Smallclone100

Wow, so much to unpack. It may take me days to process this film. Firstly - Cate Blanchett - what a performance, it is absolutely stellar. Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, a successful classical conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. This is possible career best territory. The control Blanchett has whether speaking English or German is utterly spellbinding. The audience is given absolute plausibility that we are witnessing a world leading, uber intellectual, driven, workaholic composer conductor. I bought it.

Next - the direction. It is meticulously crafted, so well researched, from everything like the classical music, scoring, orchestral arrangements, music conservatories to the modern facets of life as a high profile professional in Berlin. There are minute details placed in this film, both in dialogue and in plot drivers that are there to symbolize the character arc that Tár goes through - right up until the very last scene, in which little devices and props are used to convey the situation Tár finds herself in. Director Todd Field has pulled off a master work here. At it's heart it's a character study, but it's also an extremely complex look at cancel culture, modernity, the high brow versus the low brow, institutionalised behaviour, abuse of power, separating art versus the artist, politicising art, personal morals regarding art and so much more. Much of the first half of the film feels like a European film, (perhaps to keep in tune with the location), as there are long scenes that are dialogue heavy and static cameras with barely any action to speak of; but the film is teaching the viewer about the lead character all the time and it demands heavy concentration. Fans of directors like Darren Aronofsky, Ruben Ostlund and Pablo Larrain may well love this film.

There is one long take scene that is so well directed and acted that the tension and angst is almost uncomfortable to watch. Other scenes are straying into psychological horror territory as the viewer is almost put inside the mind of the lead character and perhaps living a realisation of her actions. Blanchett is absolutely magnetic, intense, captivating and steals every scene.

Incredible film.

A group of elderly Italian men sit round a table and recount an old tale of a man named Luciano a century ago. Luciano resembles a young unshaved Donald Sutherland, who stumbles around a village permanently drunk. He's an anti-hero in this tale that is more of an urban myth than a conventional story.

The landscape and buildings are stunningly captured by cinematographer Simone D'Arcangelo, and it's possibly the most beautifully shot film of the year.

The film has echoes of Lucrecia Martel's 'Zama, Herzog's 'Aguirre' and even Leone's masterworks. Slow in places, but never anything short of captivating in terms of frame composition, it meanders into a lovely dreamlike climax. Italian cinema at it's finest.

8.3/10.

A moving film about a girl reminiscing on a holiday to Turkey taken with her estranged father 20 years prior. The use of music is terrific, the two central performances are very touchingly delivered (Paul Mescal and the young Frankie Corio). It is one of the films of 2022. The fact this is Charlotte Wells' debut feature is nothing more than astonishing. She delivers massive assurance and confidence in direction, which pushes the narrative forward very tenderly as the girl (Sophie) tries to reconcile her relationship with her father Callum in two separate timelines.

Along the way we are given snippets of her father's troubles. Wells' very cleverly weaves in a subtext that works to a crescendo in the last 10 minutes which includes one of the most brilliant transition shots in recent cinema (not hyperbole, it really is brilliant). The viewer is invited to join the dots on what has happened between the two timelines and there are several clues that help.

Wells' debut has a familiarity with the work of fellow Scottish director Lynne Ramsay, and in particular her film 'Morvern Callar'. This feels lie the birth of another great director.