Articles
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Retelling is not for everyone
Bohemian Rhapsody reminded me of how difficult it is to tell a story more or less well-known. Questions of accuracy, respect and fan-service are inevitable, as inevitable is the pressure behind a work that must deal with a popular figure. Bohemian Rhapsody follows the conventional biopic path, unfolding mechanically like a Wikipedia entry. It limits itself to bits and pieces of a subject too complex to be tamed, and it fails miserably at showing us that there is more to Queen than a greatest hits collection.
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Arrivederci Soavi, Ciao
It’s always been hard for me to cope with Italian cinema. I am not talking about obvious masters such as Roberto Rossellini, Elio Petri, and Federico Fellini here. I am talking about the most recent output of my country’s film world, which makes me wonder what those masters would think of Italian cinema today.
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My 2018 in films
In terms of cinematic experiences 2018 has been an amazing year. Although I have a couple of titles among this year’s finest already added to my all-time favourites, 2018 will be remembered as the time when my cinephilia expanded in incredible and inspiring ways like never before. The key game-changer has been Letterboxd.
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The present is the past is the future
Funny how volatile judgement is. I remember enjoying Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One while reading it, and then time has almost entirely overturned my appreciation for it. I was still dealing with the rise of my negative opinion about Cline’s work the first time I saw Steven Spielberg’s adaptation this year, hence no surprises my bias ruined my enjoyment. Upon watching Ready Player One again last Sunday, a totally different film unfolded on the screen. I refused to oblige the bias, and sat in ecstatic amusement while Spielberg built a world of wonders in front of me.
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Hu Bo and the country that sits still
Cinema is a mixed bag of aesthetics, a complex blend of visual art, technology, sound design, and theatre. It encourages an infinite set of ideas and ideals, whether hidden or in plain sight. It doesn’t matter if there is a powerful company or an independent artist behind a film. Moral and ethic values, political dynamics and concerns are all always at play.