I'm Still Here earned its place as one of the greatest Brazilian cinema phenomena of 2024 after a celebrated run at the Venice Film Festival. And it's no wonder: Walter Salles’ feature film (Central Station) embraces the story of the Paiva family, portrayed in the namesake book written by one of the sons, Marcelo Rubens, and reveals a glimpse of what Brazil's Military Dictatorship was like. Through this lens, the viewer follows the life of Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres) and her children after the disappearance of Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello), who was taken by the military on a day with few explanations. Mastering the story’s atmosphere, Salles shows how this family reacted and, more importantly, how the climate changed – whether in their home, street, city, or country. With a memorable performance by Torres, the feature film captures a piece of Brazilian history, illustrating how life was bright until the 1960s and how, with a single blow, a rupture occurred that forever altered things. Not only one of the great films of 2024, but one of the greatest in the history of Brazilian cinema.
Challengers may be the most mature film from filmmaker Luca Guadagnino - the one considered the most American of Italian filmmakers. Despite having good films in his record, such as Call Me by Your Name and A Bigger Splash, Challengers is the one that brings certainty that Guadagnino is an auteur director, who masters the language and knows how to play with the audience's emotions. All of this, here, from a tennis match involving two former colleagues (Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist) who face off on the court, but leave behind stories from the past (told through well-inserted flashbacks) and in the relationship with the wife of one of them (Zendaya). In the end, Guadagnino, with style and good casting direction, shows that a tennis match is also about relationships - and that, ultimately, everything in the world is about sex.
The Substance is a horror film directed by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat (Revenge), winner of the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival 2024. It borrows the premise from The Picture of Dorian Gray, the classic novel by Oscar Wilde, but uses it to comment on issues such as ageism, beauty standards, and body dysmorphia, specifically in the context of Hollywood. The plot follows Elisabeth (Demi Moore), a successful actress who, in the latter years of her career, has become the host of a fitness television show. That is until a studio executive (Dennis Quaid, in a grotesque caricature of Harvey Weinstein) decides she is too old for it and ends her contract. Desperate, Elisabeth turns to the mysterious drug of the title to "activate" a younger and improved version of herself, "Sue" (Margaret Qualley). Both women must maintain a delicate balance for seven days, which begins to unravel when Sue achieves success and starts to resent Elisabeth as a burden. With waves of blood, mutilations, pus, and other bodily fluids that words can't begin to describe, The Substance is a delirious and clever satire of the arbitrary yet predatory and exploitative frivolity with which the media imposes and perpetuates unattainable beauty standards. At the same time, it is an astute representation of the self-destructive extremes many women are willing to subject their bodies and self-esteem to in order to fit into the system and play the game. Regardless of the conclusions, one thing is for sure: you will experience a whirlwind of emotions and have an incredible time... if the nausea doesn't defeat you halfway through.
Wicked is a film adaptation of the acclaimed Broadway musical, directed by Jon M. Chu. With grandiose sets and a striking soundtrack, the film explores the relationship between Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande), two witches with opposite personalities, in a context full of racial and social tension. While Erivo impresses with her powerful interpretation of Defying Gravity, capturing raw and universal emotions, Grande surprises with light and captivating humor. However, the film faces challenges: when it is divided into two parts, it loses pace and delivers a narrative without an outcome. Although visually stunning, the production seems hesitant to create something of its own, holding itself hostage to the original material. For fans of the musical, it's a celebration; for others, it may not achieve the same impact.
A Different Man is a brilliant comedy whose title suggests several meanings. The story begins with Edward (Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice), a man whose face is disfigured by neurofibromatosis, affecting his confidence and ability to connect in a world that routinely rejects ugliness. He falls in love with his neighbor Ingrid (Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World), a beautiful playwright, but when a miraculous cure reverses his deformities, he decides to fake his death and start fresh under the identity of "Guy." Things take an ironic turn when Ingrid writes a play inspired by Edward, and Oswald (Adam Pearson) appears, a man who, despite also suffering from neurofibromatosis, is charismatic and leads a full life. The title A Different Man could suggest that naïve, idealized Hollywood empathy for people with physical differences. However, the script and direction by Aaron Schimberg steer the attention in the opposite direction, focusing on our constant aspiration to be something different from what we are, unable to be comfortable in our own skin and, as Lady Gaga (supposedly) says, to accept what is.