Sharp Objects

Simon Baker's directorial debut emits the search, discovery and loss and search again for thrilling, extraordinary, soulful rides, teachable moments and bonds in "Breath" (2018)

The narrator tells us about how the ocean and human bravery seduced him, over and over again: "Never had I seen men do something so beautiful, so pointless and elegant, as if dancing on water was the best and brightest thing a man could do.” "Because, finally, this is not a story about surfing; it's a story about fear, about pushing beyond fear, and about becoming addicted to the pushing. Moreover, it's a story about the price of being more than ordinary. Pikelet is forever condemned to be Salieri to Sando's Mozart: just talented enough to know how much more talented the real geniuses are. Greatness, in whatever realm, burns, even if you touch it just for a moment. Thirty years on, a grown Pikelet still judges "every joyous moment, every victory and revelation against those few seconds of living". But, tellingly, he also still surfs, still "does something completely pointless and beautiful, and in this at least he should need no explanation"."

Loving this fresh and soulful film review: "Profound Tim Winton adaptation swirls with soul and beauty", available here And this one: NYT on Breath's "Tasty Waves and Gnomic Truths"

The OA (S1)

TULLY

Sebastián Lelio's passionate and pensive "Disobedience" (2018)

Borrowing from the New Republic's review (available here) "Although Disobedience is marketed under the tagline “Love is an act of defiance,” its execution has managed to evade a crude rendering of Esti’s desire as the opposite of her Judaism. When she says that the word of Hashem is her life, it sounds true, is true. The final message of Disobedience—delivered inside shul itself—is that we are all free to choose. Truly devout Jewish life is not about coercion or denial of self."

ICARUS

I, TONYA

IN THE FADE

Luca Guadignino’s sensual, beating with heart, lust and soul in every frame, "Call Me By Your Name" (2018)

To have your heart long for another's heart, and to get near that person, the one that awakens all your passions, the one that makes everything else around taste more unique, to lust and to love, this is the tenderness, sensuality and beauty of existence. To feel and then to feel together. Set in a charming village in the North of Italy (the location is actually Guadignino's hometown: Crema), during a summer in the early 80s. [TO BE CONTINUED] Borrowing from Guardian's film critic: "And then there is Stuhlbarg’s speech advising against the impulse to cauterise or forget pain: “We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of 30.” There is such tenderness to this film. I was overwhelmed by it." Full review from The Guardian is here. To rewatch the sublime scenes, see Sufjan Steven's theme song, "The Mystery of Love".