The biting truth of R. M. N. e Triangle of Sadness. Cristian Mungiu is Ruben Östlund scombussolano at the Croisette
(from Cannes Luigi Noera and Marina Pavido – Photos are courtesy of the Cannes Film Festival)
Fear of “different” and search for one's own identity in R. M. N.
A lot is expected of a director like Cristian Mungiu, whenever one of his films is about to be presented. Also on the occasion of the Cannes Film Festival 2022, therefore, his R. M. N. - in the running for the much sought-after Palme d'Or - it immediately proved to be one of the most anticipated feature films of the entire festival. E, as usual, expectations were not disappointed.
The story staged, therefore, is that of Matthias, a worker who, after leaving his job in Germany, he returns to his small and multi-ethnic village in Transylvania, in order to spend more time with his son - who until then had always lived his mother - and to see his ex-lover Csilia again. When the latter decides to hire some foreign workers in its factory, many villagers will rebel and violence will almost be on the agenda.
R.M. N., understood, just, such as MRI, is what of which, according to Cristian Mungiu, his country would need, in order to uncover "invisible" mechanisms that do nothing but drive society adrift, fomenting hatred of those who are considered "different". The village where Matthias lives is very small, practically everyone knows everyone. An "external" element could, then, to shake the already weak pre-established balances.
A lucid and objective gaze, but also suffering from certain dynamics it marries well, so, with a directorial approach that has made his workhorse out of rough realism. The story of Matthias, of the latter's relationship with his son and his elderly father (whose health is a further cause for concern for him), of the lack of certainty in a present, in which the constant search for one's own identity is almost the absolute protagonist, open much broader discourses.
- M. N. it's a complex film, layered, full of references to ancient Romanian folk legends that, in our present, they find their perfect fulfillment. Cristian Mungiu gave us a monumental work, aching and painful, that through the history of a small reality traces a great fresco of the world in which we live. A merciless world, in which there seems to be no hope for a better future.
I soldi e il potere nella società capitalista di Triangle of Sadness
If in the 2014 an enormous wave was breaking all precarious pre-established balances (in the feature film Force Majeure), here, eight years later, it is a storm in the open sea - with consequent shipwreck - to overturn roles and situations. It was written by Ruben Östlund. - formerly the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 2017 per The Square – he enjoyed unraveling every aspect and every bizarre habit of the capitalist world in his latest, irreverent feature film, Triangle of Sadness, in competition at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Yaya e Carl, therefore, are two models and influencers who, just after the end of Fashion Week, they are invited to take part in a cruise on a luxury yacht. During a dinner with the ship's captain (played by Woody Harrelson) a storm breaks loose, panic is rampant among passengers e, the following morning, the survivors find themselves on a desert island. It will be here, therefore, that the class differences will be canceled, the money will no longer have any value and the roles will be reversed. What all this will lead to?
Divided into three chapters, Triangle of Sadness analizza al microscopio – in modo alquanto impietoso – ogni singolo aspetto dell’animo umano rapportato al desiderio di soldi e di successo. Yaya and Carl are young, belli, they have a large following and their success mainly depends on the number of their followers. On them, at first, the director concentrates all his attention in a funny curtain that takes place in a luxury restaurant, when paying the bill. From that moment on, the film - with the exception of a few extra lengths concerning above all the chapter in which the protagonists and their travel companions are on the island - the film is all in crescendo and, through a series of hilarious situations bordering on paradoxical (among which, above all, dinner on the ship, dove, due to seasickness, they all end up throwing up everywhere) he analyzes under the microscope roles and ideologies within a society in which only the God of Money seems to have power over everything.
Ruben Östlund has no mercy on anything or anyone and in a work in which none of the protagonists are really spotless, ready as he is to sell himself and what he cares about in order to have his own advantage, she looks fitter than ever. Il suo Triangle of Sadness è una piacevole sorpresa all’interno della selezione di Cannes75. A political film, provocative and wonderfully crazy arrived on the screens of the Croisette like a pleasant breath of fresh air.
Fumer fait tousser ci racconta uno sgangherato gruppo di giustizieri che deve salvare il mondo
This is a particularly prolific period for director and musician Quentin Dupieux. After presenting at the Berlinale, just a few months ago, his feature film Incroyable mais vrai, here he comes back, indeed, at the Cannes Film Festival 2022 con Smoking makes you cough, out of competition, within the Midnight Screenings section.
A child is traveling in a car with his parents. At one point he asks his dad if he can stop and pee. Once he got out of the car, a decidedly unexpected spectacle will present itself before his eyes: the famous Tobacco Force, a group of executioners who are very reminiscent of the Power Rangers and who are used to annihilate enemies with harmful substances contained in cigarettes, they are fighting a giant tortoise. At the end of the fight, their boss orders them to spend a few days in a little one, ultra-technological residence near a lake, in order to focus and work on group cohesion, in view of an upcoming fight against the powerful and dangerous Lezardin (Benoit Poelvorde). Once there, each of them will delight their fellow adventurers by telling scary stories.
Whenever a Quentin Dupieux film is about to be presented, you never know what to expect. The king of nonsense is not afraid to dare, to invent stories that are incredible. E, sometimes, he does it very well. Just think, eg, a Mandibules, presentato fuori concorso alla Mostra del Cinema di Venezia 2020. Per quanto riguarda Fumer fait tousser, instead, we find the director slightly weaker e, side by side you will undoubtedly find an impact (interesting, eg, anche la scelta di conferire al lungometraggio una struttura à la The Canterbury Tales, with the vicissitudes of the executioners that form a bizarre narrative frame) there are moments in which the feature film runs in vain, losing dangerously of bite.
We laugh, durante la visione di Fumer fait tousser, but not too much. The ideas are there, but the way they are developed from time to time would often leave something to be desired. Beyond that employers, despite the appearance of a sewer rat, they seem to be particularly contested by women, beyond robots with an operating system too slow to be considered helpful, very little remains. Even with regard to the episode starring Adèle Exarchopoulos, che tanto ci era piaciuta in Mandibules. But anyhow. Consider the pace at which the director is working, certainly we will soon see one of his next feature films. We will have to see what he has in store for us next time.
marina fears