W Xavier!

Non vorrei fare quella che: "Io ve lo avevo detto", però questa volta Zazie ha voglia di scriverlo davvero. 
Chi legge regolarmente questo blog, sa bene tutto l'amore che ho sempre avuto, sin dal suo primo film, per Xavier Dolan. Il fatto che ieri, con la sua quinta opera (Mommy), abbia vinto il Prix du Jury al 67° Festival di Cannes (ex-aequo con Jean-Luc Godard), mi ha riempito di una gioia e di un orgoglio senza pari.
Personaggio tanto amato quanto odiato, Dolan ha dalla sua il pregio di fregarsene abbastanza di quello che la gente pensa di lui. Sicuro del suo talento, forte delle sue idee e della sua ambizione, e con la necessità assoluta di raccontare delle storie nel suo modo e nel suo stile, dal 2009 ad oggi, ha sfornato cinque film per i quali ha fatto "tutto da sé": se li è scritti, girati, prodotti, montati, e spesso anche interpretati. 
Quando, nel 2012, Dolan ha lanciato su un sito di crowdfunding una richiesta di fondi per produrre il suo film Laurence Anyways, Zazie ha risposto all'appello, cercando di convincere i suoi lettori a fare altrettanto. Poi, ad una improbabile festa parigina, Zazie lo ha incontrato per davvero e, complice un bicchiere di champagne di troppo, ha esordito la conversazione così: "Lo sai, vero, che sei un genio?" (perché si sa, le mezze misure non sono proprio il forte di questa blogger qui).
Ecco, quelle parole lì, io, anche adesso che sto scrivendo da sobria, me la sentirei di dirle ancora. 

Nel suo bellissimo discorso di ringraziamento (per scrivere questo post l'ho risentito almeno cinque volte, e ogni volta con un piacere assurdo), Dolan ha detto in pochi minuti delle cose importantissime sul mestiere del cinema.
Rivolgendosi ad una Jane Campion che lo guardava con occhi un po' da "mamma", le ha detto: "The Piano è il primo film che ho visto che abbia veramente definito chi sono, quello che più di ogni altro mi ha influenzato e mi ha dato la voglia di fare cinema, di scrivere delle storie per delle donne belle, vere, con un'anima, una volontà, una forza, e non vittime o semplici oggetti". La Campion (il momento è stato davvero commovente), è corsa ad abbracciarlo.

Rivolgendosi poi ai ragazzi della sua generazione, Dolan ha concluso: "Nonostante la gente abbia il diritto di non amare quello che fate e non amare quello che siete, voi dovete credere nei vostri sogni e fare quello volete, perché insieme potremmo cambiare il mondo, potremmo arrivare alle persone, farle ridere, piangere, cambiare le loro idee, cambiare le loro vite, perché anche gli artisti possono farlo, non solo i politici e gli scienziati. 
In pratica, penso che tutto sia possibile per chi sogna, osa, lavora e non molla mai".
Ecco, Xavier, bravo, non mollare mai.

Vedrai che la Palma D'Oro, prima o poi, la vinci.
Questa è stata l'accoglienza riservata al film a Cannes:

Zazie D'Or 2012

As every year... forget about Oscars, Baftas, Golden Globes, Golden Lions, Golden Palms, Golden Bears, Césars, Goyas, or any other Cinema award you can think of. The most prestigious and most exclusive one, the ZAZIE D'OR, is back again, ready to let you know what was the very BEST of Cinema in 2012! 
Ladies and Gentlemen, the winners are...

The Zazie D'Or for BEST PICTURE 2012 goes to
DE ROUILLE ET D'OS by Jacques Audiard (France)
A woman without legs, a man without words. 
Audiard brings them together and delivers us the most intense love story of the last years.
Simply breathtaking. 

The SPECIAL ZAZIE D'OR 2012 goes to
LAURENCE ANYWAYS by Xavier Dolan (Québéc)
as well as
The Zazie d'Or for the BEST SCREENPLAY goes to Xavier Dolan for the same movie
The story of a man who wants to live his life as a woman.
A revolt? No, more than that: a revolution!
And Zazie proudly co-produced it... In Xavier Dolan we trust!

The ZAZIE COUP DE COEUR 2012 goes to
TABU by MIGUEL GOMES (Portugal)

as well as

The Zazie d'Or for the BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY to Rui Poças for the same film

A modern and gloomy Lisbon versus a vintage and sunny African landscape.

The memory of a love story, of a paradise forever lost, and the magical sound of a silent movie. 
The most unexpected gem of the year.

The Zazie D'Or for BEST DIRECTOR 2012 goes to
JACQUES AUDIARD for DE ROUILLE ET D'OS (France)
Because nobody films as Audiard does: it is intense, captivating, magnificent.
I can't get enough of this. I want more!

The Zazie D'Or for BEST ACTRESS 2012 goes to

EMMANUELLE RIVA for AMOUR by Michael Haneke (France)

Everybody knows how much I HATE this movie, that in my opinion has nothing to do with love, but every time I think about Emmanuelle Riva, I can't help myself: she is undoubtly the one who (at 86) delivered the best female performance of the year. Riva, Mon Amour!

