Ruben Brandt, Collector (Milorad Krstić, 2018)

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼ out of 10☼

One of the most triumphant examples of style as substance (think Takeshi Koike's Redline), and another bright milestone in a long and strong tradition of Hungarian animated films, the fascinating feature debut from a Slovenian multimedia artist of Serbian origin, Milorad Krstić, packs the unique character design heavily inspired by Cubist paintings; some great voice work by both English and Hungarian cast; the eclectic soundtrack featuring Šu Šu Šumadijo by actress / pop-folk singer Olivera Katarina (of I Even Met Happy Gypsies fame) and a sexy, jazzy cover of Radiohead's Creep by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox; a hefty dose of stunning action sequences that live-action heist movies can only dream of, as well as a myriad of wittily integrated classic art and pop-culture references (from de Chirico's surreal landscapes to Hitchcock-shaped ice cubes!) impossible to spot in just one viewing, and not to mention the seamless blend of 2D and 3D animation for equally striking nightmare sequences and noirish reality!

Investigating the Murder Case of Ms. XY. (Rouzbeh Rashidi, 2014)

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼(☼) out of 10☼

When venturing into Rashidilandia, one has to be fully prepared to face the Unknown, firmly embrace it and eventually, get completely lost in it. Even then, there are no guarantees that one will be accepted by the strange forces in charge of the tingling audio-visual stimuli stemming from and returning to the Luminous Void. Investigating the Murder Case of Ms. XY. - a German-Irish co-production - makes no exception, with the inexpressible taking us to an unexplored terrain.

The single hint of narrative revealed in the title of 'this cosmically disconcerting film', as Maximilian Le Cain puts it, compels the viewer to believe that the leading duo of Mario Mentrup and Olympia Spanou portray the (interstellar?) detectives tasked with solving the murder of Ms. XY. They could be the predecessors to a couple seen (and most intensely played by Daniel Fawcett and Clara Pais) in Phantom Islands, and it's quite likely that they originate from the Moon which is given a prominent role in the mystery. However, what we are shown is not the police procedural, but rather a hypnotizing and somewhat unsettling portraiture of their Earth-selves caught by the ever-watchful eye of the camera and trapped in the victim's limbo. Essentially, this means that Ms. XY is the embodiment of Queen Cinema, so her death has to be a paradox, because she is immortal as long as there are filmmakers willing to break the rules in their search for her essence.

Whatever the case may be (no pun intended), one thing remains clear and that is Rouzbeh Rashidi's unfaltering love for and great understanding of (filmic) silence whose overwhelming power is strongly felt in almost every second of his stark, uncompromising exploration. Eschewing action in favor of observation, he goes on the hunt for Mentrup's and Spanou's thoughts via their penetrating gazes, subtle micro-expressions, superhuman concentration and deliberately muted words in four long, contemplative takes linked with the scenes of mundane ennui, religious procession and wintry landscapes, as well as with found footage of walking on the Moon and, why not, ballet dancing. Very much like the installments of Homo Sapiens Project, these 'bridges' - albeit grounded in our reality - appear alien and to a certain degree sinister, all by virtue of chilling drones accompanying oft-minimalist, austerely beautiful B&W compositions. A short sequence through which we are guided by a smiling nun, and the close-up of Mentrup's character bursting into laughter are the perfect reflections of the film's uncanny side (not to mention those phantasmal superimpositions).

Offering a false sense of calm is the melancholic finale which adds to the surrealism / idiosyncrasy of the atmosphere, and leaves us not only with many questions unanswered, but also with a unique, recognizably Rashidian experience.

(The film is available at Vimeo on Demand, for rent and purchase.)

Syllabus of Joy / Dangerous Speed

Syllabus of Joy (originally, Slabikář radosti) is the title of the latest short, currently in post-production, by Czech filmmaker Petr Makaj. I can't reveal much about the project, but I can say that the author trusted me, inter alia, with a design for the poster of a fictious B-movie, Dangerous Speed, which plays a significant role in the (fantastical) story, and hangs in the company of various non-fictitious posters from the mid 20th century. Today, Makaj shared a bunch of production stills with me, so I'm presenting the print for the aforementioned design, and apologize to the readers of NGboo Art for the nine-day long silence (due to reasons I won't go into here).

