film festivals | The Last Movie Guy

In a Violent Nature: A Different Kind of Horror

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Hugo Pagan Soto

At the end of the 70s and much of the 80s, the slasher subgenre had its greatest splendor. In a Violent Nature (2024) looks with a certain air of nostalgia at those horror films that became pillars of the genre, that inspired franchises, and that have even become cult objects. Specifically, I am referring to films of the subgenre that usually have a murderer attacking a group of young people and eliminating them one by one using some sharp object. Hence the use of the word slash to refer to this type of film.

Love Lies Bleeding: An Unconventional Neo-Noir

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Hugo Pagan Soto

To give you an idea of what to expect with Love Lies Bleeding (2024), imagine a mix between Lynch, Tarantino, and the Coens. Director and screenwriter Rose Glass ventures into that strange galaxy. The film embraces the narrative of neo-noir to take the audience on a frenetic journey with all the ingredients that the title suggests. It engages with the approach and keeps us captive with perfect execution and very weighty performances. Glass is risky and confident in its conception and in the tone of its narrative.

The Settlers: A Western in Tierra del Fuego

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Hugo Pagan Soto

With The Settlers (2023) director Felipe Gálvez Haberle makes his debut in style. He conceives a work that is pure cinematic poetry but can hit with devastating force. The Chilean addresses a part of his country’s history that is rarely commented on, the massacre of the Selk’nam people. These indigenous people, known as the Onas, lived in Tierra del Fuego from very ancient times until their massacre began at the end of the 19th century.

The Zone of Interest, Cinematic Perfection

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Hugo Pagan Soto

The Zone of Interest welcomes the audience with a black screen filled with an ominous sound that makes us anticipate the worst. We imagine that when that first image finally appears on the screen it will be terrifying. But director Jonathan Glazer’s intention is different. The first thing we see is a peaceful day in the countryside and a family enjoying themselves on river banks. Although what we see is not disturbing, the anticipation and the music have created in the audience the objective of disturbing and making the mind invent distressing scenarios.

Exploring the Profound Depths of Au Hasard Balthazar

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Hugo Pagan Soto

Legend has it that the inspiration came from The Idiot. But not just any idiot but the one that Dostoevsky gave birth to. Bresson found his muse reviewing the pages of the classic novel and especially that moment in which Prince Myshkin reflects on the braying of a donkey lying on the ground. From there was born what is today considered one of the masterpieces of cinema, Au Hasard Balthazar. For Robert Bresson, this would be his seventh feature film, as if fate had wanted to wink at the perfection of seven. Movies like A Man Escaped (1956) and Pickpocket (1959) had already put his name in the spotlight.