted. Yorick made every scene look like source lighting. I didn’t want the film to be overlit in evening scenes, especially interiors; I was Ok with dark corners falling away. Besides, it’s more romantic to have the light of a candle and to have things fall into shadow. It’s his skill and his team’s skill that allowed us to shoot that way.
In pre-production, there were a lot of films we used as reference.
Yorick Le Saux, cinematographer
“We shot on film, which was critical to having the film look like we wanted. Yorick made every scene look like source lighting. I didn’t want the film to be overlit in evening scenes, especially interiors; I was Ok with dark corners falling away. Besides, it’s more romantic to have the light of a candle and to have things fall into shadow. It’s his skill and his team’s skill that allowed us to shoot that way.
In pre-production, there were a lot of films we used as reference.
- 12/12/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
We have all, by this point in history, seen multiple adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” but we have never seen one quite like writer-director Greta Gerwig’s moving and meaningful 2019 version.
This isn’t a radical rethinking of the “Hamlet”-staged-on-Mars school, but Gerwig makes decisions throughout that enhance the story, from juggling the timeline and giving certain characters more presence in the spotlight to the thoughtful craftsmanship employed throughout. From the uniformly excellent performances of a talented ensemble to the just-right choices in scoring, art direction, costuming and editing, this is a stunning interpretation.
I still revere the 1994 adaptation (directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Winona Ryder as Jo), and I have great fondness for the 1933 (George Cukor-Katharine Hepburn) and 1949 (Mervyn LeRoy-June Allyson) versions as well, but Gerwig takes a gamble here that pays off brilliantly.
Watch Video: Greta Gerwig's 'Little Women:' See Saoirse Ronan,...
This isn’t a radical rethinking of the “Hamlet”-staged-on-Mars school, but Gerwig makes decisions throughout that enhance the story, from juggling the timeline and giving certain characters more presence in the spotlight to the thoughtful craftsmanship employed throughout. From the uniformly excellent performances of a talented ensemble to the just-right choices in scoring, art direction, costuming and editing, this is a stunning interpretation.
I still revere the 1994 adaptation (directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Winona Ryder as Jo), and I have great fondness for the 1933 (George Cukor-Katharine Hepburn) and 1949 (Mervyn LeRoy-June Allyson) versions as well, but Gerwig takes a gamble here that pays off brilliantly.
Watch Video: Greta Gerwig's 'Little Women:' See Saoirse Ronan,...
- 11/25/2019
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Olivier Assayas, Penélope Cruz, Édgar Ramírez, and producer Rodrigo Teixeira with Kent Jones at the New York Film Festival Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Wasp Network, another highlight of this year's New York Film Festival, stars Penélope Cruz and Édgar Ramírez with Gael García Bernal, Wagner Moura, Ana de Armas, and Leonardo Sbaraglia. Inspired by Fernando Morais’s book The Last Soldiers Of The Cold War, the director/screenwriter Olivier Assayas announced that the film shot by Yorick Le Saux and Denis Lenoir, had been edited substantially since it was first shown at the Venice Film Festival on September 1. Assayas considered what we watched at the press screening on the afternoon of Friday, October 4 to be the film's new final cut world première.
Penélope Cruz: "I love babies. Once they get to the set they're mine!" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Wasp Network transports us into the realm of Cubans...
Wasp Network, another highlight of this year's New York Film Festival, stars Penélope Cruz and Édgar Ramírez with Gael García Bernal, Wagner Moura, Ana de Armas, and Leonardo Sbaraglia. Inspired by Fernando Morais’s book The Last Soldiers Of The Cold War, the director/screenwriter Olivier Assayas announced that the film shot by Yorick Le Saux and Denis Lenoir, had been edited substantially since it was first shown at the Venice Film Festival on September 1. Assayas considered what we watched at the press screening on the afternoon of Friday, October 4 to be the film's new final cut world première.