The Zazie D'Or for BEST ACTOR 2012 goes to
MADS MIKKELSEN for JAGTEN (The Hunt) by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)
Mikkelsen doesn't need to do much to show his skills. In fact, it is quite the opposite: the less he does, the better it gets. As an innocent man wrongly accused of the most ignominious acts towards a child, he is able to express the tragedy in a way that leaves no doubt about one thing: his talent. 

The Little Zazie D'or (BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM) goes to
RUNDSKOP (Bullhead) by Michaël R. Roskam (Belgium)
A man who tries to transform himself into a bull... not exactly the lightest subject for a first movie, but certainly an amazing story. Matthias Shoenaerts performance is as good as the one of Robert De Niro in Raging Bull. It's all said.
The Zazie D'Or for BEST DOCUMENTARY 2012 goes to
LE SOMMEIL D'OR by Davy Chou (France/Cambodia)
The heartbreaking story of a cinema that no longer exists, the Cambodian one, erased by the ignorant fury of the Red Khmers. A tribute to the everlasting power of movies.
Chapeau!

The Zazie D'Or for BEST COSTUME DESIGN goes to
Charlotte David for POPULAIRE by Régis Roinsard (France)
The woman already behind the fabulous '60s style of OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espions, absolutely deserves a prize for this cornucopia of marvellous vintage dresses from the '50s. I want them ALL!

The JEREMY IRONS PRIZE (Man of my life Award) for 2012 goes to 
MATTHIAS SHOENAERTS (Belgian Actor)
Having seen him in two of my favourite movies of the year (Bullhead and De rouille et d'Os) convinced me that this guy has got something special. Inside and outside.
If you know what I mean... (and if you don't, look at the picture!)

A special thanks, as usual, to Sergio "Saccingo" Tanara, the creator of the Zazie D'Or drawing!

Top 10 of 2012

At the moment, everywhere, in magazines and on the net, it's raining TOP 10 movies of 2012.
I'm always curious to see which are the favourite films of other people, and I'm intrigued by the different points of view. Usually, I express my preferences in February, at the time of my award, the Zazie d'Or, but so many friends asked me about this that I decided to publish my Top 10 List now. 
In fact, I think it is a good idea, first because it is quite difficult to reward all the movies I have loved in one year, and also because I don't always have time to write about certains movies I adored. 
So, this could make some justice to them.
Here they are, Zazie's favourite 10 movies of 2012:

1. DE ROUILLE ET D'OS by Jacques Audiard (France)

2. LAURENCE ANYWAYS by Xavier Dolan (Québéc)

3. TABU by Miguel Gomes (Portugal)

4. CESARE DEVE MORIRE by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani (Italy)

5. OSLO, August 31st by Joachim Trier (Norway)

6. THE DEEP BLUE SEA by Terence Davies (UK)

7. LE SOMMEIL D'OR by Davy Chou (France/Cambodia)

8. TYRANNOSAUR by Paddy Considine (UK)

9. JAGTEN by Thomas Vinterberg (Danemark)

10. BULLHEAD by Michaël R. Roskam (Belgium)

And since I'm making lists, here's a short one of the movies that really really got on my nerves this past year:

1. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by David Fincher (USA)
2. AMOUR by Michael Haneke (France/Austria)
3. HOLY MOTORS by Leos Carax (France)
Sorry, guys, I didn't get your movies. I didn't get them AT ALL!!!

And you, dear readers, which are your favourite movies of last year?

Laurence Anyways

Here’s the thing: when I believe in the talent of an artist, I am always afraid of being disappointed by his/her new piece of art or by the fact that other people will not love him/her as much as I do. With Xavier Dolan, I realized this with a certain surprise, I am beyond this point.

When yesterday night I seated at the Cinéma des Cinéastes and I started watching his last movie, Laurence Anyways, I discovered that I wasn’t afraid at all. Why? Because this guy is so talented that I simply knew I didn’t have to worry about anything. 
All I had to do was to relax and enjoy 2hoursand40minutes of great cinema.

I knew it, I had it.

It is 1989 in Montreal, Québec, and Laurence Alia, a teacher of French Literature at the university, is celebrating his 30 birthday. His partner Fred (just the name is male) would like to go to New York for the week-end, but Laurence has something else in mind. As a matter of fact, he’s got something else in mind for years but he makes the announcement just that day: he wants to become a woman. The news, of course, has devastating consequences, not only on their relationship but on Laurence’s entire world. Having taken his decision, Laurence wants to stop pretending: dressed as a woman, he makes the same announcement to his mother and his colleagues and students. A “revolution”, as he calls it, which is going to cost him a lot: the loss of the woman he loves, the loss of his job. The movie follows Laurence and Fred lives until 2000, with their ups and downs, their reconciliations and their lacerations, and their impossible love.

Dolan’s third movie could already be considered as his adulthood’s movie.

