Coverage of Leffest

My coverage of the Lisbon&Sintra Film Festival:

Last week I went to the Lisbon&Sintra Film Festival (Leffest), which took place between the 16th and the 25th. I watched 8 films and 1 short that I absolutely loved. Here are the reviews I wrote and posted on my Instagram and Facebook accounts with some minor changes and additions.

Day 1 - Psychogenic Fugue (directed by Sandro Miller)/Inland Empire (directed by David Lynch)

 On the night of the 16th of November, I had the most Lynchian experience in my entire life. Everything in the way the festival organized the event of the opening of the festival's retrospective of Lynch's work (Waiting for Mr. Lunch) just felt so brilliantly out of a Lynch movie (in a good way). Everything started with Chrysta Bell singing live the song "Polish Poem" from Inland Empire. Everything about her performance just felt like something out of a David Lynch movie, which means Leffest did an amazing job. Then we were graced with a special short 1 minute and a half video made by Mr. Lynch himself for us fans in Lisbon. It was a bizarrely funny short about a doll who had cut off her arms and was waiting for an ambulance (yep, that's David Lynch alright!). Then we were also graced with a 20-minute short film by the photographer Sandro Miller, called Psychogenic Fugue. This short is essentially a tribute to Lynch and his unique characters. John Malkovich plays Lynch and some of our favorite characters from his movies (the "Lady in the Radiator" and Henry Spencer from Eraserhead, Frank Booth from Blue Velvet, The Log Lady from Twin Peaks, etc.) and he does a pretty good job in bringing the essence of Lynch to the screen. This is a very well made tribute and an interesting watch if you are a Lynch fan.

 But now, for the main event: Inland Empire. I watched Inland Empire a few years ago, and I really like it. But now I absolutely love it! Watching it on the big screen is a total difference. This film is a giant riddle, more complex than any other of his films (which are already very complex!). It's 3 hours of Lynch completely gone nuts and doing everything he wants - and it's so so good! It completely immerses you in this crazy experience of different worlds and dimensions or whatever may be your interpretation of his work. David Lynch talks about how, when you go deeper in your thoughts, you catch the "bigger fish" and that the ones who are in the deepest depths are huge and abstract and very beautiful. I think Inland Empire is the film where David Lynch has gone the deepest, making it the most abstract and maybe most powerful of his films. It's completely crazy and it's brilliant because of that. It's not a film for everyone and it's not a film for every situation - it needs a bit of mental preparation to get ready for 3 hours of what may be called "pure lunacy" (although, really, it isn't). It's definitely something that everyone should experience at least once in their lives. Just don't expect to understand anything. If you want to watch it just have the expectation of being washed away by it and go with the flow, don't try to fight and understand it. Just watch it, as simple as that, and you will love whatever you feel and experience. It's a transcending experience!

Day 2 - Beautiful Boy (directed by Felix Van Groeningen)

 Beautiful Boy is a beautiful film. It's the story of the struggle of a teenage boy with addiction to crystal meth, and the struggle of the father trying to help him. And it's so beautifully told. Honestly, I don't understand the subpar reviews this film is getting. It's not a great movie, but it's a very good movie that is able to tell a very important story that affects millions of people nowadays. As someone who has witnessed someone close to me struggle with addiction, this movie had a big emotional impact on me. Maybe that's why I liked it so much and can't understand the mixed reviews. Steve Carrell is absolutely astounding in this film, and Timothée Chalamet proves once again that he's one of the best young actors of our time. They both give such great and layered performances that they are able to bring the movie to a whole new level of emotion and probably are the ones that actually make the film good. They are obviously the highlight of the film and I expect their performances are going to get some attention during Award Season. Another highlight is probably the soundtrack - it's one of the best f the year, in my opinion. Although at times a little too on the nose, the soundtrack also elevates the film emotionally and makes a lot of scenes much more powerful. All in all, this is an important and powerful movie for our modern times. It may not be the best film about drug addiction, but it's very thought-provoking, realistic, very worthwhile, and very, very important.