Penélope Cruz: "I love babies. Once they get to the set they're mine!" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Wasp Network transports us into the realm of Cubans...
- 10/6/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
An astronaut on an odyssey to a distant black hole faces the challenges of parenting – and existential panic – in Claire Denis’ superbly eerie, mysterious space drama
Claire Denis’s deep-space trauma High Life is an Old Testament parable catapulted forward into the 23rd century, a primal scene in a pressurised cabin of sci-fi pessimism, suppressed horror and denied panic. As if in a recurring dream, Denis brings us repeatedly to the image of a cream-panelled spaceship corridor that curves sharply around to the right; the area is at first pristine and then, as the years go by, shabby and derelict, stained with what may be body fluids. And what is around that corner?
This is a bizarre new creationist myth for those of us who ever wondered in childhood, and then forgot to wonder, about the taboo-breaking involved in propagating a race from just two people in the Garden of Eden,...
Claire Denis’s deep-space trauma High Life is an Old Testament parable catapulted forward into the 23rd century, a primal scene in a pressurised cabin of sci-fi pessimism, suppressed horror and denied panic. As if in a recurring dream, Denis brings us repeatedly to the image of a cream-panelled spaceship corridor that curves sharply around to the right; the area is at first pristine and then, as the years go by, shabby and derelict, stained with what may be body fluids. And what is around that corner?
This is a bizarre new creationist myth for those of us who ever wondered in childhood, and then forgot to wonder, about the taboo-breaking involved in propagating a race from just two people in the Garden of Eden,...
- 5/8/2019
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Juliette Binoche stars in Olivier Assayas’ exploration of love, the Internet, and the death of literature.
Following the more esoteric but still pointed concerns of his last two films, Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper, French auteur Olivier Assayas heads into surprisingly straightforward territory with Non-Fiction. The director takes an almost traditional approach in following the lives of two couples--a high-end book editor named Alain (Guillaume Canet) and his actress wife Selena (Juliette Binoche), along with novelist Leonard (Vincent Macaigne) and his political consultant partner Valerie (Nora Hamzawi)--as their lives entwine around each other both professionally and romantically.
As the film opens, Alain delivers the bad news to Leonard that he is not going to publish his new novel, the latest in a long line of thinly disguised roman à clefs about Leonard’s own affairs. What Alain doesn’t know -- or perhaps he does--is that the...
Following the more esoteric but still pointed concerns of his last two films, Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper, French auteur Olivier Assayas heads into surprisingly straightforward territory with Non-Fiction. The director takes an almost traditional approach in following the lives of two couples--a high-end book editor named Alain (Guillaume Canet) and his actress wife Selena (Juliette Binoche), along with novelist Leonard (Vincent Macaigne) and his political consultant partner Valerie (Nora Hamzawi)--as their lives entwine around each other both professionally and romantically.
As the film opens, Alain delivers the bad news to Leonard that he is not going to publish his new novel, the latest in a long line of thinly disguised roman à clefs about Leonard’s own affairs. What Alain doesn’t know -- or perhaps he does--is that the...
- 5/2/2019
- Den of Geek
It begins in a lush, green garden, but “High Life,” the quiet, bracing and ultimately moving first English-language film from acclaimed French director Claire Denis, is the antithesis of a creation story. A science-fiction parable of despair, filled with more brutality than kindness and more pessimism than hope, its optimistic title is a sliver of bitter irony.
The garden, bursting with vegetables and shrouded in mist, sits housed inside a shabby spaceship containing Monte (Robert Pattinson) and his baby daughter Willow (Scarlett Lindsey), the last two living people onboard. In a series of flashbacks, the vessel’s function becomes somewhat clear and significantly more ominous: Formerly a cell block full of death-row inmates, this floating utilitarian prison box is on a one-way trip to a black hole.
Monte, in for murder alongside other violent criminals but assuming the role of the ship’s most monk-like crew member, delivers narration explaining the task.
