29 November 2024.
By Neptune
RIEFENSTAHL **** (vo German and English)
The controversial Leni Riefenstahl – born in Berlin, Germany in 1902, died in 2003 at age 101 – was a multi-talented, highly ambitious woman, ahead of her time. Excelling as an artist, athlete, dancer, mountain climber and photographer, she finally came into her own as an actress from the mid-1920s, culminating in directing her first film, “Das Blaue Licht” in 1932.
But the height of her glory came with the two groundbreaking films she made for Hitler – “The Triumph of the Will” (1935) and “0lympia” (1938) that became known as powerful propaganda films for the Third Reich, a fact that she both accepted and denied throughout the years after WWII.
It is the crux of that puzzle that is covered by this comprehensive documentary by German director Andres Veiel. He reveals every aspect of her life, from her early years through her many accomplishments and her connections to the inner circle of Der Führer via various interviews (both friendly and aggressive), letters, personal albums and old film footage. It is both a fascinating tribute to her talents along with a bitter, damning view of her inner feelings about the Third Reich.
Once again, the question is – does one cancel a great artist’s works because of their actions and beliefs? An absorbing dilemma.
EN FANFARE *** (vo French)
Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe) is an internationally renowned classical conductor; Jimmy (Pierre Lottin) plays the trombone in a municipal band in a small town in northern France. Nothing much connects them – neither lifestyle nor talent, until through a lab test for his cancer, Thibaut finds out that they are long-lost brothers.
This is a touching film about discoveries, false pride, dreams of a dormant talent and the closeness of new brothers under sad circumstances. Yet it’s also a sweet, uplifting comedy by Emmanuel Courcol. As a crowd-pleaser, this should do well.
HERETIC **
I don’t go to horror films. But I went to this one as I was curious about Hugh Grant’s reason for switching to such a genre so different from his early romantic comedies and his later excellent works starting from “Florence Foster Jenkins”.
Well, he is certainly a fine, charismatic actor, whichever role he picks. The problem is, this film in huis clos lacks the punch to make it either really exciting or terrifying, despite an attempt at philosophising about religion and control while trying to be scary. And it is slow-going…
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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