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Reviews
Maestro (2022)
Outstanding Cast, Cinematography and Soundscore
This Greek crime thriller recently dropped on Netflix, I knew nothing about it and went in cold solely on a recommendation. I couldn't even find an IMDb rating because it is listed under the shortened name "Maestro." The story arc follows musician Orestis (Christoforos Papakaliatis) who travels to the idyllic Greek island of Paxos from Athens in 2022 to revive the summer music festival after the worst of the pandemic. It is clear from the opening scenes that nothing on the streets of Paxos goes unnoticed - eyes are everywhere. We are clued off in episode one that, in part, this is a murder mystery.
The best take-aways are the adept and attractive cast ensemble, the storyline (like peeling a multi-generational onion that jettisons sideways), incredibly creative cinematography (DP Antonis Zkeris), and a sound score with song choices by Kostas Christides that are carefully curated. One critic complained about too many entangled romances. For me, the clandestine love scenes, while important to hold the nine episodes together, were not as interesting as the fact that the fate of the lead characters were held together by their participation in criminal activity.
The series is reminiscent of White Lotus, but the latter comes up light in comparison. By episode six of this series, there is a sequence that is pure Yorgos Lanthimos - the reference is unmistakable. Episodes six through nine have a different pace and creative structure, which makes it near impossible to not watch six through nine in a binge.
Inside (2023)
Another Dafoe tour de force
This film is for the most devoted Dafoe fans. The story is not a pretty one, it is confined, and the film is very cerebral. The film documents Dafoe so up close and personal that, at least in one scene, it was too up close even for me. Dafoe has been taken to some dark places in his career and this film will be in a tight race for the darkest. Here his character is an art thief who undertakes a con to steal works of art from a lavish penthouse. After a successful break-in and claim of two of the three targets, his outside help fails on the exit strategy; the penthouse's security functions are tripped and he is trapped inside.
Dafoe earned acclaim for his performance when the film premiered in Berlin. He spends most of the runtime alone onscreen sinking into the depths of his psyche as he looks for a way out, building a makeshift tower to reach a skylight for his escape. There is symbolism in the film's imagery: indulgence (the penthouse belongs to a Pritzger-winner) versus hunger, the value of luxury items versus ordinary things when one needs to survive, technology working against rather than for humanity. It is a very physical performance; I cannot see too many other actors in this role.
The "Pyramid Song" during the end credits guides the mostly open ending (yes another, but I devised an ending). DP Steve Annis had fantastic space to work with, the penthouse was a set design and it was filled with art - essentially a blank slate for fantastic cinematography.
Les combattantes (2022)
A Civilian's Perspective on WWI
Following the success of films such as 1913 and All Quiet on the Western Front, Netflix took a chance on a WWI French limited series (8 episodes) that follows four Parisian women in 1914 France as their lives intersect - Marguerite, a Parisian prostitute (Audrey Fleurot), Suzanne, a feminist nurse (Camille Lou), Agnes, Mother Superior of a convent (Julia De Bona), and Caroline, a house wife propelled to command her husband's family factory (Sofia Essaidi).
The miniseries covers the waterfront on tone - melodrama, love, lust, depravity, immorality, graphic violence, reversals of fortunes, reversals of misfortunes, hopes, betrayals, plot torques, and sufficient intrigue to add this series to the suspense genre as much as it sits squarely in history and drama.
The performances by the four female leads were unflinchingly nuanced, as were the performances by the equally compelling "lead" male cast ensemble. Cinematographer Jean-Phillipe Gosselin used his full tool box with every type of shot, angle, lighting and color saturation choice, and mis-en-scene. Laurent credited creator Cécile Lorne with the designs for the fascinating characters and noted that, while the characters were fictional, the crew included two historians (Laurent also kept military advisors on the sets). This series differentiates itself from most war films in that it is a portrayal that starts with a civilian perspective.
This series had little marketing and is currently Netflix's number 2 or 3 show in the US as of today by word of mouth. It is a definite recommend. My only criticism is of the last 5 minutes of the entire series - it was way too melodramatic, and I did not like the writers' choice for the fate of one of the characters. The other 6 hours and 47 minutes are well worth the watch. @netflix.