The garden, bursting with vegetables and shrouded in mist, sits housed inside a shabby spaceship containing Monte (Robert Pattinson) and his baby daughter Willow (Scarlett Lindsey), the last two living people onboard. In a series of flashbacks, the vessel’s function becomes somewhat clear and significantly more ominous: Formerly a cell block full of death-row inmates, this floating utilitarian prison box is on a one-way trip to a black hole.
Monte, in for murder alongside other violent criminals but assuming the role of the ship’s most monk-like crew member, delivers narration explaining the task.
- 4/4/2019
- by Dave White
- The Wrap
As the vampire stud of the Twilight franchise, Robert Pattinson hit multiplex paydirt. Since then, he’s been raising his personal bar in the indie sphere (Good Time, Damsel). The star does himself proud in this elusive but bracing brainteaser from Claire Denis, the great French filmmaker (Beau Travail, Trouble Every Day) who’d much rather challenge audiences than coddle them. High Life is the writer-director’s first film in English, and the only one set in space. In the script she wrote with Jean-Pol Fargeau, her concerns about existence...
- 4/2/2019
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
When we use the term “science fiction,” almost invariably the branch of science we’re thinking of is physics: Quantum levels and warp speeds, artificial intelligence and advanced alien technologies. But Claire Denis’ first English-language film, the extraordinary, difficult, hypnotic, and repulsive “High Life” doesn’t give a damn about physics, and not just in the way that bodies tumble wrongly out of airlocks and nobody seems to spend a moment of their day engaged in cosmic problem-solving. In the science fiction of Denis’ forbiddingly austere and audacious imagining, the science is biology: Out here, we are not made of stars but of blood, hair, spit and semen.
We’re far from earth but this earthiness is everywhere. “Never drink your own urine, never eat your own shit — even if they’ve been recycled,” murmurs crew member Monte (Robert Pattinson) to the little baby in his care. “It’s what we call a taboo.
We’re far from earth but this earthiness is everywhere. “Never drink your own urine, never eat your own shit — even if they’ve been recycled,” murmurs crew member Monte (Robert Pattinson) to the little baby in his care. “It’s what we call a taboo.
- 9/10/2018
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
In many respects, the mesmerizing and elusive “High Life” is a first for writer-director Claire Denis: the first of her films to be shot in English, the first of her films to be set in space, and the first of her films to follow Juliette Binoche inside a metal chamber that’s referred to as “The Fuckbox,” where the world’s finest actress — playing a mad scientist aboard an intergalactic prison ship on a one-way trip to Earth’s nearest black hole — straddles a giant dildo chair and violently masturbates in a scene that’s endowed with the tortured energy of a Cirque du Soleil routine.
Needless to say, “High Life” isn’t your average science-fiction movie. In fact, Denis rejects the genre designation outright, insisting that her latest and most elliptical opus is far too grounded to be lumped in with the likes of “Star Wars” and “Solaris.
Needless to say, “High Life” isn’t your average science-fiction movie. In fact, Denis rejects the genre designation outright, insisting that her latest and most elliptical opus is far too grounded to be lumped in with the likes of “Star Wars” and “Solaris.
- 9/10/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
It’s difficult to ask hard questions about change and technology and progress — particularly to consider whether “progress” is actually progress or not — without sounding like a cranky old man, but writer-director Olivier Assayas has now done it twice. 2008’s “Summer Hours” contemplated a world in which new generations seemed uninterested in preserving art history and cultural treasures of the past, and now a decade later, with “Non-Fiction,” he asks similarly pointed questions about the future of books and literature in the internet age.
That he does so with a minimum of breast-beating and a surfeit of sparkling wit no doubt helps the message go down, particularly since it’s clear that he’s not offering answers but instead merely asking the questions.
The film introduces us to a group of friends, lovers and colleagues, all of whom engage in spirited conversations about the state of writing, acting and politics,...