Day 3 - The Heiresses (directed by Marcelo Martinessi)

 This was one of my most anticipated films of this festival. It earned a lot of praise in this year's Belin Film Festival, and for good reasons. This is one of the best feature film debuts I have ever seen and it surpassed every expectation I had. It's one of the most thought-provoking experiences of the year and shouldn't be missed out by any true lover of cinema. This film is about Chela, a lesbian woman in her sixties who has to come to terms with herself after her partner, Chiquita, is sent to jail for fraud. Chela is played by Ana Brum, who gives one of the best and most nuanced performances of the year. This film, deep down, is a study of the Paraguayan society and the female condition in it. We witness a network of women from various social classes struggling to survive in this patriarchal society. This is a film about women. Men are nothing more than extras in it, appearing only in small interactions with the women. And I think, for that, this film is one of the most important cornerstones in feminist cinema. This is an extremely beautiful film that explores so compassionately questions of sexuality, classism, and femininity. I plan on watching it more times to fully grasp everything that is in this film. There is so much to think about in it!

Day 4 - Blaze (directed by Ethan Hawke)

 From the first to the last frame, this film is pure poetry. This is one of the most beautiful movies of the year and it isn't getting the attention it deserves. Blaze is a film, however, it's more a celebration - it's a celebration of the life of a legend, by the name of Blazey Foley. Ethan Hawke shines on the director's chair, giving us a beautiful film with one of the best cinematography of the year, filled with warm colors that make the film exude this warmth that bewitches you from the first moment. It's dreamlike and nostalgic - there is a realism and a surrealism, and it's so bloody good! The story is told through a brilliant fragmented screenplay that only adds to the poetry of the film. Ben Dickey is, in my opinion, the big revelation of the film, with one of the best performances of this year. He is able to embody this legendary character in all his flaws and talents. The film doesn't try to please the crowd, just like its title character, and maybe that's why it's not getting so much attention. It simply embodies the spirit of this eccentric genius, telling his story in an unusual way. Blaze Foley was an unusual artist, and so this is only fitting. Alia Shawkat and the entirety of the cast in general also give brilliant performances. All in all, this film is a warm and poetic masterpiece that will make you smile and sob all throughout. It's the perfect capture of the human spirit in film and it's the underrated gem of 2018.

Day 5 - Vox Lux (directed by Brady Corbet)

 This is one of the most important films of this year. As the subtitle ("A Twenty-First Century Portrait"), this is essentially a portrait of our modern society in this century, and this is done through the life of Celeste, a pop singer who starts a career after surviving a school shooting and becoming famous after singing in a memorial ceremony. Her life is a brilliant metaphor for our current century, starting out innocent and fragile in the face of violence and ending up as a schizophrenic and self-centered mess. This film is told in essentially two parts, with the first part being set in the beginning of the 21st century, and the beginning of Celeste's career, and the second part set in one day in 2017 when Celeste is preparing for a comeback concert. The second part of the film was my personal favorite and it was when the movie started really being interesting for me. Natalie Portman once again does a career-best performance and commands every single scene. She completely loses herself in this diabolic character. It's one of the best performances of the year! The second part is also the best-directed part of the film, in my opinion. There are numerous brilliant and impressive continuous shots that only add to the drug-fuelled fast-paced reality of Celeste. It's simply exhilarating and thought-provoking. This film makes you think about how nowadays there isn't really a separation between pop culture, culture and even politics. It's one of the most important and unmissable films of the year!

P.S.: Before the screening of the film, Brady Corbet (who was present) introduced the film by reading a tweet by the President of the United States of America that had been published one or two minutes before the screening affirming his position as an ally to Saudi Arabia. This perfectly set the mood for this portrait of the twenty-first century and it was one of the most perfect introductions to a screening ever!

