Whale ★★★★
DRAMA (2022)
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
InterpretationsCast: Brendan Fraser, Samantha Morton, Sadie Sink

Returning the American filmmaker to the spotlight as one of the leaders of his generation, Darren Aronofsky’s new film is in limited release this week – and usually next. Here he teams up with Samuel D. Hunter, who is brilliantly adapting his own play starring Charlie (Brendan Fraser), a terribly overweight English teacher who lives as a recluse. However, his rapidly declining health will prompt him to reunite with his estranged daughter in a last-ditch attempt at redemption.

Aronofsky manages to bring dramatic interest to a film largely shot within four walls, carefully crafting his dialogue pieces and, of course, taking advantage of Brendan Fraser’s stunningly dedicated performance. The American actor, famous for a very different genre of cinema, excels here as a man who goes down the path of self-destruction, but at the last moment tries to take care of what really matters in life. . After all, behind the iridescent surface of his body lies a genius capable of analyzing Moby Dick (partly hence the name) and at the same time deeply wounded by love and loss of the soul.

A man named Otto ★★★
DRAMA (2022)
Directed by: Mark Forster
InterpretationsCast: Tom Hanks, John Higgins

Tom Hanks dresses up as a grumpy, middle-aged man in a film based on Fredrik Backman’s hit novel A Man Called Uwe. The popular actor here plays Otto Anderson, an almost obsessed, perverted man who, after the loss of his beloved wife, no longer finds a reason to live. Until his neat neighborhood is “invaded” by the young Marisol family, a dynamic, cheerful Mexican who will gradually help him realize that his existence makes sense for the people around him.

Mark Forster (World War Z) makes a touching story about loss, as well as the power of solidarity and humanity. In carefully arranged flashbacks, interspersed with the main plot, we follow the acquaintance and love of young Otto (played by Tom Hanks’ son Truman) with his beloved Sonya, who turned out to be decisive in his life, as well as her current state. On the other hand, in the present we are witnessing a story with enough humor to help balance the emotional weight of the whole.

Operation Fortune: Big Scam ★★½
ADVENTURE (2022)
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
InterpretationsCast: Jason Statham, Hugh Grant, Aubrey Plaza

Constantly active in recent years, Guy Ritchie is orchestrating another of his famous action films, which this time is more like an alternative version of “Dangerous Missions” than ever. Starring Jason Statham as a super agent who takes on the task of preventing the purchase and sale of deadly new technology; his rival is the “evil” billionaire Hugh Grant (cool), and he has a computer genius (Aubrey Plaza) but also a Hollywood star (Josh Hartnett) on his side. The film’s premise is as sketchy and rudimentary as it seems on first reading, where decriminalized action takes control here – along with genre specialist Statham – and guides us through a mostly entertaining two hours, with no other requirements. .

Comrade Volkonogov escaped ★★
THRILLER (2021)
Directed by: Alexey Khupov, Natasha Merkulova
InterpretationsPeople: Yuri Borisov, Alexander Yachenko

From Russia as well as the Venice Film Festival comes a thriller with a historical background and psychological ramifications that are reminiscent of literary standards. The protagonist is Captain Volkonogov, a devoted agent and executor of the Soviet authorities in the period before World War II. However, when he feels the thread of inner cleansing tighten around him, he runs away, trying to seek redemption for his previous victims in order to escape eternal punishment.

With an atmosphere and aesthetic strongly reminiscent of a graphic novel, the Russian film could have even higher claims if it were not so sketchy and caricatured in its (albeit) pseudo-historical portrayal. However, there are some really well-done scenes here that mix dark humor with downright gritty content.

Representation ★★★★★
DRAMA (1970)
Directed by: Theodoros Angelopoulos
Interpretations: Tula Stathopoulou, Giannis Totsikas

The masterful feature debut of Theodore Angelopoulos is being reissued. In the harsh countryside of Epirus, a man returns to his village after years of working in Germany. There, he is confronted by his wife and her lover, who kill him and bury him in the garden.

However, their alibi turns out to be superficial, and soon the police arrive in the village, accompanied by a group of journalists, to investigate the case.

Angelopoulos demonstrates his art from the very beginning, uniquely capturing the wild landscape of Epirus on black and white film, and at the same time, he closes the drama with one (even more) scene from the cinematic anthology in the finale.