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The Whale (2022)

Posted on 15 Days Ago by Hugo Pagan Soto

Darren Aronofsky’s universe is one of the most interesting. The New York filmmaker has always challenged the audience with his proposals. The Whale (2022) is his most recent film and with it, he reaffirms the previous approach, after causing a sensation at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, the film began its commercial circuit. All eyes have focused on its protagonist Brendan Fraser and specialized critics have not stopped insinuating that Fraser has conceived the best role of his career. Aronofsky has faded into the background while the shadow of his Whale seems to overshadow him.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Posted on February 16 by Hugo Pagan Soto

Why don’t you ever tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, the same end, and the same agony?
Erich Maria Remarque

Perhaps Erich Maria Remarque would have wished he had never had the experiences that inspired his transcendental novel. All Quiet on the Western Front marked a turning point in the world of literature and its adaptation for the cinema in 1930 by Lewis Milestone paved the way for anti-war films. Director Delbert Mann also adapted Remarque’s play into a television movie in 1972. Now it’s Edward Berger’s turn, almost a hundred years after the first adaptation hit the big screen.

Drive My Car (2021)

Posted on April 13 by Hugo Pagan Soto

If man is endowed with judgment and creative force, it is to multiply what has been given, and yet, until now, far from creating anything, what you are doing is destroying…
(Uncle Vania, Anton Chéjov)

It is from the loss that the characters of Drive My Car (2021) build their lives. Director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Happy Hour, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy) crafts a subtle yet sharp drama that uncovers layers in each of its characters to engage the audience with all of their senses. There is much that Hamaguchi wants to tell us, and his characters have plenty of depth, but there is no rush. The slow and energetic rhythm takes us through those three hours of footage without us noticing the passing of the seconds.