'Pear Crisis' Diptych

A smile under the caged skies

or a breath lost in concrete paradise?

 Is She a Secret Divine...

... or a Simple Dream of Mine? 

(open in a new tab to enlarge)

The Night Comes for Us (Timo Tjahjanto, 2018)

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼(☼) out of 10☼

Following a simple story of redemption and revenge (or something along these lines), the latest offering by the Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto (Headshot) eschews plotting in favor of the hyper-stylized cinematography and heavy doses of visceral, over-the-top action. Written in (ridiculous amounts of) blood, with a broken tibia used as a pen, The Night Comes for Us is a passionate love letter to John Woo's gangster flicks, ultraviolent anime and video games, best described as a spiritual sequel to The Raid movies. By virtue of deep bodily wounds treated as mere bruises and scratches, it savagely pushes the boundaries of suspension of disbelief, boasting the characters with superhuman stamina who keep fighting even after their guts are literally spilled. They may be cartoonish, distilled through the 'rule of cool' filter, however when it comes to kicks, punches and blades of various shapes and sizes, their 'eloquence' is unmatched. It will probably sound crazy, but there's a certain poetry - irreverent, yet morbidly alluring - in Tjahjanto's fetishization of flesh carving and bone crunching which brings forth a flawed, yet highly memorable martial arts B-movie, one thunder god short of being the best Mortal Kombat adaptation.

Cinematic Favorites of March

The March edition of Cinematic Favorites encompasses ten films - five shorts and five features one of which is a weirdo blast from the past. The greatest viewing experience was provided by Rouzbeh Rashidi's latest offering, Luminous Void: Docudrama, which I described as 'a beautiful, genre-defying (and genre-redefining) chimera' in my pre-premiere review, with Ihor Podolchak's feverish cine-dream Las Meninas and Johnny Clyde's ambiguous eco-fairy tale Floralis coming very close to blowing my mind, so to speak. An honorable mention goes to the Love Death + Robots series, for being one of the b(old)est animated experiments in recent memory. Without further ado, here's the top 10 list.

1. Luminous Void: Docudrama (Rouzbeh Rashidi, 2019)
2. Las Meninas (Ihor Podolchak, 2013)
3. Floralis (Johnny Clyde, 2019)
4. Jonaki (Aditya Vikram Sengupta, 2018)
5. The Safe Zone (Murat Sayginer, 2019)
6. NEKO-MIMI (Jun Kurosawa, 1993)
7. And What Is the Summer Saying? (Payal Kapadia, 2018)
8. Out of Our Minds (Tony Stone, 2009)
9. Lowlife (Ryan Prows, 2017)
10. Cherry Blossom (Sarahjane Swan & Roger Simian, 2019)

CF of January | CF of February

Floralis (Johnny Clyde, 2019)

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼ out of 10☼

"Birds broke their beaks for you. Wept real stars for you..."

Somewhat reminiscent of Juraj Herz's masterful rendition of Beauty and the Beast (Panna a netvor, 1978), Floralis takes the viewer to a strange place, simultaneously unrecognizable and as familiar and comforting as home. Part eco-parable and part fairy tale-ish fantasy, it brims with kaleidoscopic visuals and dense atmosphere of profound mystery. The forest where the lyrical story is set or rather, where an androgynous protagonist (gracefully portrayed by Nina Viola) gets spirited away is rendered in all of 'the forgotten colors of dreams', with the ethereally evocative score and whispery voices serving as our guides into a sort of an inner sanctum. That darkly beautiful 'micro-universe' is protected by an enigmatic creature (the author himself, heavily disguised) who adds another layer of deep melancholy to the gloomily oneiric proceedings...