Ausente

Last year, I have fallen in love with an Argentinian movie: Plan B.
As it is often the case, when I like a movie I immediately look on Facebook to see if there is a fan page. There wasn’t, though. So I tried with the name of the director: Marco Berger, and I found his personal page. I wrote to him, asking for friendship and telling him how crazy I was about his movie. He accepted. I became a virtual friend not only of Marco, but also of his two actors: Lucas Ferraro and Manuel Vignau. I made a post about the movie, and at the time of 2010 Zazie D’or, I happily assigned to Plan B the Zazie D’or for the Best First Feature Film and to Lucas and Manuel the award for Best Actors. When I advised them, they had the most wonderful reaction: they wrote enthusiastic messages to thank me for the prizes, even if they knew very well that those (unreal) prizes came from an unknown woman having a not famous cinema blog.
This is what I call the good things in life.

Few months ago, I read with excitement that the new movie by Marco, Ausente (Absent), was going to be screened at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival (where it actually won a “real” and important prize: the Teddy Award, the award assigned to the best movie having gay themes). I was really looking forward to seeing it and the other day, always thanks to the Festival Paris Cinéma, I had this chance.
I believe that in a director’s career, the second movie is even more important then the first one. Ausente not only confirmed Marco’s talent, but it also indicates that a new author is born!

Martin is a 16 years old guy. One day, at the end of a swimming class, he claimed to have a problem in his eyes. His coach, Sebastian, brings him first to the hospital and then home. Nobody is at Martin’s place, though, and Sebastian is obliged to let him spend the night at his apartment. It is only the next day that the teacher finds out Martin’s lie: his parents were home, waiting for him. Why Martin wanted to spend the night at his place? Which were his real intentions?
Marco Berger does something very interesting in his movies: he takes a cinema genre, and it turns it into something else. The two pictures have much in common: they start in a certain way (Plan B as a light romantic comedy, Ausente almost as a thriller) and then they both become a quest about desire and unexpected feelings. What is very particular and delicate, in Ausente, is that one of the two characters is underage. Nevertheless, even in this case, Marco reverses the usual roles. This is not the story of a teacher abusing his pupil, but quite the opposite: the most dangerous one, here, is the young guy. But it is exactly when the audience starts to believe that this is going to be a movie about a bad boy, that the film changes and enters into deepest and much troubled waters, the ones of human desires.
I love the way Marco is filming all this. His camera is ON the bodies, as if it was a little animal on the skin of Sebastian and Martin. The shots are simple, clear, essential, wrapping. And once again, the two actors are great: Javier De Pietro has the right face to portrait Martin: he is young, good looking, and his eyes can turn from innocent to seductive in a blink, while Carlos Echevarria (well known in Italy for his roles in Garage Olimpo and Hijos/Figli by Marco Bechis), with his quite and melancholic performance, let us enter into the movie in a special and privileged way.

Marco's movies have one of the greatest quality art can have: a semplicity that rimes with depth and intensity. The only thing is ausente, here, is bad and ordinary cinema.

Que viva Argentina! 

Zazie d'Or 2010

Forget about Oscars, Baftas, Golden Globes, Golden Lions, Golden Palms, Golden Bears, Césars, or any other Cinema award you can think of. The most prestigious and most exclusive one, the ZAZIE D'OR, is finally back, ready to let you know what was the very BEST of Cinema in 2010!  
Ladies and Gentlemen, the winners are...

The Zazie D'Or for BEST PICTURE 2010 est attribué à
LES AMOURS IMAGINAIRES by Xavier Dolan (Québec)
Why? Because I have adored everything about this movie: the plot, the actors, the way is filmed, the music, the costumes. It is intelligent, funny, visually astonishing, super well done and adorable. I cant' get enough of it. This movie casted a spell on me and I'm crazy about it! 

But... there was another movie that really enchanted me in 2010. A movie that probably is the antithesis of Dolan's one, but cinema is great also because we can love pictures that are incredibly different with the same passion and admiration. I have then decided to create a special award for it.
The SPECIAL ZAZIE D'OR 2010 est attribué à
DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX by Xavier Beauvois (France)
Why? Because I have immensely loved how rigorously this movie shows us the (true) story of a group of religious men and the incredible decisions they have to make. The themes of faith, life, death, and the reasons why we are in this world, have been rarely shown on screen as powerfully as in this movie. Chapeau!

The Zazie d'Or for BEST DIRECTOR est attribué à
XAVIER DOLAN for LES AMOURS IMAGINAIRES (Québec)
Why? Because this guy is born to make movies. Can't you see it?
The Little Zazie D'or (BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM) est attribué à
PLAN B by Marco Berger (Argentina)
Why? Because Berger with his first movie reminds us that cinema can be made in the simplest possible way: two men, a room, and an interesting story to be told.
You don't need more than that to make great things happening!
And talking about this movie...
The Zazie D'Or for BEST ACTOR est attribué EX AEQUO à
LUCAS FERRARO and MANUEL VIGNAU 
for PLAN B by Marco Berger (Argentina)
Why? Because these actors have created two of the most endearing characters ever seen on screen. We want more real men like them!  


The Zazie d'Or for BEST ACTRESS est attribué à
YOON JUNG-HEE for POETRY by Lee Chang-dong (Korea)
Why? Because this korean actress (one of the most famous in her country) is simply extraordinary in the role of an old woman facing dramatic events, and because I think it has been a scandal she didn't receive any award at the last Cannes Film Festival. Shame on the jury.

