Zazie d'Or 2016

Awards time is over and Oscars have just been given, with a bit of a mess at the end, but luckily enough you can always rely on the only cinema award that will never fail you: the Zazie d'Or!
And this year's winners are:
The LITTLE ZAZIE D’OR (Best First Feature Film Prize) goes to 
Divines by Houda Benyamina (France) 
Two girls in the Parisian banlieu and their unstoppable desire of a better life. 
Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, César du Premier Film and now the Little Zazie d'Or. 
A consecration!

The Zazie d'Or for BEST COSTUME DESIGN goes to 
Marie Zophres for HAIL, CAESAR! by Joel and Ethan COEN (US)
Nominated to the Oscars for her work on La La Land, this woman made marvelous things for the Coen Brothers movie (just think about Tilda Swinton dresses!). Adorable!

The Zazie d'Or for BEST CHOREOGRAPHY goes to the dancing number  No Dames in HAIL, CAESAR! by Joel and Ethan COEN (US)
This is like going straight back to the '50s... just perfect!

The Zazie d'Or for BEST SONG goes to
CLAUDIO SANTAMARIA for Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot (Italy)
I know, everybody loved Luca Marinelli singing Un'emozione da poco by Anna Oxa (and yes, I have adored it!), but this song at the end of the movie was very melancholic and very powerful too.
In Jeeg Robot we trust!

The Zazie d’Or for BEST ACTRESS(ES) goes to
SONIA BRAGA for AQUARIUS by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brasil)
If there is an actrice who should be celebrated for her work in a movie, this is for sure Sonia Braga for her incredible role in Aquarius. The most badass woman of contemporary cinema is a 65 years old woman who is not afraid of anything and anybody. Don't mess with her.
She is stronger than you can ever imagine. Girlspower!!!

AQUARIUS by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brasil) is also winning the ZAZIE COUP DE COEUR 2016!

The Zazie d’Or for BEST ACTOR goes to 
CASEY AFFLECK for Manchester by the Sea by Kenneth Lonergan (US)
I don't have to write anything about it. You just need to watch this video. 
You'll get it by yourself why this actor has won all the possible available prizes on earth for his role as Lee. And if you don't get it, I warn you: you actually don't have a heart. And it's your problem!

Manchester by the Sea by Kenneth Lonergan (US) is also winning the SPECIAL ZAZIE D’OR and he Zazie D'Or for BEST SCREENPLAY!
Because hey, you don't come across this kind of movies very often, and this story is just unbelievably good, well written, carrying heavy emotions with a lightness of touch that is filled with grace, love and humanity. 

The Zazie d'Or for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY goes to  
André Turpin and 

The Zazie d'Or for BEST DIRECTOR goes to Xavier Dolan 

for Juste la fin du monde (Québec)

At each new movie Dolan never gets tired of growing and getting better. This guy is never where you expect him to be: he is always ahead, a step further anybody else. 

I love him for that.

André Turpin, who has been working with him in all his latest movies, does a magic thing with light, here. So delicate and yet so precise. The skills of the two combined is almost too much to handle. Looking forward to seeing when they'll be going next! 

The special prize "Se non ci fosse bisognerebbe inventarlo" goes to 
KEN LOACH for I, Daniel Blake (UK)
Because in this cynical and nasty world, the fact that there is someone like Ken Loach who still cares about people, gives us hope and an immense joy. Grazie, Ken!

The ZAZIE D’OR 2016 goes to

American Honey by Andrea Arnold (US) 
There is something in this bunch of guys that really breaks my heart.
I've always loved Andrea Arnold cinema and I hope one day she will get the recognition she deserves. 
In the meantime, Zazie loves her very much!!!

The JEREMY IRONS PRIZE (Man of my Life Award) 2016 goes to
JEREMY IRONS HIMSELF!
Why should I give this prize to somebody else when I have the real one near me???!

As every year, Zazie would like to thank Saccingo for the creation of the Zazie d'Or drawing!

