Like every week, here are the favorites of our film journalists with, this Wednesday, a drama which takes us from the United States to China, the new film by Abel Ferrara ("Bad Lieutenant") finally in shape, and two pretty animated feature films, ideal for a family outing.
WE LOVE
" The farewell "
Billi, a young New York artist born in China, but whose parents moved to the United States when she was a child, hardly ever saw her grandmother, Nai Nai, whom she adores. When Nai Nai's sister learns that she is suffering from cancer and that she has only three months to live, the whole family decides to pretend the marriage of a cousin to be around the grandmother. Because in China, tradition dictates that the incurable patients be hidden from them that they will soon die. Revolted against this lie, Billi nevertheless ended up joining his own to participate in the festivities and find Nai Nai…
The story of a homecoming and the story of a huge lie, "The Goodbye" avoids sinking into the tear excessively. The staging, daring, provides lovely surprises: amazing angles of view, neon lighting, full light and saturated colors… Finally, the rapper and actress Awkwafina did not steal her Golden Globe Sunday evening for her interpretation by Billi: his performance, very fair and very restrained, greatly contributes to the success of the film.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 4/5
"L 'Adieu", an American drama by Lulu Wang, with Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Tzi Ma… 1h40.
WE LOVE A LOT
"The Children of Time"
A Japanese teenager, Hodaka joined Tokyo after fleeing from his home. To survive, he finds a job in a magazine on paranormal phenomena. When he has to write about the existence of the "sun girls", these young women who, by praying, manage to stop the torrential rains that hit the city, he meets one day the nice Hina, to whom he becomes attached . But this one is confronted with a terrible dilemma: if this girl-sun does not sacrifice, it will continue to rain on Tokyo…
Two years after "Your Name", the Japanese artist Makoto Shinkai once again illustrates a fantastic story with ultra-realistic and highly precise drawings: in "Children of Time", the views of Tokyo are magnificent, the skies magical. Steeped in meteorological anguish, this pretty and delicate film also speaks of adolescence and emancipation, mourning ... and love, through romantic-poetic flights.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 3.5 / 5
"Children of Time", Japanese animated film by Makoto Shinkai. 1:54.
"The Extraordinary Journey of Marona"
A little dog, Marona, is run over by a car during a crazy race. Comateuse, she remakes the film of her existence through the different masters who collected it… This amazing animated film signed by the Romanian Anca Damian, who had won the prize list of the Annecy Animation Film Festival in 2012 with the very committed "Le Voyage de Monsieur Crulic", happily mixes atmospheres, colors and techniques over the peregrinations of the young dog.
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Poetic, sumptuous at times, very somber to others, often moving, "The extraordinary Voyage of Marona" has the faults of its qualities: its too great formal richness sometimes harms its balance. But we take full eyes, and we can only be touched by the incredible destiny of this canine heroine.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 3.5 / 5
"The extraordinary Voyage of Marona", animated film by Anca Damian. 1:32. From 7 years old.
WE ALSO LIKE
"Tommaso"
In Rome, an American artist in his fifties, a former junkie who lives with his much younger wife and their 3-year-old daughter, divides himself between scriptwriting, drama lessons, meditation sessions and city walks. Subject to terrible fits of jealousy, he will sink into violent paranoia, to the point of confusing reality and fantasies…
This Roman chronicle owes a lot to the duo that is behind it: the brilliant filmmaker Abel Ferrara ("Bad Lieutenant", "The King of New York", "The Addiction" ...) and his favorite actor Willem Dafoe, both installed in Rome and neighbors for several years. If the film benefits from all the mastery of the filmmaker - and the actor - it also suffers from some of its faults, with a disjointed story, too long and talkative. There remain magnificent sequences, which make it the best Ferrara film in a long time.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 3/5
“Tommaso”, an American dramatic comedy by Abel Ferrara, with Willem Dafoe, Cristina Chiriac, Anna Ferrara… 1h58.
