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Performances are relentlessly understated, but Cwen has a superbly expressive face, and her little glances add powerful echoes of yearning, fear and hope. Although the slim storytelling leaves many of her actions eerily opaque. Petrovsky is also excellent, quietly expressing Swinda's underlying interest in Albrun before taking her in an unexpected direction. Many scenes are a frightening mixture of ritual and performance art, unclear how they connect to the story but adding viscerally paganistic touches.

With its sparse dialog and long, slowly played scenes, this is perhaps a film for arthouse horror fans only. Feigelfeld keeps the story's movement steady and sometimes inert, adding chills through casually grim moments and a fantastic harmonic score by someone called Mmmd. The film also finds odd moments of sensuality in surprising places (like a goat's milk or repeated images of perfect apples). Yes, the most clever touches are those that mix beauty and horror, adding a dreamlike kick to the whole film.

themes, violence, sexuality

15.Apr.19

Tardiolo delivers an unearthly performance as Lazzaro, never overplaying his alien-like movement or wide-eyed emotions. His presence in each scene is almost unnervingly involving, as people continually ask him to do things for them, because they know he will. His generosity knows no bounds, and yet his motives are still suspect. The characters surrounding him are lively and memorable, including his "sister" Antonia (Graziani, then Rohrwacher) and Chikovani's fantasist Tancredi (later Ragno).

Rohrwacher has created a vivid fable that merges a variety of storytelling styles, including a mash-up of Italian filmmaking from neorealism to Felliniesque flights of fancy. The plot cleverly blends historical events with issues that feel powerfully resonant today, using a variation on time-travel to explore how humanity simply swaps one kind of oppression for another. And yet the pure core of humanity is still there, reminding us that there is a better way to treat each other.

themes, language, violence

15.Jan.19

Servillo is magnetic, turning Silvio into the life of the party. Aside from some verbal manipulation, there's virtually no depiction of his villainy, and his sexuality is entirely off-screen. It's a big, broad performance that's eerily charming, as it should be. By contrast, Scamarcio adds some earthy grit as a guy trying desperately to be like his idol, but often missing the point. And Ricci, Smutniak and Axen have strong scenes as the women in the centre of the storm.

The bold filmmaking is laced with surreal touches that are eye-catching and often darkly meaningful. But it isn't easy keeping up with the film's constantly shifting mood and unevenly paced narrative. And several thematic touches (a rat, rubbish truck, devastating earthquake) are simply far too obvious. Still, Sorrentino is an expert at keeping the audience on its toes, never quite sure where things might go next. He also knows how to take a very specific story and mine the more universal elements from it, because there are rather terrifyingly close parallels to Berlusconi's story taking place in another part of the world right now.

themes, language, sexuality

12.Mar.19