That he does so with a minimum of breast-beating and a surfeit of sparkling wit no doubt helps the message go down, particularly since it’s clear that he’s not offering answers but instead merely asking the questions.
The film introduces us to a group of friends, lovers and colleagues, all of whom engage in spirited conversations about the state of writing, acting and politics,...
- 8/31/2018
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
After highlighting 55 anticipated titles confirmed to arrive in theaters this fall, we now turn our attention to the festival-bound films either without distribution or awaiting a release date. Looking over Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and New York Film Festival titles, we’ve rounded up 20 movies — most of which we’ll be checking out over the next few weeks — that we can’t wait to see.
Check out our 20 most-anticipated festival premieres below, and return for our review.
American Dharma (Errol Morris)
We apologize for the triggering image right off the bat in this feature, but as much he doesn’t deserve any more attention, the thought of watching master interviewer Errol Morris interrogate one of America’s most warped minds does have its intrigue. The Fog of War director’s documentary on former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon will premiere at Venice and play at...
Check out our 20 most-anticipated festival premieres below, and return for our review.
American Dharma (Errol Morris)
We apologize for the triggering image right off the bat in this feature, but as much he doesn’t deserve any more attention, the thought of watching master interviewer Errol Morris interrogate one of America’s most warped minds does have its intrigue. The Fog of War director’s documentary on former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon will premiere at Venice and play at...
- 8/27/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With Halloween only a week away now (how in the heck did that happen?), of course there are a ton of horror and sci-fi home entertainment offerings arriving on Tuesday, ready to get you primed for all your spooky shenanigans leading up to October 31st. In terms of new titles, both War of the Planet of the Apes and Annabelle: Creation hit various formats, and Criterion has put together a stellar release for Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper as well.
On the cult side of the genre spectrum, we have a myriad of movies to look forward to, including a quartet of titles from Vinegar Syndrome: The Corpse Grinders, Demon Wind, Blood Beat, and the double feature of Prime Evil and Lurkers. Arrow Video has assembled a special edition set for Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Feast that’s a must-own for any splatter fans out there, and the Warner Archive Collection...
On the cult side of the genre spectrum, we have a myriad of movies to look forward to, including a quartet of titles from Vinegar Syndrome: The Corpse Grinders, Demon Wind, Blood Beat, and the double feature of Prime Evil and Lurkers. Arrow Video has assembled a special edition set for Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Feast that’s a must-own for any splatter fans out there, and the Warner Archive Collection...
- 10/24/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Ever since making his feature debut with the darkly comical Sitcom, French writer/director François Ozon has been making the world feeling horny and shocked with his films, often at the same time. With a body of work that also includes Water Drops on Burning Rocks, Under the Sand, In the House and the glorious one-two punch of 8 Women and Swimming Pool, you’d think the prolific provocateur might soon be running out of tricks.
Think again. His latest erotic thriller, L’amant double, which premiered in competition at Cannes this year, proved to be the film scandaleux of the festival. Starring Marine Vacth as Chloé, a young woman who one day discovers her psychiatrist partner Paul (Jérémie Renier) might have an evil twin brother and gradually loses herself in a web of deceit and kinks, it’s the kind of dangerously sexy farce at which Ozon excels.
We had...
Think again. His latest erotic thriller, L’amant double, which premiered in competition at Cannes this year, proved to be the film scandaleux of the festival. Starring Marine Vacth as Chloé, a young woman who one day discovers her psychiatrist partner Paul (Jérémie Renier) might have an evil twin brother and gradually loses herself in a web of deceit and kinks, it’s the kind of dangerously sexy farce at which Ozon excels.
We had...
- 10/18/2017
- by Zhuo-Ning Su
- The Film Stage
Personal Shopper
Blu-ray
Criterion
2016 / Color / 2.4:1 widescreen / Street Date October 24, 2017
Starring Kristen Stewart
Cinematography by Yorick Le Saux
Written by Olivier Assayas
Produced by Genevieve Lemal
Directed by Olivier Assayas
Written and directed by the French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, Personal Shopper is the story of a young woman in the midst of a spiritual crisis, both of the existential and ectoplasmic variety. Her name is Maureen and she works as an assistant to Kyra, a flighty day-tripper famous for flattering herself in haute couture and being seen at the right parties. It’s a job so demeaning that Maureen has jettisoned most of her own identity in deference to the whims of her jet-setting boss.