Loving Moonlight

Si fa un gran parlare, a Hollywood e non solo, della mancanza di visibilità data a film scritti, diretti e interpretati da persone di colore. La loro non-rappresentanza agli Oscar dell'anno scorso ha anche dato vita all'hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. 
Quest'anno, però, la storia è cambiata, e parecchio.
La presenza di film in cui il colore della pelle conta, agli Oscars 2017, è molto importante, e si fa notare in più categorie. Ho potuto vedere di recente due dei film candidati: Loving di Jeff Nichols e Moonlight di Barry Jenkins, e li ho trovati bellissimi entrambi.

Mildred (Ruth Negga) e Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton)

I "veri" Mildred e Richard Loving

LOVING: Nella Virginia della fine degli anni '50, Mildred, una ragazza di colore, e Richard Loving, un ragazzo bianco, si amano, aspettano un figlio e decidono di sposarsi. Sembrerebbe una storia davvero banale se non fosse che a quell'epoca, in quello Stato americano, la legge vietava il matrimonio interazziale. Mildred e Richard si sposano di nascosto a Washington ma, quando sono scoperti, finiscono in prigione. A quel punto, non hanno scelta: o un anno di carcere o andarsene per 25 anni dalla Virginia. Decidono per la seconda opzione, ovviamente, ma non sono felici in città e, soprattutto, a loro questa condanna sembra totalmente ingiusta. Grazie all'aiuto di alcuni avvocati impegnati nella causa dei diritti civili, riusciranno a far cambiare le cose. Per sempre.

Jeff Nichols, regista americano di 40 anni che fa film solo da 10, si sta costruendo una carriera di tutto rispetto (anche se, personalmente, ho trovato il suo precedente lavoro, Midnight Special, ai limiti dell'inguardabile) e con Loving fa un netto salto in avanti. 
Questo infatti poteva diventare facilissimamente il classico film-manifesto, il filmone all'americana infarcito di retorica, momenti-chiave sottolineati da musica sentimentale,  interpretazioni sopra le righe con scene madri a ogni inquadratura, e violenze a ripetizione. La bella notizia è che questo film è esattamente l'opposto. Rispecchiando il carattere e lo stile dei due personaggi principali: schivi, semplici, totalmente anti-eroici, la loro storia viene raccontata in maniera lineare, senza alcuna concessione al sentimentalismo, senza alcun effetto, e riducendo al minimo le scene di soprusi. 
L'amore tra Mildred e Richard è tanto più grande quanto poche sono le parole usate per descriverlo. Quanto poche sono, in realtà, le parole tra di loro. Che si amino non solo è chiaro, è proprio lampante, ma Nichols lo fa capire con dei semplicissimi sguardi, con scene brevi e gesti quotidiani, al limite del banale. 

Mildred e Richard sembrano quasi scusarsi di tutto il clamore che la loro storia suscita. Vorrebbero poterne fare a meno, in effetti: loro non stanno combattendo per qualche causa, loro stanno combattendo per il loro amore, per poter stare insieme. E, per questo, sono pronti a mettere da parte la loro proverbiale timidezza, il loro non sentirsi adeguati, o troppo poveri e ignoranti, pur di raggiungere l'obiettivo. Nichols ci riesce ancora meglio perché ha affidato i ruoli a due attori magnifici: la giovane Ruth Negga (mezza irlandese e mezza etiope, una bellezza ed una bravura da far strage) e l'australiano Joel Edgerton, che per qualche ragione che mi sfugge non è stato candidato all'Oscar come miglior attore. Con denti finti e una zazzera bionda cortissima, il suo Richard Loving è da urlo: gli basta dire due battute ogni mezz'ora per farci capire tutto del personaggio. Non resisto e pubblico questa foto dei due attori nella vita reale, perché mi stanno davvero simpatici (no, non stanno  insieme ma peccato, sarebbero una coppia bellissima):

