Welcome to the seventh of the chronicles that we will dedicate day after day to the 69th edition of the Seminci – Valladolid International Film Week, the second that yours truly will cover for El Séptimo Arte. 'Hail Mary' – Despite being close to two hours long, Mar Coll's latest film ends up being too vague and tenuous. Too politically correct, too institutional and helpful. To the point that comparison with 'Canine (Nightbitch)', the equally unstimulating film starring Amy Adams who, however, as almost always, shows her face just as in 'Hail Mary' Laura Weissmahr does it. It is true that unlike Marielle Heller, Coll does not give up in his final third and remains faithful to his thesis. But it is no less true that his flirtations with horror and suspense films through filicide end up falling on deaf ears and turning out, in the end, to be too superficial, not very brave and incisive by masking them all under post-partum depression. And run, in a “happy” ending that would not be disgusting to a “made in Hollywood” film like the aforementioned one from Searchlight Pictures. And Mar Coll, basically, keeps the cover and the tweet, as effective as they are ephemeral. ****** 'diamond in the rough' – Newcomer Agathe Riedinger proposes a reflection on the need to be seen in a world of appearances through Liane, a girl who, like Maxine Minx and Pearl, believes she has the X factor. Although she doesn't do much more than “show herself” through Tik Tok in the hope of being able to compete in a reality show. Thus, for her most holy (operated) tits. Those of a Malou Khebizi who gives her all, as could not be less when it comes to giving life to the fragile, impulsive and disconcerting protagonist of this “character film.” Riedinger, however, remains a bit on the surface of that world of appearances, with the film itself being a too obvious facade that is supported by elements that are in turn too recurring. In this way, this “diamond in the rough” appears intermittent and volatile, in a group that does not end up being cohesive and resounding, nor does it involve its protagonist in a narrative that highlights an ambivalence that turns into helplessness on the part of the viewer. ****** 'Verbrannte Erde' – Thomas Arslan's latest fails in the most basic aspect: Contributing something, anything to a predictable crime television film with classic overtones that develops in a very basic, bland and routine way. The ingredients, and therefore the potential, are there, in what could well have been an imitation of 'Drive' either 'Heat'. But Arslan insists on ignoring them and not giving them any form or definition, offering a very crude and anachronistic neo-noir, especially anticlimactic. In a conscious, calculated and deliberate way, it is more than possible (or obvious). But also in such a flat and dull way, so austere that more than style what it conveys is reluctance, apathy, a lack of interest. Everything is so coarse, it is so poorly defined and it is so consistent and linear, so flat and irrelevant that, clearly, it is boring. Because there is nothing that matters to us or is relevant, nor is there a single element or ingredient that we have not already seen in some other film represented, furthermore, with a minimum of passion. Of energy. Of grace. Of interest. Or desire? ****'A Real Pain' – A film in the image and likeness of its writer and director, a Jesse Eisenberg who gives himself a role tailored to him. An agile, simple and very direct film that is based on constant dialogue and an overwhelming Kieran Culkin, said as a compliment in a role, once again, made to measure. And Eisenberg is undoubtedly fully aware of what he has on his hands, in which one can imagine a fast-paced and very personal “Alexander Payne” film that he has managed to translate into something universal and very easy to see (and enjoy). . Even though the bad guys of the film are now, ahem, the Jews… which still gives the film the same strange feeling that its protagonists have, well-off young people on tourism in an atrocious past, in a double reading good involuntary insurance (although perhaps not fortuitous…). Be that as it may, we are talking about a skillful and very effective dramatic comedy that combines the light and the serious, the relaxed and the solemn, the moving and the biting in a tremendously fluid and dynamic way. *******
