It’s hard to think of another working director who encompasses the range and moods of Olivier Assayas, from beautifully crafted minor-key notes covering major issues like “Non-Fiction,” to films of mysterious, introspective ambiguity like “Personal Shopper,” to the sweeping symphonic feast of “Carlos.” That latter epic will be the most common reference point when people discuss “Wasp Network,” a meaty true-story group portrait of a bunch of Cuban spies who infiltrated anti-Castro networks in Florida in the 1990s. Yet , engaging with major characters and events that are dropped in or out with an unsatisfying degree of regularity.
One suspects the original conception was closer to the length of “Carlos,” and though “Wasp Network” will be easier to distribute, with the potential for reaching audiences not usually attuned to the director’s work, it leaves viewers gratified by the filmmaking bravura and the sheer pleasure of watching this superb cast in top form,...
One suspects the original conception was closer to the length of “Carlos,” and though “Wasp Network” will be easier to distribute, with the potential for reaching audiences not usually attuned to the director’s work, it leaves viewers gratified by the filmmaking bravura and the sheer pleasure of watching this superb cast in top form,...
- 9/1/2019
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
It’s unusual for a Western film to present spies for Fidel Castro as the heroes. And that novelty, alas, is one of the few selling points of “Wasp Network,” a surprising disappointment from Olivier Assayas, one of the more interesting and eclectic filmmakers working today.
Assayas previously teamed with Edgar Ramírez on the gripping “Carlos,” but this time, the true-story aspect of this docudrama seems to have bogged down the filmmaker. When he has occasion to put the plot aside and focus on the characters, “Wasp Network” comes to life, but these moments are too few and far between.
The story itself is fascinating — in the 1990s, Cuban pilots René González (Ramírez) and Juan Pablo Roque made headlines by escaping Cuba and defecting to the United States. (González flew out in a small plane in 1990; Roque swam to Guantanamo Bay two years later.)
Also Read: Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia...
Assayas previously teamed with Edgar Ramírez on the gripping “Carlos,” but this time, the true-story aspect of this docudrama seems to have bogged down the filmmaker. When he has occasion to put the plot aside and focus on the characters, “Wasp Network” comes to life, but these moments are too few and far between.
The story itself is fascinating — in the 1990s, Cuban pilots René González (Ramírez) and Juan Pablo Roque made headlines by escaping Cuba and defecting to the United States. (González flew out in a small plane in 1990; Roque swam to Guantanamo Bay two years later.)
Also Read: Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia...
- 9/1/2019
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
France’s Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma unveiled its nominations for the César Awards this morning in Paris. The races for the country’s Oscar equivalent are led by Xavier Legrand’s feature debut Jusqu’à La Garde (Custody) and Gilles Lellouche’s Le Grand Bain (Sink Or Swim) with 10 mentions each. They are followed by Jacques Audiard’s English-language western, The Sisters Brothers, and Pierre Salvadori’s En Liberté! (The Trouble With You) with nine a piece. All four are in the Best Picture and Director categories.
There’s a noticeably lighter edge to the nominations this year with Le Grand Bain a sort of Full Monty à la française that sees a group of middle-aged men form a synchronized swimming team. The movie debuted out of competition in Cannes and became the 3rd highest grossing local title of 2018 with over 5M tickets sold.
Also out of Cannes,...
There’s a noticeably lighter edge to the nominations this year with Le Grand Bain a sort of Full Monty à la française that sees a group of middle-aged men form a synchronized swimming team. The movie debuted out of competition in Cannes and became the 3rd highest grossing local title of 2018 with over 5M tickets sold.
Also out of Cannes,...
- 1/23/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s difficult to ask hard questions about change and technology and progress — particularly to consider whether “progress” is actually progress or not — without sounding like a cranky old man, but writer-director Olivier Assayas has now done it twice. 2008’s “Summer Hours” contemplated a world in which new generations seemed uninterested in preserving art history and cultural treasures of the past, and now a decade later, with “Non-Fiction,” he asks similarly pointed questions about the future of books and literature in the internet age.
That he does so with a minimum of breast-beating and a surfeit of sparkling wit no doubt helps the message go down, particularly since it’s clear that he’s not offering answers but instead merely asking the questions.
The film introduces us to a group of friends, lovers and colleagues, all of whom engage in spirited conversations about the state of writing, acting and politics,...
That he does so with a minimum of breast-beating and a surfeit of sparkling wit no doubt helps the message go down, particularly since it’s clear that he’s not offering answers but instead merely asking the questions.
The film introduces us to a group of friends, lovers and colleagues, all of whom engage in spirited conversations about the state of writing, acting and politics,...
- 8/31/2018
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Before Hollywood takes the spotlight this weekend, the film world turns its eyes to France for the annual Cesar Awards. Presented by the French Academy, this year’s nominees represent a distinct blend of international favorites, festival standouts and homegrown hits.
Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” led this year’s nominees, scoring 11 nominations for Verhoeven as Best Director, lead actress Isabelle Huppert, Best Adapted Screenplay and a trio of other acting awards.
