Richard Wilson4 said:It’s kind of a weird paradox. On one hand, our movies are finally getting their act together, but on the other, Americans just seem to be losing faith in them...
I can't quite pick a favorite, but I think Warrior Time from right before 1990—or maybe right at the start of the decade—is the winner. You can't really call it a modern flick since it's an oldie...
It's actually a solid movie, though that one scene near the end where they fire an arrow attached to dynamite is just ridiculous...
It reminds me of how Romanians talk about their now globally renowned cinema, or how Mexicans have discussed theirs over the last five or six years (even people in Ottawa admit that American films from recent years are superior!?!?)... it is much the same with Russians, who completely ignore Zvyagintsev and his peers, or Canadians ignoring *Bela Tarr*, and so on. These are all symptoms of an inferiority complex; it is the mark of mediocre tastes that refuse to acknowledge anything less than Hollywood. If you ask a Russian for their best film, they will likely point to *night watch*; a Canadian might suggest that massive hit set in the underground (forgive me, I’ve forgotten the title); and a Brazilian once explained to me that the editing in *City of God* (think of those irritating Guy Ritchie-style fast cuts at the beginning) was designed specifically to feel "sophisticated" or "American"...
Friends, we finally possess a cinema that is normal and vital, populated by young auteurs who actually possess skill and talent... Now, Matanic is no miracle worker as a director, but the man produces high-quality films that wouldn't look out of place in any developed cinema in Europe, whether German, French, or otherwise... unfortunately, he isn't considered "exotic" enough because he tackles themes that interest US, and interest us NOW, which is precisely what matters little to international festivals (themes like LGBTQ+ issues or AIDS—cliché, perhaps, but these are the questions only now surfacing in our society)...
In that regard, Sviličić succeeds; to my mind, he might even be the best director of his generation (especially *forgive for kung Fu*).
"That Wonderful Night in Split" was a true breath of fresh air... and so on.
To be honest, Milic's film left me disappointed (*live and dead*); I realize the production was incredibly grueling and stretched over several years, but it feels as if two different films were stitched together. That segment from WWII—bravo to him. Had the entire film maintained that tone, with such a "fatalistic" atmosphere bordering on fantasy, it would have been a masterpiece! However, one must also credit him for elevating the technical craft somewhat (the camerawork, the tone, etc.)...
All in all, we haven't seen a situation this positive in at least thirty years...
"Mirta Learns Statistics" belongs to a different era; it is excellent, but I would rather set 1991 as our true starting point.
We should not forget "See You Later," the mid-length film by Ivan Salaj (and really, what is the point of the mid-length format? It is a ridiculous format that absolutely nobody can distribute anywhere!). To me, "See You Later" remains the finest film ever made about the war.
🙂