MOONLIGHT: Tratto dalla pièce teatrale In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue di Tarell Alvin McCraney, Moonlight di Barry Jenkins (stessa età di Nichols, ma solo due film all’attivo più la regia di qualche serie) racconta la storia, in tre parti (infanzia/adolescenza/età adulta), di Chiron, un ragazzo gay di colore costretto a crescere in uno dei quartieri più poveri e duri di Miami. Tirato su da una madre drogata (del padre non c’è traccia), Chiron viene accolto nei momenti più difficili da Juan (che tra l’altro è lo spacciatore della madre) e Teresa, la sua compagna. L’unico altro rifugio possibile è Kevin, un amico d’infanzia, che però lo tradirà in un momento cruciale della sua esistenza. 
Diventato adulto, un duro spacciatore che poco ha a che fare con il gracile bambinello che veniva chiamato Little, e trasferitosi ad Atlanta, un giorno Chiron riceve una telefonata.
E’ Kevin, che si rifà vivo dopo moltissimi anni. 

Se Loving è una storia sui neri diretta da un bianco, in Moonlight di colore ce n’è uno solo: regista, sceneggiatore, attori, tutti sono rigorosamente neri. E’ un ribaltamento totale che fa del bene. 
Quello di Jenkins è un J’assume all’ennesima potenza: non c’è nessuna giustificazione, e neppure nessun desiderio di rivalsa (come poteva essere il caso di certi film di Spike Lee). Il bello di questo film è che dopo i primi 10 minuti smetti di pensare al colore di chiunque. Moonlight è un film spiazzante sotto diversi punti di vista, ma a me quello che ha intrigato più di tutti è che racconta una storia di violenza con una delicatezza mai vista. Little viene bistrattato, malmenato, deriso sin dalla prima scena, allontanato dai compagni di scuola, dalla madre in preda alle crisi di astinenza, eppure riesce sempre a trovare una crepa in cui si insinua un po’ di dolcezza: è Juan che gli fa un po’ da padre, Teresa che gli fa un po’ da madre, è Kevin che gli insegna che fare sesso tra ragazzi può essere una cosa bellissima. 
Nella parte adulta, la più riuscita del film, questa dicotomia dentro/fuori raggiunge il suo apogeo. Chiron, fisicamente trasformato al punto da non essere riconoscibile, grande e grosso, muscoloso, con i denti d’oro e l’aria da duro, nasconde in realtà la stessa fragilità, lo stesso smarrimento, la stessa irrimediabile dolcezza di quando era un ragazzino. 

Chiron/Black (Trevante Rhodes) e Kevin (André Hollande)

L’incontro tra lui e Kevin è uno dei momenti più intensi e radiosi che il cinema moderno ci abbia regalato. Anche in questo caso, merito di due attori straordinari: Trevante Rhodes nella parte di Chiron e André Hollande (già apprezzatissimo in The Knick di Soderberg) in quella di Kevin, non smettono di stupire e di far crescere l’emozione fin quasi a livelli insostenibili. 
Jenkins, influenzato per sua stessa ammissione dal cinema di Wong Kar-Wai, ci regala - per così dire - il suo In the Mood for Love, Miami version. 
La prova che quando uno è bravo, il colore della pelle o il taglio degli occhi sono un dettaglio di cui non dovrebbe fregare niente a nessuno.
 

Top 15 of 2016

I know, I know. 
You already read the 2016 ranking lists of all cinema critics and cinema magazines in the world but you still miss the most important one, which is, as everybody knows, the TOP 15 of Zazie.
90 movies seen in cinema theatres (even in Tokyo!), few deceptions, many good movies and some absolute gems: this was my cinematographic year. 
The older I get, the more I prefer movies able to turn me upside down, to shake me, to shock me, to let me speechless and submerged by feelings.
It is more a question of guts than facts, and it’s also about a personal, small battle to give movies made by women the right place in contemporary cinema.
Not simply because they’re women, but because there are - out there - some incredible film makers and actresses who are amazing artists and who should be recognized by the world.
Nevertheless, this must be the only Top 15 where you will not find nor Elle neither Mademoiselle.
Anyway, the best movies of 2016 are: 
15 - The Nice Guys by Shane Black (US)

 

Oh my goodness how much I loved this movie!