Read More: ‘Elle,’ Isabelle Huppert, Xavier Dolan Nominated in France’s Cesar Awards
The evening’s winners at Paris’ Salle Pleyel featured a variety of upsets and sure things. Huppert, going into a busy weekend in the States, won her category. In a pair of surprises, Xavier Dolan and Gaspard Ulliel both won their respective categories for Dolan’s “It’s Only the End of the World.” Houda Benyamina’s debut feature “Divines” also won big, taking home prizes for Best First Film,...
Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” led this year’s nominees, scoring 11 nominations for Verhoeven as Best Director, lead actress Isabelle Huppert, Best Adapted Screenplay and a trio of other acting awards.
Read More: ‘Elle,’ Isabelle Huppert, Xavier Dolan Nominated in France’s Cesar Awards
The evening’s winners at Paris’ Salle Pleyel featured a variety of upsets and sure things. Huppert, going into a busy weekend in the States, won her category. In a pair of surprises, Xavier Dolan and Gaspard Ulliel both won their respective categories for Dolan’s “It’s Only the End of the World.” Houda Benyamina’s debut feature “Divines” also won big, taking home prizes for Best First Film,...
- 2/24/2017
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
France’s film community congratulated Isabelle Huppert on her Oscar nomination, adding yet another to her growing list of accolades for her performance in “Elle.” The French Academy announced its nominees for what Americans call the “French Oscars” on Wednesday morning. “Elle” received 11 nominations in total, including best film and best director for Paul Verhoeven.
Following in a close send was Francois Ozon’s “Frantz,” which garnered 10 nominations, and Bruno Dumont’s “Slack Bay,” which received nine. Xavier Dolan received a best director nomination for “It’s Only the End of the World.” Actors Vincent Cassel, Gaspard Ulliel, and Nathalie Baye were all nominated for their work in Dolan’s film as well.
Read More: Oscars 2017 Surprises and Snubs: Amy Adams and ‘Weiner’ Out, Mel Gibson and ‘Passengers’ In
The Cesars have little import on the Oscars, though there is often some crossover. The French Academy did recognize Kenneth Lonergan...
Following in a close send was Francois Ozon’s “Frantz,” which garnered 10 nominations, and Bruno Dumont’s “Slack Bay,” which received nine. Xavier Dolan received a best director nomination for “It’s Only the End of the World.” Actors Vincent Cassel, Gaspard Ulliel, and Nathalie Baye were all nominated for their work in Dolan’s film as well.
Read More: Oscars 2017 Surprises and Snubs: Amy Adams and ‘Weiner’ Out, Mel Gibson and ‘Passengers’ In
The Cesars have little import on the Oscars, though there is often some crossover. The French Academy did recognize Kenneth Lonergan...
- 1/25/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Being in Paris is to be inside a work of art, and it is no surprise that in the charming collection of vignettes that make up Paris je t'aime, the art is love. This is a Paris where Oscar Wilde can reappear beside his grave at Pere Lachaise to give squabbling lovers a sense of humor. A vampire may pounce on an unsuspecting backpacker in the Madeleine. A cowboy on horseback can bring a grieving mother back to her family. A paramedic may fall in love with her bleeding patient.
Love in all its weird and wonderful forms is the subject of 18 short films made by an assortment of international directors who bring individual vision to a collective love letter to the French capital. Most of the directors have written their own pieces, and they range from whimsical to romantic, to dramatic and tragic.
With many familiar faces including Juliette Binoche, Fanny Ardant, Natalie Portman, Nick Nolte, Steve Buscemi, Bob Hoskins and Gena Rowlands, the film is necessarily uneven but has an overall winning charm and can expect a warm reception in art houses around the world.
Buscemi and Coen brothers completists will not want to miss their hilarious tale of an American tourist on the Metro stop at the Tuileries learning firsthand how accurate his guidebook is. Forget The Da Vinci Code -- anyone who sees this film will never look at Mona Lisa's smile again without thinking of the matchless Buscemi.
An offbeat sense of humor is established from the opening story, subtitled Montmartre, in which a frustrated young man (writer-director Bruno Podalydes) struggles to find a parking spot only to spend the time parked complaining aloud about why he can't find a girlfriend.
Then a lovely young woman (Florence Muller) faints beside his car. It's Paris.
Writer-director Gurinder Chadha spends a few minutes showing how a young man (Cyril Descours) can learn more from a modest hijab-wearing young woman (Leila Bekhti) than from his leering buddies.
Isabel Coixet manages to find great humor in a story of a failed love affair given new life after one of the lovers (Miranda Richardson) is diagnosed with terminal leukemia, while Oliver Schmitz's new paramedic (Aissa Maiga) learns how fleeting love can be while treating a stab victim (Seydou Boro).
