The Seventh Seal
by Felipe Rosa
The Seventh Seal: a film with this setting, group of characters and story is expected to be
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, fantasy, top
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Blue Is the Warmest Color (La Vie d’Adèle)
by Felipe Rosa
Blue Is the Warmest Color: this film tells its story simply, purely, without artifices; it feels as a slice-of-life, where the viewer witness the characters relate to each other, change and evolve. Adèle Exarchopoulos gives a great performance, doing so much with so little; the camera being so tight in the faces, for the most part, limits what instruments the actors can use, but she, as well as Léa Seydoux, makes the best use of those. The choice of Abdellatif Kechiche to […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, top
The Royal Tenenbaums
by Felipe Rosa
The Royal Tenenbaums: this film is touching because, in its essence, it reminds of pretty much every familial relationship. The details differ (when don’t they, particularly when the world comes from the sorrowful mind of Wes Anderson), but the story resonates nevertheless. Gene Hackman is fabulous, creating a great, lovable scoundrel. Visually, this is unmistakably a Wes Anderson’s film: rich, detailed frames, complex camera movements. Also worth mentioning is the great use of music done throughout the whole film. Read […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, drama, top
Gravity (2013) – Revisit
by Felipe Rosa
Gravity: a revisit to this film showed how enthralling an experience this film is. In general, particularly when the second view is so close to the first one, the mind takes precedence over the heart and the attention is on the technical aspects instead of the story. However, while still absolutely in awe of the visual choices, the story was even more gripping and the anxiety level, higher. The banter, which at first seemed the weak spot of the film, […]
Categories: Film reviews, Revisit • Tags: drama, sci fi, top
Gravity (2013)
by Felipe Rosa
Gravity: this film tells has, at its core, a simple but very powerful tale of survival. It is, however, the gorgeous execution that raises this to the rank of extraordinaire. Alfonso Cuarón’s style (long, uninterrupted takes; which, I might add, is a personal, well-known bias of mine) lends itself perfectly for the setting. Emmanuel Lubezki’s camerawork (I’ll call it so for simplicity, but the images are a mix of cinematography, editing and special effects) is mind-blowing: the camera dances around the […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, sci fi, top
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
by Felipe Rosa
Grave of the Fireflies: it is possible to have magic in an animation film without talking animals or fantastic environments; a great story in a realistic setting will have the same effect. In this particular case, the story is as touching as in very few cases before or since, and that includes live-action films; it is both very particular to its time and place, and universal. While it’s very different in tone to the majority of Studio Ghibli’s films, it […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: animation, drama, top
Stories We Tell
by Felipe Rosa
Stories We Tell: it is rare to come across of a work of such intelligence and sensibility. Sarah Polley conceived and executed this documentary marvelously, as such a personal story requires. The story being told has great elements, that make it funny and touching; the film, however is as much about itself as it is about the story, and this deep layering (the story, telling this story in particular and stories in general) makes the experience very rich. As I […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: documentary, top
Modern Times
by Felipe Rosa
Modern Times: not many films can claim to be this funny or this touching; to be both at the same time and have something to say (whether one agrees or not is not all that relevant; the fact is, Charlie Chaplin had an opinion about the state of the world and he shows it loud and clear), practically unheard of. It has a great visual quality to it (since it is, of course, a “silent” film), but the use of […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: comedy, top
The Earrings of Madame de…
by Felipe Rosa
The Earrings of Madame de…: great elegance oozes out of this small masterpiece. From the dazzling costume design to the way the dialogue (full of barbs and hidden meaning) is suavely delivered by the cast to, most notably, the incredible camera work. My bias towards lengthy tracking shots is well known, and few times I’ve seen such an amazing collection of them. All those elements serve the story quite well. I’ll say it again for effect: this is a small […]
Categories: Film reviews • Tags: drama, romance, top
