MATT'S CINEMA DIARY: November 23-29, 2015

Matt Micucci's personal experience at various screenings throughout the week. Less about the film, more about the personal experience. This week, THE INTERN, MICROBE ET GASOIL, DHEEPAN, EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO and MACBETH.

November 24

THE INTERN by Nancy Meyers (USA) @ Kino Evald (Prague, Czech Republic), 14.30

Realistically, my expectations should always be quite low when approaching a ROBERT DE NIRO vehicle. Let's face it, his best years are behind him, and while I occasionally enjoy some of his turns, quite often in smaller roles, these days I have become worryingly accostumed with underwhelming turns in some truly uninteresting features. THE INTERN is no different. It is a flawed second rate film, superficial and archetypal in almost every way. 

One of the things I most noticed about the film was the amount of brands it mentioned, which in fact did make me wonder whether this film's sole purpose was for it to be a feature length excercise in product placement. Even ANNE HATHAWAY as the "fierce" boss, an open reference to the overrated but rather enjoyable THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, stands as a testimony of how dull the characters in this movie really are. Nevertheless, perhaps I am a little too neutral in my evaluation. 

The interesting point I must make is that the screening I attended was part of a regular screenings that are especially targeted for a "senior" audience. So, the film seemed to speak to the audience of this screening in a way in which they could identify with more easily. That indeed is why they connected with it far more than I could. And that must also be why the screening was absolutely full. Considering the fact that this film has been screening around Prague for over a month, word of mouth must have gotten the folks interested. 

But the fact that there was two or three more younger heads such as myself who attended, makes me think that there are those suckers who, like me, would like to see DE NIRO get back on track and hence would opt to go see a new film in which he is starring in, in favour of what would probably be a far more rewarding title.

MICROBE AND GASOLINE (Microbe et Gasoil) by Michel Gondry (France) @ Kino Lucerna (Prague, Czech Republic), 18.30

If I could single out the biggest treat of my cinema going week, it would be attending the screening of MICROBE ET GASOIL. The reason for this is very simple. As I said in my latest episode of the CINECOLA PODCAST I had no idea that this was the new film by MICHEL GONDRY, and didn't realize it was, in fact, until the end credits started rolling. I truly enjoyed the film. Though it's not perfect, it is an ode to the thoughtlessness of early adolescence, particularly a pivotal point in one's life when you do not realize that things are about to drastically change as the transition from childhood to early adulthood gradually starts to take over the simplicity of what was everyday life up to that point. 

I must say that an element of a letter in the story, written to one of the titular characters' love interests, reminded me of an early MICHEL GONDRY short, which revolved around a similar narrative element. Touches here and there, particularly the inventive and unique props, should also have hinted at this film being GONDRY. But the style here is not as prominently featured as in other works of his. 

I later found out that MICROBE ET GASOIL still hasn't secured a distribution deal in the US, which kind of continues in the trend that has seen the French filmmaker fall out of grace with critics and distributors - old scars from THE GREEN LANTERN, I would presume. But this is a mistake, as to me he does remain one of the most interesting directors in current cinema, not to mention that he has made one of the most perfect films of all time - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTTLESS MIND.

November 25

DHEEPAN by Jacques Audiard (France) @ Kino Lucerna (Prague, Czech Republic), 16:00 (French Film Festival)

Like the screening of MICROBE ET GASOIL, this was a screening of Prague's FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL. I did not hesitate to go see this year's PALME D'OR winner, fearing that it might be my last chance to catch it on the big screen. I invited a friend, Anna, along to see it - she was the one who first informed me when I was still in Ireland a few weeks back that there would be a French fest on. 

It's a rather intense film, and the both of us jolted out of our seats every now and again. We both found the film's finale quite stressful and intense, and needed a few sips of wine before we could cool down. I was kind of stumbling on my words a little bit. Being a fan of a lot of AUDIARD's previous works, such as A PROPHET and READ MY LIPS, I was expecting a good film, and a good film I got. 