Along with those earthbound skills, Maureen has a flair for communicating with the dead; she’s a bonafide medium and that uncanny talent may help provide the answer to a mystery tormenting her since the death of her twin brother,...
Blu-ray
Criterion
2016 / Color / 2.4:1 widescreen / Street Date October 24, 2017
Starring Kristen Stewart
Cinematography by Yorick Le Saux
Written by Olivier Assayas
Produced by Genevieve Lemal
Directed by Olivier Assayas
Written and directed by the French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, Personal Shopper is the story of a young woman in the midst of a spiritual crisis, both of the existential and ectoplasmic variety. Her name is Maureen and she works as an assistant to Kyra, a flighty day-tripper famous for flattering herself in haute couture and being seen at the right parties. It’s a job so demeaning that Maureen has jettisoned most of her own identity in deference to the whims of her jet-setting boss.
Along with those earthbound skills, Maureen has a flair for communicating with the dead; she’s a bonafide medium and that uncanny talent may help provide the answer to a mystery tormenting her since the death of her twin brother,...
- 10/7/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
It has long been apparent that Kristen Stewart is a future Academy Award winner, not just a surefire nominee one day. Part of the double edged sword that you have with her output is that post Twilight, she’s been almost determined to stick to challenging independent fare. Cinephiles are obviously lucking out, but a lot of her work is flying under the radar. As such, she remains on the outside looking in, for now. This week, another indie featuring a stupendous turn from Stewart hits theaters in Personal Shopper. It’s a flawed film and not for everyone, but she is absolutely great in it. As such, if she keeps showcasing her talents in this way, it might take time before the Academy notices. At the same time, if these smaller movies continue to have top notch Stewart performances in them, Oscar could take heed anyway before long. The...
- 3/7/2017
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
“A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist — moving an audience through a movie […] making them think the way you want them to think, painting pictures in the dark,” said the late, great Gordon Willis. As we continue our year-end coverage, one aspect we must highlight is, indeed, cinematography, among the most vital to the medium. From talented newcomers to seasoned professionals, we’ve rounded up the examples that have most impressed us this year. Check out our rundown below and, in the comments, let us know your favorite work.
Arrival (Bradford Young)
At this point, it would be unfair to call Bradford Young an up-and-coming cinematographer. While it’s an accurate description in terms of his relative years behind the camera, the caliber of his work already feels like one of the most accomplished in the genre. Ahead of a Han Solo prequel, he got his first taste with sci-fi thanks to Denis Villeneuve‘s Arrival.
Arrival (Bradford Young)
At this point, it would be unfair to call Bradford Young an up-and-coming cinematographer. While it’s an accurate description in terms of his relative years behind the camera, the caliber of his work already feels like one of the most accomplished in the genre. Ahead of a Han Solo prequel, he got his first taste with sci-fi thanks to Denis Villeneuve‘s Arrival.
- 12/28/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
We've celebrated the male performances and the heroes and villains of the year's first half. But before we get to the actresses -- what? foreplay makes it hotter -- let's revel in the beauty of Cinematography & Production Design. These five choices in each category are what yours truly, Nathaniel, would nominate if the year ended on June 30th. Please share your list of praiseworthy achievements in the comments. Movies are communal and loving them should be, too.
Halfway Mark Beauty Break
Cinematography & Production Design
(January to June theatrical releases only. Disclaimer: I have not yet seen The Mermaid which I hear is an eyeful)
Best Cinematography
If I had a ballot right now (January to June releases only...)
