Swedish week for Red Curtain Cinema!

We assisted to two events this week in the great city of London: a premiere of acclaimed film Force Majeure at Curzon Soho and to a Swedish Film Festival organized by ArtFix London. Both events were a fresh reminder of how good the film industry is in the Scandinavian country. Many Swedish films are considered to be among the best in the film history. Today, Sweden is still writing a story whose end is not even close to come. Just think about Let the Right One In , The Milennium Trilogy for instance. Another film is part of this chapter: Force Majeure.

We won't talk much about this Ruben Ostlund film because it is the kind of film you just need to see.
It was widely acclaimed at the Festival de Cannes (won the Jury Prize). It is the story of a middle-class Swedish family whose life changes after an avalanche in their ski holidays. Nothing more is needed to know. It is an atypical film, full of symbolism with many glimpses of black humor and satire. It is a fresh way of approaching a 'classic family model' and make it a mirror of current social issues in many families. Run to see it. After the screening, we had an Q&A with director Ostlund giving more depth to an already complex film.

The second film we saw was Trespassing Bergman. A very interesting documentary about director Ingmar Bergman and the breakthroughs he made in the cinema art. It was mostly about how he triggered the passion for cinema in immense filmmakers (Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Takeshi Kitano, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritú) and how it changed their view of the world. It also talks about how he revolutionized the cinema by treating themes that weren't used in the cinema: religion, existentialism, death. This documentary explains many things that will make watching a Bergman film a more fruitful experience.

Thank you to the ArtFix London for organizing the Swedish Film Festival and opening the doors to cinema lovers like us.Londoners, that is one place to go.  It is a perfect space for having a drink, discussing the beautiful world of art and assisting to events that will open your mind.

It Follows (5/5, Very Good)

We are experiencing a new boom with indie horror films. They shine by their originality whilst telling stories that gets scarier. Horror films faced a decade of decay. New emerging directors decided that it wouldn't be that way. It Follows is part of these new films.

Beautiful Jay (Maika Monroe) is living what any teenager should have at her 19-years old: sharing a flat with her childhood friends, going to school, dating a handsome man. However she will soon embrace the horror. After what it seemed to be an innocent sexual intercourse, she is starting to have visions about a figure that is following her. Only those who 'have it' can see 'it'. The best way to let this 'thing' not kill you is to pass 'it' through, but how? 

Directorial debut by David Robert Mitchell is one of the best we have seen in years. He is able to bring up our deepest fears without hurrying up and without being predictable. That is great quality coming from the horror genre. If uncertainty is part of the viewing experience, then the director achieved it. Horror films is the science of having to deal with the uncertainty: when is this evil going to hit? When is it going to show up? What is going to happen to the characters in the film? Mitchell is heavily influenced by the horror cinema of the 1970s such as with George A. Romero and John Carpenter. Shots that are similar to Night of the Living Dead, music with a John Carpenter touch. What a feast! 

It is very interesting to see as well that this curse is only sexually transmitted. Could it be an allegory for the current diseases in our society? It gives a new perspective to the horror genre. Sex is dangerous for the greedy teenagers of modern society. The film definitely has a certain level of pessimism regarding sex but also does not assume a specific stand. We can interpret everything that Jay is experiencing in our own way. This already gives depth to a script that are rare to find especially after the decadence of horror era with Saw and Paranormal Activity.

Once more, independent films show us they are a plethora of creativity. It gives a new impulse to a film industry that is always seeking new trends. It Follows is a new experience: there is no gore, there is no cheesy dialogues, there are no boring characters. They all have something to give and to think about. Let us say thank you David Mitchell and Maika Monroe for making us feel scared and tense in a lonely cinema room in Cineworld Haymarket. See it if you dare. 

International Women's Day

Films gave light to the power of women. They are the light of the images, they are the smile, they are the tears and they are the beauty. They give life to the best story-tellers and these latter discovered themselves in the process. How far would be go without women? We thought about a couple of sequences that we could share with you in this Women's International Day. Sequences that are worth the look because not only there were great actresses involved but their genuine sensitivity and strong femininity gave emotional power to the beautiful world of films. We love you women of the world.

The Lady (2011)- Michelle Yeoh

1) Jodie Foster- Silence of the Lambs

One of the most powerful scenes in the cinema of the 1990s. Jodie Foster is the heart of the scene. Anthony Hopkins is stunning but without this other pillar this scene would have been forgotten.

2) Meryl Streep- Sophie's choice

This is the last scene of the movie Sophie's choice. This could be a spoiler for some but this could be one of the most heart-breaking scenes we ever saw in a film. This is an intense scene. Meryl Streep's acting is stunning and put into light the greatest fear of any life-giver: to kill someone who's part of you.

3) Sigourney Weaver- Aliens

Let's leave dramatism a bit and just have a blast with a great action scene. Some will think: this is lame. Nevertheless Sigourney Weaver's acting for Aliens gave her an Oscar nomination. It was something unseen, especially for an action film! Another important detail: it was one of the rare films where a female was leading an action film. It was the 1980s: only big muscle guys as Stallone and Schwarzenegger would take the lead. To see and to remember the cult phrase by Ripley!

4) Audrey Tautou and Marion Cotillard- A very long engagement

This great film from Jean Pierre-Jeunet is gripping and compelling. There are numerous scenes who are stunning with leading actress Audrey Tautou but we thought that this one, with the colossal Cotillard, is excellent. One is a woman in prison, the other one is looking for her fiancée. There isn't much else to say, you have to watch this scene.

                                    

5) Ingrid Bergman- Casablanca 

Let's finish this post with a pearl. This scene is just beautiful. Bergman is genuine: she is speaking to all of us deep in our hearts. She is sensible but strong, she is beautiful and powerful. A classic scene, a classic film.