Day 6-7 - I didn't go to the festival

Day 8 - The House That Jack Built (directed by Lars Von Trier)

 Wow, this film is... a lot to take in! This is one of the most controversial films of the year and I think there is a reason for the controversy. And, as it usually is, the most controversial films are usually the most interesting. Lars Von Trier gives us one of the most shocking cinematographic experiences of the year (as he is already known for doing) and it's so damn good! This film is directed with such mastery that it adds to the disturbing nature of this film. Matt Dillon embodies perfectly this terrible psychopath obsessed with art. All throughout the film, I kept thinking, "Von Trier either has gone completely mad with his depression or is playing with us". I would even go further than that and say that it's both cases. There is a lot of madness in this movie, but also a lot of mischief with the audience (which only proves the genius of Von Trier). I think what is so disturbing about this film and maybe why it's so brilliant is the fact that the film has a lot of self-awareness and Von Trier doesn't try to hide it. He is constantly revealing that to us, almost as if you could see him winking at us, grinning at our shock and disturbance. The most obvious example of this is a scene where previous of his films are blatantly referenced. There is a constant self-awareness, almost as if the film has a mind of its own and can do anything unexpected and unscripted, which adds to the disturbing nature of the film. It's hard not to feel divided in relation to it (as I definitely feel) - on one side, it is done with extreme mastery of the craft and it's impossible not to be fascinated by its brilliant philosophical thought (in fact, this film is almost a masterclass on art history) and its self-awareness, and on the other, it's hard not to feel violated by the grotesque violence unapologetically shown to us on the screen. When the screening ended, a couple next to me exclaimed, " Oh my God!". That is the perfect reaction to summarize this film. Whether you like it or not, you will feel the need to appeal to a higher power to save you from the pure madness of the genius of Lars Von Trier.

Day 9 - Touch Me Not (directed by Adina Pintilie)

 This is one of the most touching and moving experiences of the year. Touch Me Not is a reflection on intimacy, sexuality, sensuality, and our relationship with our bodies. It's a film that puts in question our societal norms of what is an ideal body and the ideal sexual behavior. We are put face to face with bodies that go against what is considered beautiful and are shown the beauty in them. The first thing that we immediately see when the film starts is the naked body of a man, and that sets the tone to the film. This is one of the most important films of the year and I think everyone should see it, even if you are uncomfortable with nudity or highly explicit sex scenes (consider this as a disclaimer). This film was made to make people uncomfortable and that's why I think, even if you are uncomfortable with these things, you should watch it. This is because it pushes our boundaries and changes the way we see these issues (it surely changed a lot of my views on a lot of things). It's one of the most liberating experiences of the year and it's beautifully directed. Every one of the characters present in it is simply unforgettable and will definitely stay with you. Touch Me Not is a necessary film in an age when we tend to get more and more distanced from our bodies. It's a necessary film in this #metoo moment. And it's one of the most powerful statements in his time when sexuality is such a sensitive subject, especially related to consent and identity. This is definitely a film that should be watched by everyone in order to open a freer and more understanding dialogue in our society about these issues.

Day 10 - Roma (directed by Alfonso Cuarón)

 I had never been moved to tears just with the sheer beauty of a film. Each frame of this film has such emotional power that it's almost unbearable. And when a movie does that, you know that it's goddamn good! Alfonso Cuarón graces us with this absolutely beautiful masterpiece about Mexican society and all the social relations and tensions present in it told from the perspective of a housemaid called Cleo, played by Yalitza Aparicio in such a nuanced and moving performance. The film is embedded with such true emotion,, being handled by Cuarón with such care and mastery, it's impossible not to be filled with all sorts of feelings while watching this. It's so beautiful both in a simple and complex way, exploring the small tasks of the day along with the big dramas of society - channeling a lot of influences from Ozu, especially with the sparse use of close-ups and the use of low angles. It's a view from a distance of society in turmoil, and it's also an intimate view of the life of the people who don't have a voice and are forgotten by society. It's an open wound in the continent of America, exploring the unresolved situation of the indigenous peoples, being forced to servitude by their colonizers. This film is an example of cinema in its purest form, being able to express so many things with just an image, which is what cinema is supposed to do. This is one of the best films of the year, perhaps of the decade and the century. It's truly a great gift to humanity. Thank you, Alfonso Cuarón <3