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An exemplary action film, the Oscar-winning film and the film you will not forget: there is no shortage of things to see in the cinema

"Guardian of Resentment" is an action film at the highest levels, "Promising Young" will not come out of your head and "Land of the Nomads" may not have been worthy of an Oscar, but it is also a very powerful film.

The movie theaters have finally opened, and these are the movies that stand out in them

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• Jason Statham

• Oscar

• Carrie Mulligan

• Frances McDormand

Avner Shavit

Monday, 07 June 2021, 00:04 Updated: 09:11

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Trailer for the movie "Guardian of Resentment" (United King)

"Resentant": An action thriller at the highest level

There is a long list of Hollywood hits based on French movies that no one remembers, including in France itself, so none of the viewers of the American movie even remember or are aware that this is a remake. A good example of this is the huge hit "True Lies" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, based on a rather forgotten French comedy that came out a little before it.

Now, this list is joined by "Shomer Tina", which came up in Israel last weekend. This is an English-speaking adaptation of a French film called "Le convoyeur", which was released in France in 2004 and left no special international mark. Its director, Nicolas Bucreif, made headlines again six years ago in a different context - his film "Made in France" creepily predicted the terrorist attack that rocked Paris in November 2015, becoming one of the only hidden films in the history of contemporary French industry, but that's another story you can Read here.

Either way, "Resentant" replicates the plot of the original film and many of the genre's clichés. His protagonist, in the best tradition of the genre, is a "mysterious man", who begins to work as a security guard for Brinks trucks, and already the first time someone tries to rob them of money, manages to reap the robbers with surgical precision and inconceivable composure. In time, the truth behind his enigmatic personality is revealed, and we understand how he cultivated these skills, why he chose to work as an ordinary security guard and what exactly resentment he holds.

Originally starring Albert Dupontel, whose latest film "Hello and Goodbye" recently opened the French Cinematheque Film Festival, and will later be staged in Israel.

In this version, he is replaced by Jason Statham, one of the prolific action stars of our generation.

Next to him can also be found names like Josh Hartnett and Scott Eastwood (Clint's son, and even more handsome than him) and behind the camera stood Guy Ritchie, a director with an unpredictable and uneven career who moved from modern classics like "Snatch", through surprising commercial projects For good as "Aladdin" to a host of puzzling failures.

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Getting better and then exploding.

Jason Statham in "Guardian of Resentment" (Photo: United King)

Action movies with Statham are a sub-genre in their own right, and "Resentant" turns out to be one of the best he's ever made, if not the best of them all. It is also one of the most successful films from the house of Richie, including one of the finest action hits of recent years. I watched it when he immigrated to America about a month ago, and I was delighted. How good is he? If it had been a French thriller from the 1960s, it would have been defined as a masterpiece and gestures would have been made to it in cinemas.

Admittedly, at first the script seems quite routine, and it is also so convoluted that it is difficult to follow the plot moves, but over time the film gains momentum - just like the fast cars that Steitham drives in his hits. It gets better and better and eventually culminates in a dizzying final campaign, which meets the highest standards.

If there is a school for directing action scenes, then it is possible and appropriate to teach Richie's work here - it is a sign and an example. Staitham, for his part, manages to embody both the character's mystery and her resentment, without falling into paperwork and without producing an unpleasant presence. The supporting actors are excellent as well and even the script, which at first seems to be the weak point of the film, is eloquently and convincingly crystallized.

As befits an action thriller based on a French source, this script also offers added value. Beyond persecution and explosions, "Resentant" deals with the social circumstances leading Americans to give up a human photographer for money, the abysses into which the human psyche can plunge and the power of revenge.

Unlike American cinema in recent years, revenge is not presented here as a useless passion - quite the opposite. As its name implies, "Resentant" describes it as something worth keeping, then preparing it with lots of ice, as it turns out that it is indeed at its best when served cold.

"Exemplary and important" or "embarrassing and hypocritical"?

From "A Promising Young Woman" (Photo: Lev Cinema)

"Promising young woman": You can't stop thinking about him

Revenge is also at the center of "Promising Young," though this is a completely different kind of film. This is not a commercial action thriller, but a challenging drama that starred in the last Oscar ceremony and even won the original screenplay award. Also, unlike "Guardian of Resentment" which came up in the United States only recently and comes to us relatively late, this film was released already at the beginning of the civil year, and due to the corona is only coming up with us now.

I watched the film five months ago, and although I have not returned to it since, it remains deep in my mind - it's hard to stop thinking about it. In fact, such criticism is not necessarily the appropriate format to discuss a "promising young woman." He will also star in many seminar papers, and it is amazing how controversial the reactions to him are - from his definition as a groundbreaking masterpiece to his complete abolition. Since this is one of the first Hollywood works to deal with Metoo, it could be assumed that it is a gender issue, but from my impression it is a non-binary issue.

As its ironic name implies, the protagonist of the film is a young woman, who was once promising, but then discovered that the American elite loves to smash promises as much as she enjoys inflating them.

She is played by Carrie Mulligan, in her best role so far, and as in "Guardian of Resentment", here too the circumstances behind her revenge campaign are slowly revealed, and we will not be able to reveal them.

It is only said that this is an affair of exploitation and sexual assault, and of the rendering of these offenses, and that the actions of the protagonist are not only against a particular person - but against the toxic society as a whole.

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Just the beginning.