Maybe because I really didn’t expect it: the director’s filmography is not exactly my cup of tea, and I have to admit that the only reason why I wanted to see The Nice Guys was Ryan Gosling. 

Big surprise: a perfect screenplay, a story set in the ‘70s in LA (the atmosphere reminded me of my favourite Altman movie, The Long Goodbye), one of the best female roles ever (Holly March!) and the unexpected comic talent of both actors (and especially of Ryan). 
Biggest laugh of the year by far!

14 - One more time with feeling by Andrew Dominik (UK)

 

Born as a movie about the new album by Australian singer and composer Nick Cave, Skeleton Tree, this film actually became the story of an unbearable pain, the one Nick Cave and his wife had to suffer when they suddenly lost their child (a 15 years old boy).
Music, words, images, memories and despair put all together in an unforgettable film.
The most heart breaking one of the entire year.

13 - Hail, Caesar! by the Coen Brothers (US) + Café Society by Woody Allen (US) 

Two movies that in my head were basically just one: in both cases, a spectacular fascination for the Hollywood of the ‘30s (Allen) and the ‘50s (Coen Brothers), a stinging sense of things forever lost (Allen), some musical numbers that La La Land could just dream of (Coen Brothers), the blessed irony that those three always had and, above all, an unconditional love declaration to one thing and one thing only: cinema! 


12 - Bella e Perduta by Pietro Marcello (Italy) + Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot by Gabriele Mainetti (Italy)

Two movies that can’t be more different from each other, but that in my head represent the greatest opportunity for Italian cinema to be recognized worldwide: Mainetti with the story of a local super hero and Marcello with the story of a talking buffalo are here to demonstrate that we have amazing film makers, full of talent and full of inventive, original, poetical possibilities. Daje, ragazzi! 


11 - Ce sentiment de l’été by Mikhaël Hers (France/Germany)

How difficult it is to make a light movie about the heaviest theme of all, the loss of a beloved one? 
Very difficult indeed, but not impossible, as young French filmmaker Mikhaël Hers perfectly demonstrates in this lovely, delicate and yet deeply moving story about the grieving process of Lawrence (amazing, as usual, Norwegian actor Anders Danielsen Lie) who suddenly loses his girlfriend on a bright summer day. Set between Berlin, Paris and New York, this film is a real hymn to hope and life.


10 - Ma vie de Courgette by Claude Barras (Switzerland)

The sweetest movie of the year, it’s a strange creature made using the stop-motion technique. Courgette, a little boy who never knew his father, at the death of his mum is put into a foster home with other boys and girls like him. Never loved enough, always too lonely, often at war with the rest of the world, Courgette will learn that life could reserve nice surprises and not only bad blows. 
The best feel good movies in ages. Adorable!

9 - Arrival by Denis Villeneuve (US)

It looks like every year there is a Villeneuve movie in my Top 15.
Well, it’s not my fault if his films are always able to surprise me and to touch me. 
In this case, Villeneuve uses the shell (not only metaphorically!) of a science-fiction movie to talk, once again, about human beings, their deepest desires and their quest for the meaning of life.
This is also one of the most romantic movies of 2016, where a woman is able to win a man’s heart over aliens. I swear I didn't see that coming!

8 - Julieta by Pedro Almodovar (Spain)

There are other film makers and then there is Pedro.
Every time he makes a movie, it is a renewed joy, for me. 
I grew up with his films: I have been a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown even before I was able to talk. No one else is able to speak about women and feelings and pain and the complexity of the heart as he does. In Julieta, he goes back to the ‘80s with the maturity of our days, to tell an excruciating story of love and hate between a mother and a daughter. 
The Almodovar touch is always (and always will be) a blessing.

