Set in an unspecified country and an unspecified time period, the film follows a communist intelectual who, after travelling the world for many decades, decides to return and settle down to the place he grew up in, a small coastal village seemingly forgotten by time itself. With him, he brings news of the dawn of a new world on the horizon, with which he wishes to connect with through constructing a modern highway. This news is welcomed in the village, however, the construction of the road begins to bring out violent conflicts, reveals forbidden romances and ends up regressing the community even further into the darkness from which it wanted to escape.
Giuseppe De Santis
Director
Silvana Pampanini
Giuseppina Pancrazi (Katarina)
Eleonora Rossi Drago
Susanna
Massimo Girotti
Chiacchiera (Naklapalo)
Bert Sotlar
Guglielmo Cosma (Emil Kozma)
Ivica Pajer
Lorenco
Milivoje Živanović
Učitelj
Gordana Miletić
Angela
Nikša Stefanini
David
Hermina Pipinić
Agneza
Lia Rho-Barbieri
Roza
Antun Vrdoljak
Bernard
Like all modern societal phenomenons, it started with a meme. This one highlighted that when there’s a mom in a Pixar film, she is almost without fail given striking curves that highlight the bottom half of her body following a minuscule waist. From Elastigirl to the skeletal Mama Imelda, the animation giant’s artists seem to have a fixation on making exaggeratedly curvy maternal characters.
Outer Banks (2020-) knows its audience: young adults in a country that can’t stop romanticizing good ole’ treasure hunts. Add a little of Riverdale’s (2017-) sex appeal, and no one can look away. Forty years after The Goonies (1985) America’s consciousness hasn’t strayed from the same tropes: treasure hunts, a vulnerable white male lead, and the whitewashing of a racially segregated setting.
In ‘The Owl House’ protagonist Luz Noceda stumbles across a portal to another dimension where magic exists, called The Boiling Isles.
Overall, Matthias & Maxime doesn't reinvent this romantic concept. But it also doesn't need to. Dolan weaves a story of love, friendship, and life that is both realistic and bittersweet. The film is nuanced and sensual in a way we don't get to see often with LGBTQ characters. It's a film that we can celebrate.
Given Hollywood's history of racism and financial motivations, how much progress can we expect? Plus: a list of excellent films by Black directors.