From "A Promising Young Woman" (Photo: Lev Cinema)

There are many brilliant moves in the film. The most brilliant of them is the casting. "Promising Young" was written and directed by Emerald Panel, who until now was known as an actress, for example as Camila Parker in "The Crown", and also appears here in a small role. For the roles of the various toxic men she has cast actors who are known as "cute", both in their public persona and in the characters they have played so far. For example, Bo Bernham, whose new comedy special has just hit Netflix. The film cracks the characteristic sweetness of him and the other men on his side, and proves through them that even those who look and behave like good children in Jerusalem, are part of the problem and not of the solution.

The Hollywood debate on MeToo has only just begun, and "Promising Young" is already educated to take it to deep, layered places, and does so electrifyingly. In her first feature film as a director, Panel does a good job of casting and guiding the actors and actresses, using colors and music and hiding cunning surprises in the script. Most of all, she is amazed at understanding the society in which she is engaged, the gap between her stated values ​​and conduct on the ground, and especially the way she knows how to maintain herself.

Thanks to all this, the film fascinated me from the first second to the last. I will not forget the experience of watching it, nor will I stop thinking about it. However, while its opening grips the throat, the extension already loses control and the tight grip it had before. In addition, here and there there are strange and even sloppy creaks in the directing work, and the reason they do not completely deviate the result from its trajectory is that the experience is so sweeping as a whole.

Either way, this movie is just the beginning.

The discussion of the issues he raises is not going to go away, and so is Panel's career.

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Chloe Zhao, the director of "Land of the Nomads" and the star of the film Frances McDormand with the Oscars they won for their work in it (Photo: Reuters)

"Land of the Nomads": Not the best movie of the year, but a good movie

The one who has already made the transition from the world of indie films to the comic book industry is Chloe Zhao. "Eternal," directed by Marvel Studios, will be released this November and is expected to be one of the biggest hits of the year, critically and box office-wise.

Marvel set their eyes on Zhao after establishing her status as one of the most respected filmmakers in the United States. She broke out in 2015 with "Songs My Brothers Taught Me," and two years later came back with "The Rider," which we chose here for fifth place in the previous decade's movie parade. This year, her career finally exploded thanks to "Land of the Nomads", which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and starred in the last Oscar ceremony, with awards in the directing category, lead actress (Francis McDormand) and most importantly, best film.

The film was released in the United States already in the winter, but came to us only last week, with the opening of cinemas.

Having already watched it considerably twice, I went to see it on yes planet as well, and was happy to find the hall full to capacity.

This achievement is not self-evident, given that "Land of the Nomads" is a rather challenging work, and not really a typical hit complex.

The film is based on "Land of the Nomads: Surviving America in the 21st Century", Jessica Broder's reference book on Americans who do not have a permanent home, and instead move around the United States - some for economic reasons, some for mental and personal reasons, some for both.

The cinematic adaptation is fictional, but incorporates documentary elements: apart from Kodermand, most of the actors and actresses here have never appeared in front of a camera and actually embody themselves.

The doing combines rough realism and poeticism, and the pace is slow and uncompromising.

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Not a typical complex hit, but fills halls.

From "Land of the Nomads" (Photo: Film Forum)

However, one can understand why “Land of the Nomads” manages to appeal to wide and different audiences.

He is pressing all the right buttons right now.

Through the story of the people who lost their homes and / or jobs, it has a topical critique of the capitalist system that led them to it;

On the other hand, it also has female empowerment, through the story of a protagonist who takes not only the film but also the whole world on her back;

And in the year that nature has awakened, it also has in it a worship of nature and the spiritual transcendence of those who manage to connect with it.

There is thus something a bit cynical about the film, which also makes sure to attract viewers' attention with blatant graphic scenes, the kind not commonly seen in American cinema - for example, those depicting people living in caravans, with no proper sewer connection, performing their bowel movements.

And so, as often happens in indie works, "Land of the Nomads" borders on porn of poverty.

There are reasons then to be cynical ourselves towards the film.

Despite my immense appreciation for the director and lead actress, in none of the times did I watch him fall in love with him as much as I wanted to.

In addition to the flaws I have already mentioned, it has another problem that is not so pleasant to admit with a full mouth: often, it is just boring.

But on the other hand, "Land of the Nomads" also has many qualities, and they stand out especially if you look at it per se, and not in relation to its definitions as "best film of the year" and so on.

Zhao manages to bring us here into a world most of us did not know before, and through it formulate a topical and relevant statement and reveal what a destructive economic and social effect the real estate bubble and corporate culture has.

Everything that is ugly and beautiful in our world.

From "Land of the Nomads" (Photo: Film Forum)

Faced with this negativity, and alongside its preoccupation with death, the film is also a song of praise for life and everything that makes it up - the memories, but also the present.

As in "The Rider", here too Zhao illustrates the ability to use words and images, body gestures and facial expressions, voices and sounds, to produce unimaginable cinematic beauty based on the simplest things.

The most exciting moment in it, and one of the most exciting moments seen recently, presents a monologue of a dying woman about pelicans and their reflection in the water.

So simple, so beautiful.

True, Chloe Zhou's hit was the right film at the right time, and also won an Oscar because Corona rejected the distribution of most of its potential competitors, but that does not mean that it should be canceled or even underestimated.

There are not many films that manage to say anything about what is evil in our world, and not many that manage to show what is magical in it, and this "Land of the Nomads" is a rare example of a film that manages to do both.

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