7 - Divines by Houda Benyamina (France)

Winner of the Camera D’or at the last Cannes Film Festival and followed by a never-ending and super feminist speech by the réalisatrice receiving the prize, Divines is a movie for which I have a special love. Maybe it is not perfect, but hey, who cares. There is more life and cinema and guts in 10 minutes of this film than in hours of accurate but dull works I’ve seen this year. The story of a friendship between two girls coming from the worst Parisian banlieu is strong, badass and pitiless.
Tu dois avoir du clito pour la montrer, quoi!

6 - Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade (Germany)

Another movie made by a woman (yeeeees), and what a woman: Maren Ade, already the producer of Miguel Gomes movies (chapeau!), has now written, directed and produced one of the most hilarious, crazy, intense movie of recent years, demonstrating that the adjectives german and comic could go very well together. It will be reductive, though, to say that the strange relationship between a funny father and his serious (or pretending to be) daughter is just a comedy. There is so much more in this movie, able to touch unexpected cords of the heart. A great surprise from the beginning till the end.

5 -  Juste la fin du monde by Xavier Dolan (Québec)

If you are not aware of my love for Xavier Dolan, this simply means you’re not a reader of my blog. 
I adore this guy: I think he is a genuine genius and that his career will be long, fruitful and plenty of magnificent films. His sixth work, winner of the Grand Prix du Jury at the last Cannes Film Festival is here to prove it. Going into a completely new direction, Dolan creates a movie essentially made by close ups and dialogues that look like streams of consciousness. The actors’ performances are amazing, the direction is amazing, the dialogues are amazing.
La Palme D’Or, au juste, c’est pour quand??!
 
4 - I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach (UK)

Palme D'Or at the last Cannes Film Festival, I, Daniel Blake is THE movie everybody should have seen in 2016. Loach, 80 years old, is never bored of talking about people nobody cares about: the weakest, the poorest, the completely forgotten by the so-called modern society we live in.
With a dignity and a strength that set an example to the world, he slaps us in the face and makes us feel ashamed with the most human of all stories. 
God bless this man! 

3 - AQUARIUS by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brasil)

My personal hero for 2016 is Dona Clara, a 65 years old Brazilian woman from Recife who survived a cancer, raised a family of three children, lost her husband and still enjoys swimming into a wild sea, dancing, listening to music, going out with friends, drinking and having sex with men (even with young gigolos). When a real estate company tries to kick her out of the apartment she spent almost all her life (to make money with a new housing complex), Dona Clara not only doesn’t accept to be threaten by them but she goes to war with all her energy, her intelligence and her strength. 
Best ending scene of the last decade. When you get out of the movie, you feel like you can conquer the world. Girlspower!!!

2 - Manchester by the Sea by Kenneth Lonergan (US)

There are movies that will be forever stuck in your memory (and you know while you're watching them).
Films impossible to forget, because the screenplay is too good, the mise-en-scène is perfect, the dialogues are stunning and because the story is so emotionally complex, the pain so well depicted, that you are just speechless in front of them. When, on top of all this, the actors' performances are astonishing (please give an Oscar to Casey Affleck because the Zazie d'Or is obviously already on his way), well, there is nothing else to add.
This is one of those precious movies, I hope you didn't miss it. 

1 - American Honey by Andrea Arnold (US)

I don’t like youth movies, I don’t like road movies.
When I read that Andrea Arnold had made this kind of film in America (she is British), I was more than skeptical about the result. When I read that the movie was almost 3 hours long, I was even more perplexed.
Then I went to see it (for ‘Cannes in Paris’, last May) and I have been literally submerged by the biggest wave of emotions I felt in ages. Arnold took me from my seat and brought me into this van around the Midwest roads with a bunch of young folks and the music of Rihanna at full blast. 
And especially with Star, a 17 years old girl with nothing to lose and everything to learn, a force of nature, a wild and fragile creature.
This was a very good trip indeed. 
The best one of all!