The Zazie D'Or for BEST SCREENPLAY est attribué à
XAVIER DOLAN for LES AMOURS IMAGINAIRES (Québec)
Why? I have told you: I'm crazy about this movie.

The Zazie D'Or for the BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY est attribué à
GREIG FRASER for BRIGHT STAR by Jane Campion (UK/Australia)
Why? Because the light and the beauty of the images have a very important role in the final, amazing results of this great movie. 

The Zazie D'Or for BEST DOCUMENTARY 2010 est attribué à
LA BOCCA DEL LUPO by Pietro Marcello (Italy)
Why? Because once you see this movie, you will never forget it! 

The JEREMY IRONS PRIZE (Man of my life Award) for 2010 est attribué à
JAMES FRANCO (American Actor)
Why? You gotta be kidding me... are you really asking me WHY???
Private message to Mr. Franco: the only way to receive this prize is actually to knock at my door, James. So: the sooner, the better! Sincerely Yours, Zazie 

Zazie would like to thank Sergio "Saccingo" Tanara, the creator of the Zazie D'Or drawing. If you want to know more about Saccingo, please visit his sites:
http://www.iwantmyalky.com/ 
and http://www.atelierdellassenza.com

Plan B (poveri ma belli)

Di che cosa c’è veramente bisogno per fare un buon film? E di quali mezzi un regista dovrebbe disporre per riuscire a raccontare quello che deve raccontare?

Mi è capitato di vedere, in questi ultimi giorni, due film accomunati da... niente, agli antipodi su tutto: soldi, mezzi, trama, cast, genere, lunghezza, intenzioni, intuizioni. E mi sono domandata: chi di questi due registi ha portato il peso più ingombrante? I due film sono Inception di Christopher Nolan e Plan B dello sconosciuto (almeno a me, sino ad ora) regista argentino Marco Berger. Avrà fatto più fatica il primo a gestire una super-mega produzione con il terrore di non riuscire a recuperare i soldi spesi per fare il film o il secondo per trovare il denaro e riuscire – semplicemente – a farlo, il film? Non saprei dirvi, però una cosa è sicura: non starò certo qui a parlarvi di Inception. E non perché non mi sia piaciuto, l’ho trovato pure interessante, ma quanti fiumi di inchiostro sono già stati spesi su quest’opera? E invece questo povero (ma bellissimo) film argentino nemmeno lo avete sentito nominare, probabilmente. Ma niente paura: la vostra Zazie è qui per questo.

L’idea di partenza di Plan B è piuttosto semplice, e anche un pochino assurda: Bruno, un trentenne di Buenos Aires, viene lasciato dalla sua compagna, Laura, che si mette con un altro ragazzo, Pablo. Bruno la vorrebbe riconquistare, ma lei è categorica: anche se, qualche volta, loro vanno ancora a letto insieme, lei preferisce di gran lunga restare con Pablo. Basandosi sul racconto fatto da un'amica, secondo la quale Pablo avrebbe avuto in passato una storia con un ragazzo, Bruno concepisce il famoso “piano B”: ovvero partire alla conquista di Pablo per distruggere la coppia che lui forma con Laura e potersi finalmente rimettere con lei. Ovviamente, le cose non vanno come dovrebbero. Nel suo piano diabolico, infatti, Bruno non aveva tenuto conto di un piccolo dettaglio: quello di poter essere lui ad innamorarsi sul serio di Pablo.

Plan B è un film che conquista a poco a poco, sequenza dopo sequenza. Fatto di nulla: pochissimi (e poveri) ambienti, pochissimi personaggi, pochissimi avvenimenti, è in realtà un film ricchissimo di gesti, sfumature e dialoghi. Inizia con un tono scanzonato, un po’ da bravata, per poi stemperarsi in scene via via più profonde, silenziose, quasi cupe, che fanno da sfondo ad una presa di coscienza piuttosto sconvolgente. In questo senso, l’inserimento ad intervalli regolari di immagini fisse con un rumore sordo in sottofondo, insinua da subito il dubbio che la realtà dei fatti sia molto più complessa ed inquietante di quanto si possa credere. Impreparato a quanto gli sta accadendo, Bruno ha reazioni più da ragazzino alle soglie della pubertà che non da adulto, e del resto l’amicizia tra i due uomini è basata su un cameratismo simile a quello di due pre-adolescenti: “Ricordi quando avevi 12 anni e ti fermavi a dormire a casa di un compagno di scuola e stavi a parlare con lui tutta la notte? Era bellissimo, no?” dice Pablo a Bruno con aria sognante, e Bruno rincara la dose: “Se fossi un gioco, che gioco saresti?”. Forse questo ripescare nella loro prima gioventù è per entrambi una tappa obbligata, di partenza, per riuscire a spiegarsi, ognuno nei propri tempi e modi, quello che stanno vivendo. Tutte queste sottigliezze, questi momenti essenziali ma fuggevoli, non esisterebbero senza i due straordinari attori principali, che portano sulle loro facce e nei loro gesti l'intero film. Si chiamano Manuel Vignau e Lucas Ferraro, e non so se siano famosi in Argentina, ma dovrebbero esserlo.

Si esce da questo film con un senso di libertà accecante, gioiosa, sincera. E con la convinzione che, forse, per fare un buon film, basti veramente poco. O meglio, basti una cosa sola, ma in dose abbondante: il talento.