When I think of the directors alive today who are still working away, and who I absolutely love, there are several folks who immediately jump to mind: Jia Zhangke, Joachim Trier, Dag Johan Haugerud, Hlynur Palmason, Hal Hartley, etc. Having said that, my choice for my own personal favorite might be Paolo Sorrentino. I've written about his exquisite The Great Beauty, which would be on my very short list for greatest films of this millennium, but I also really liked The Consequences of Love and The Hand of God. Last night I re-watched his first film, One Man Up, and it's a film that I absolutely love. It stars his frequent collaborator, Toni Servillo (as Antonio "Tony" Pisapis) and Andrea Renzi (as Antonio Pisapis). Yes, they share the same name, and essentially the same destiny: two once famous figures - Servillo as a singer and Renzi as a soccer player - who suffer a face from grace, and something like a redemption, although a redemption through a Sorrentino lens. It's funny and sad and profound, and chock full of those oddities you'd expect to find in a Sorrentino filo (Servillo's fascination with cooking fish, including the wonderful final scene). Toni Servillo is, as always, extraordinary, and he probably is the greatest actor working today. Essential.
No comments:
Post a Comment