I'm glad that living in a city like Prague, that offers a solid and exciting cinema programme week in and week out, I get a chance to see films that I would only have been able to catch at festivals in every other city I lived. And I must give props to Lucerna. Despite some of its flaws, one of which I have voiced my frustrations about in the past on this feature and that is the disturbance caused by the music from the music bar downstairs during the screenings, it is a beautiful cinema and certainly the one I go to the most - and that is because it constantly offers a wonderfully varied and exciting programme.

November 26

EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO by Peter Greenaway (Netherlands/Mexico/Finland/Belgium/France) @ Kino Lucerna (Prague, Czech Republic), 16:00

Like most film nerds, I am a huge fan for SERGEI EISENSTEIN. A master of cinema and one of the greatest figures of the pioneering years of the cinematic art, I have also always been aware of his flamboyant and colourful personality. After watching WHAT IS THIS FILM CALLED LOVE by MARK COUSINS, I found out about a pivotal moment in EISENSTEIN's life that took place when at 33 years of age, he found himself in Mexico where he experienced an awakening both in the senses and in his sexuality. 

Naturally, as soon as I heard GREENAWAY had made a film about this, my mouth started watering, but from its premiere in Berlin, I was afraid I wouldn't get a chance to actually see it on the big screen. Once again, props to Prague for giving me the opportunity. I believe the screening I attended was the very first in the city - at least not as part of a festival programme. Admittedly, the screening was poorly attended, and the fact that it played in the big screening room at LUCERNA made it look miserable. But the excitement of the film had be feeling high and horny when I walked out of it - I'm not ashamed to admit it, I was truly walking on air, but that is why cinema is in my opinion the most effective legal drug. 

The film is highly sylized exercise, sometimes overtly so, and perhaps not the most human representation of a figure like EISENSTEIN. But it sure beats the heck out of many other more standard and predictable biographical features that are regularly up for grabs on the big screen. Of course, the fact that PETER GREENAWAY directed it is the big hint that this film was not going to be the average biopic. 

It's very lively, creative and sexy. And it proves that aside from EISENSTEIN having played a huge role in defining a certain cinematic style in his years as an active filmmaker, with such great films as IVAN THE TERRIBLE, STRIKE and of course the oft quoted BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, it is also his real life personal that has inspired very creative pieces of filmmaking - see WHAT IS THIS FILM CALLED LOVE, EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO and also the little seen gem called ESCAPING RIGA that I saw late last year at IDFA, which I would love to also get some form of exhibition.

November 28

MACBETH by Justin Kurzel @ Minikino (Ostrava, Czech Republic), 19:30

I travelled to Ostrava to see my sweetheart VERONIKA, whom I get along with a charm also because she is an even bigger cinephile than myself. We went to see MACBETH in the local arthouse cinema which she was basically brought up in. It's a nice little cozy screening room with coat hangers on the side, which to me is an unusual and yet charming feature. Before the film started, VERONIKA said that she wasn't sure this would be too exciting as, this being a familiar SHAKESPEARE work, adaptation, there was no way it could be too surprising. But by the first half hour, she was so into it that she threw me a fiery glance when I was disturbing her by touching her. 

I myself found it so powerful, and I was indeed surprised. I remember after the film premiered earlier this year in Cannes, people walked out of the screening room a little underwhelmed. The reason for this was mostly because the international audience in Cannes found it hard to understand the dialogue, due to the challenging language used by SHAKESPEARE but also the Scottish accent, that is one of the most testing accents in the English language. 

I for one found this to be one of the greatest adaptations of a SHAKESPEARE work in a long time. The cinematography is creative and stylish. KURZEL adds so much intensity and the film never has a dull moment. MARION COTILLARD as LADY MACBETH is extraordinary. Considering the fact that she is not a native English speaker just makes her performance all the more impressive. 

But ultimately, it is MICHAEL FASSBENDER that stole the show for me. After the screening, I was raving on about how I believe now more than ever that he is the greatest actor around today. To think that he did this and worked on the STEVE JOBS biopic in a short space of time - the latter I have yet to see - is just amazing to me. With all due respect to the other fantastic actor that is DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, we do not have to wait years to see a great and precise FASSBENDER performance. I guess everyone works in whatever way they find more suited. I smell an Oscar coming.