Having written his first one at the age of 17, Dolan at 24 shows a remarkable maturity. His cinema has grown up movie after movie, becoming richer, deeper, braver and more inventive. Dolan is full of energy, ideas, boldness, even violence and, on top of all that, he is got an incredible cinematic sense. He is also smart enough to surround himself with great professionals, when he understands he can’t do it all alone. But what exactly this guy is not able to do? Laurence Anyways has been written, directed and edited by him. He even took care of the costumes, to mention one thing.

After a clearly autobiographical movie like J’ai tué ma mère and a love story quite disastrous but also very funny like Les Amours Imaginaires, Dolan pushes here the boundaries of his art: a very long movie (a real film-fleuve), a period movie (were we that badly dressed in the 90's??!) and a heavy, sensitive subject. Dolan clearly wants to impress us and he manages to. Brilliantly. The guy, this is well known, is not lacking in audacity, and on screen this gives flamboyant, amazing results. Visually, there are at least three unforgettable scenes: the New Year’s Eve party attended by Fred (Fade to grey by Visage on the background, la classe 80’s, quoi!), the moment Fred reads Laurence’s book seated on her sofa and the magnificent walk (ah, Dolan’s ralenti!) of Laurence and Fred on the island (am I the only one to have thought about Dolls of Takeshi Kitano looking at this scene?).

 Laurence Anyways is not just a nice object, though.

We are immediately taken by the drama the main characters are living through dialogues which sound right, powerful and original. Laurence is a man who loves women but wants to be a woman: could a story possibly be more tragic than this? We have passed, in Dolan’s cinema, from imaginary to impossible loves. And we feel it.

Dolan has been blessed by the presence of two incredible actors: Suzanne Clément (the teacher of J’ai tué ma mere) as Fred and Melvil Poupaud (who replaced Louis Garrell) as Laurence. They, as much as Dolan, are not afraid of anything and have clearly embraced their characters, giving all they could give in terms of tears and blood. In the role of Laurence’s mother, it is a pleasure to see one of the best French actresses, Nathalie Baye (irresistible when Laurence asked her: "Mum, do you still love me like this?" And she replies: "Are you becoming a woman or a bloody stupid?") and in minor roles, we find many of the actors from Les Amours Imaginaires (like lovely Monia Chokri).

Suzanne Clément - Fred

Melvil Poupaud - Laurence

Nathalie Baye - Laurence's mother

Being the first movie I have ever helped to produce (not a big contribution, but decent enough to be invited to the avant-première in Montreal last May), I feel particularly proud.

Whatever you think of this movie you can’t deny that, as everybody is telling to Laurence after his “change”: c’est special!

It’s Xavier Dolan, anyways...

Great Expectations

As you all know, I'm a huge fan of young québecois film director Xavier Dolan.
I have adored his first two movies, J'ai tué ma mère et Les Amours Imaginaires, and I have already dedicated many posts to him.
When, for his third movie, Dolan and the web site Touscoprod launched a subscription to raise money for its production, Zazie, and many other Dolan fans, answered the call and helped to finance the film. The plot was more than intriguing: Québec, during the 90s, Laurence, at his 30th birthday party, announces to his girlfriend and friends that he wants to become a woman. 
Well, how could you resist not to help Dolan on a story like that? 
The cast was also very promising: Melvil Poupaud as Laurence, Nathalie Baye as his mother, Suzanne Clément (the teacher of J'ai tué ma mère) as his girlfriend and Monia Chokry (the fabulous Marie of Les Amours Imaginaires) as one of his friends.
This week, there was a great surprise: the Dolan site published two different versions of the movie poster and it was possible to see the trailer of Laurence Anyways!

We all hope, of course, that the movie will participated to the next Cannes Film Festival competition, but in the meantime, looking at these images, I can already tell you that I'm feeling EXTREMELY proud of the first movie I have co-produced.
Bravo, Xavier!

Xavier Dolan needs you!

When you love a movie, what are you ready to do for the film-maker?

This is the question I had to ask myself when I found out that Xavier Dolan, the young québécois genius behind one of my favourite movies of 2010, Les Amours Imaginaires, published an announcement on his web site and on his facebook page asking for money to produce his next movie, Laurence Anyways.

He has made this request through a very interesting website, Touscoprod, where you can help the production of documentaries and fiction movies starting from a minimum amount of 15 $CA.

The production of Laurence (the movie will cost a total of 6,5 million $CA) is trying to gather in a minimum budget of 50.000 $CA, to be reached within July 2011 (if this is not attained, the co-producers wil have their money back).

Intrigued by the weird proposal and fascinated by the idea of becoming one of the co-producers of Dolan's next movie, I have decided to seriously study the case.

First I read about the plot.

1989, Laurence Alia is in a restaurant with his girlfriend celebrating his 30th birthday, and he tells her about his secret project: he wants to become a woman.

Then I read the name of the actor playing Laurence.

Louis Garrel.

And then I immediately gave the money.

I mean: how could I possibly resist not to do so, after having read about the story and the cast?

Now I am the proud co-producer n° 130 of Laurence Anyways.

We (we few, we happy few, we band of brothers, as Shakespeare would say) have reached, for the time being, the total amount of 8.752 $CA out of 50.000 $CA requested. There are still 7 months ahead of us.

C'mon guys, Xavier Dolan needs you.

What are you waiting for???