Peach trees of Alcaras ★★★½
DRAMA (2021)
Directed by: Carla Simon
InterpretationsCast: Jordi Puyol Dolcet, Anna Otin

Catalan Carla Simon received the Berlin Golden Bear for her second film, which is a personal yet socially meaningful journey through the countryside of her homeland. In Alcaraz, a small village in Catalonia, a family of peach growers is harvesting. At the same time, however, an entire region — and the owner of the land they cultivate — has fallen into a photovoltaic panel fever and is preparing to sell its fields. Nerves and difficult decisions will cause tension between family members, and young and old are called upon to manage the situation.

Simone picks up where she left off with her debut full of sunshine and childlike innocence (1993), but this time she puts a lot more problems on the table. The end of an era, when farmers are forced to change their centuries-old way of life, is here an emotional focus, while the film does not at all turn into a melodrama. On the contrary, it is once again the lifelike look of a child and a teenager that creates a whole, bittersweet, but very pleasing to the eye. Little things rule here: a carefree children’s game, a delicious family meal, a local holiday; life itself, with its accidents and failures, continues to yearn for tomorrow.

Bergman Island ★★½
DRAMA (2021)
Directed by: Mia Hansen-Love
InterpretationsCast: Tim Roth, Vicki Cripps, Mia Wasikowska

The legendary Foret, the island where Ingmar Bergman lived for many years and made some of his greatest films, inspires Mia Hansen-Love (Future) to shoot a double love story that also has some (distinctive) thriller elements. Celebrity director Tony (Tim Roth) and his up-and-coming screenwriting partner Chris (Vicky Cripps) arrive at Bergman’s Island in search of inspiration for their next projects. The first idyllic days, however, are followed by a strange melancholy-anxiety that seems to radiate from a very cinematically charged place.

An anatomy of a couple’s life and balance, and an ode to Bergman’s cinema – and more – Hansen-Love’s film can be divided into two separate parts: the first, where we watch the two artists; cool and quite unique. Tony assured him, and Chris, uncertain and full of spontaneity. And on the other hand, the second, which, in fact, embodies the imagination of Chris, as she tells the story of another, young couple, the main characters of the script she creates. Such an interesting turn of the film is welcome, of course, but it could have been even more exciting if the creator had explored more of the thriller and suspense elements she brings to the story.

Inspector Megr and the Mystery of the Dead Girl ★★½
POLICE THRILLER (2021)
Directed by: Patrice Leconte
InterpretationsCast: Gerard Depardieu, Melanie Bernier, Andre Wilms

Immerse yourself in the exciting universe of writer Georges Simenon, the meter of thriller Patrice Leconte, whose main asset is the charismatic protagonist. Gerard Depardieu once again proves his worth playing the famous Inspector Maigret as he tries to solve the murder case of a young girl found dead in an evening dress on a Parisian square. To achieve this, Maigret must first find out the identity of the girl, and then reconstruct the last days of her life.

Lecond creates an atmospheric historical film that defies the tried and true norms of the detective genre. As is usually the case, one exposure leads to another, and twists and turns are also included in the program, not really surprising the viewer. Outstanding, as we said, is Depardieu, who plays the domineering but not invulnerable Maigret with the veteran confidence and insight befitting a legendary character.

In the cuckoo’s nest ★★★★★
DRAMA (1975)
Directed by: Milos Forman
InterpretationsCast: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield

One of the greatest films of modern American cinema is released this week in digital re-release. Based on the great novel by Ken Kesey, Milos Forman here analyzes the human condition in detail, both on a personal and collective level. Its protagonist Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), a convict, manages to transfer himself to a psychiatric clinic, hoping for better conditions. There, he will quickly take charge of the patients, demanding a sigh of freedom against the overbearing boss and some of the barbaric methods used. The special space of a psychiatric hospital becomes, in fact, a micro-society, where there is a daily battle both with others and with oneself. The collective conscience and the reaction that McMurphy evokes in others is the first step towards redemption, as if the film, for which Nicholson also received the first Oscar of his career, says.

Nor Kan
THRILLER (2022)
Directed by: Jordan Peele
InterpretationsCast: Daniel Kaluuya, Kiki Palmer

Oscar winner Jordan Peele (Run) is back with another contemporary horror film starring Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya. Two brothers inherit a horse ranch somewhere in California. However, they soon begin to notice inexplicable phenomena in the area, which they even try to capture on camera. As the situation spirals out of control, the heroes find themselves in the midst of an unprecedented storm.