Several sequences begin with misdirection so that Nolte's May-December romance turns out to be not that at all, while Hoskins and Ardant's strip club encounter involves more than a little planned artifice. Tom Tykwer's tale of an actress (Portman) trying to break off her affair with a blind linguist (Melchior Besion) also holds a surprise. Sylvain Chomet's item involving mimes is pleasingly self-mocking, and Alexander Payne's narrative of a Denver matron (Margo Martindale) visiting the city to improve her halting French begins in sarcasm and ends in sympathy.
Binoche grieves for her dead son in Nobuhiro Suwa's parable about a cowboy (Willem Defoe) who rides the midnight streets of Paris to ease her pain. Director Barbet Schroeder has fun along with Li Xin in a wacky musical fantasy by Christopher Doyle. Wes Craven naturally gravitates to a graveyard for his oddball contribution involving Wilde.
The cinematography is varied and wonderful. Pierre Adenot's music fits the bill, and there's a great waltz at the end with English adaptation by Oscar-winning lyricist Will Jennings.
PARIS JE T'AIME
Victoires International in association with Arrival Cinema
Credits:
Directors: Bruno Podalydes
Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Joel and Ethan Coen, Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuaron, Olivier Assayas, Oliver Schmitz, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Frederic Auburtin & Gerard Depardieu, Alexander Payne
Producers: Claudie Ossard & Emmanuel Benbihy
Co-producer: Burkhard Von Schenk
Executive producers: Chris Bolzli, Gilles Caussade, Sam Englebardt, Ara Katz, Chad Troutwine, Frank Moss, Rafi Chaudry
Original idea: Tristan Carne
Concept: Emmanuel Benbihy
Production designer: Bettina von den Steinen
Editing supervisors: Simon Jacquet, Frederic Auburtin
Original music: Pierre Adenot
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 120 minutes...
Love in all its weird and wonderful forms is the subject of 18 short films made by an assortment of international directors who bring individual vision to a collective love letter to the French capital. Most of the directors have written their own pieces, and they range from whimsical to romantic, to dramatic and tragic.
With many familiar faces including Juliette Binoche, Fanny Ardant, Natalie Portman, Nick Nolte, Steve Buscemi, Bob Hoskins and Gena Rowlands, the film is necessarily uneven but has an overall winning charm and can expect a warm reception in art houses around the world.
Buscemi and Coen brothers completists will not want to miss their hilarious tale of an American tourist on the Metro stop at the Tuileries learning firsthand how accurate his guidebook is. Forget The Da Vinci Code -- anyone who sees this film will never look at Mona Lisa's smile again without thinking of the matchless Buscemi.
An offbeat sense of humor is established from the opening story, subtitled Montmartre, in which a frustrated young man (writer-director Bruno Podalydes) struggles to find a parking spot only to spend the time parked complaining aloud about why he can't find a girlfriend.
Then a lovely young woman (Florence Muller) faints beside his car. It's Paris.
Writer-director Gurinder Chadha spends a few minutes showing how a young man (Cyril Descours) can learn more from a modest hijab-wearing young woman (Leila Bekhti) than from his leering buddies.
Isabel Coixet manages to find great humor in a story of a failed love affair given new life after one of the lovers (Miranda Richardson) is diagnosed with terminal leukemia, while Oliver Schmitz's new paramedic (Aissa Maiga) learns how fleeting love can be while treating a stab victim (Seydou Boro).
Several sequences begin with misdirection so that Nolte's May-December romance turns out to be not that at all, while Hoskins and Ardant's strip club encounter involves more than a little planned artifice. Tom Tykwer's tale of an actress (Portman) trying to break off her affair with a blind linguist (Melchior Besion) also holds a surprise. Sylvain Chomet's item involving mimes is pleasingly self-mocking, and Alexander Payne's narrative of a Denver matron (Margo Martindale) visiting the city to improve her halting French begins in sarcasm and ends in sympathy.
Binoche grieves for her dead son in Nobuhiro Suwa's parable about a cowboy (Willem Defoe) who rides the midnight streets of Paris to ease her pain. Director Barbet Schroeder has fun along with Li Xin in a wacky musical fantasy by Christopher Doyle. Wes Craven naturally gravitates to a graveyard for his oddball contribution involving Wilde.
The cinematography is varied and wonderful. Pierre Adenot's music fits the bill, and there's a great waltz at the end with English adaptation by Oscar-winning lyricist Will Jennings.
PARIS JE T'AIME
Victoires International in association with Arrival Cinema
Credits:
Directors: Bruno Podalydes
Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Joel and Ethan Coen, Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuaron, Olivier Assayas, Oliver Schmitz, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Frederic Auburtin & Gerard Depardieu, Alexander Payne
Producers: Claudie Ossard & Emmanuel Benbihy
Co-producer: Burkhard Von Schenk
Executive producers: Chris Bolzli, Gilles Caussade, Sam Englebardt, Ara Katz, Chad Troutwine, Frank Moss, Rafi Chaudry
Original idea: Tristan Carne
Concept: Emmanuel Benbihy
Production designer: Bettina von den Steinen
Editing supervisors: Simon Jacquet, Frederic Auburtin
Original music: Pierre Adenot
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 120 minutes...
- 5/18/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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