A Bigger Splash, Yorick Le Saux
From gold dust sunshine to postcard istas, from the ambient light of off white seaside architecture to intimate dinners by candlelight, Le Saux is always caressing...
Halfway Mark Beauty Break
Cinematography & Production Design
(January to June theatrical releases only. Disclaimer: I have not yet seen The Mermaid which I hear is an eyeful)
Best Cinematography
If I had a ballot right now (January to June releases only...)
A Bigger Splash, Yorick Le Saux
From gold dust sunshine to postcard istas, from the ambient light of off white seaside architecture to intimate dinners by candlelight, Le Saux is always caressing...
- 7/2/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
In lieu of a full review for Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love follow up A Bigger Splash -- who can type with one hand -- a hot and bothered top ten list.
The Sexiest Things In "A Bigger Splash"
10. Reflective Sunglasses.
The great cinematographer Yorick Le Saux (look up his filmography. Seriously) makes full use of the reflections in everyone's glasses. We're staring at them, but what are they staring at in this voyeuristic vacation?
09. Tilda Whispering to Matthias
As the movie begins world famous rockstar Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) is on vocal rest, doctor's orders. Her visiting friend/ex lover Harry (Ralph Fiennes) and a daughter he didn't know he had until recently (Dakota Johnson) arrive in town unexpectedly and they're told she can't speak. It's not strictly true. Marianne reserves her whispering, which she's allowed, for her younger filmmaker boyfriend Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts). Secretive conspiratorial intimacy is a panty-dropper.
The Sexiest Things In "A Bigger Splash"
10. Reflective Sunglasses.
The great cinematographer Yorick Le Saux (look up his filmography. Seriously) makes full use of the reflections in everyone's glasses. We're staring at them, but what are they staring at in this voyeuristic vacation?
09. Tilda Whispering to Matthias
As the movie begins world famous rockstar Marianne Lane (Tilda Swinton) is on vocal rest, doctor's orders. Her visiting friend/ex lover Harry (Ralph Fiennes) and a daughter he didn't know he had until recently (Dakota Johnson) arrive in town unexpectedly and they're told she can't speak. It's not strictly true. Marianne reserves her whispering, which she's allowed, for her younger filmmaker boyfriend Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts). Secretive conspiratorial intimacy is a panty-dropper.
- 5/10/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Lush, seductive and thrilling, Luca Guadagnino’s latest is an ultra-stylish visual feast.
A Bigger Splash is the most pleasurably stylish new release I have seen this year.
With this rather hyperbolic praise for its distinctive sense of style, I am not only referring to the ultra-luxe and magnificent Dior ensembles Tilda Swinton gracefully wears throughout. (That is a big part of the deal however, so more on that later.) I am instead talking about the entire visual package of A Bigger Splash: a chocolate-lava-cake-of-a-film that delectably pours out its warm insides once gently pierced, and is designed to nourish one’s optical pleasures first and foremost. From its costumes to its camerawork, the breezy crafts of this sun-soaked, gorgeously sensual thriller gently brush your skin with visual splendor, rather than forcibly get under it. As director Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love) softly applies a persistent, luscious and sexual tease onto his Italy-set, low-key...
A Bigger Splash is the most pleasurably stylish new release I have seen this year.
With this rather hyperbolic praise for its distinctive sense of style, I am not only referring to the ultra-luxe and magnificent Dior ensembles Tilda Swinton gracefully wears throughout. (That is a big part of the deal however, so more on that later.) I am instead talking about the entire visual package of A Bigger Splash: a chocolate-lava-cake-of-a-film that delectably pours out its warm insides once gently pierced, and is designed to nourish one’s optical pleasures first and foremost. From its costumes to its camerawork, the breezy crafts of this sun-soaked, gorgeously sensual thriller gently brush your skin with visual splendor, rather than forcibly get under it. As director Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love) softly applies a persistent, luscious and sexual tease onto his Italy-set, low-key...
- 5/10/2016
- by Tomris Laffly
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
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