Homem com H is a risky biopic. After all, director Esmir Filho (Verlust) has the mission of telling the story of Ney Matogrosso, one of the greatest performers of Brazilian music and owner of historic hits such as Poema, O Vira and Sangue Latino. But, more than that, Man with an H needs to go beyond the artist and explore the person behind Ney -- with his inconsistencies, imperfections, loves, daring. All of this, fortunately, can be felt on the screen, in an undeniably bloated feature film, which insists on starting from Ney's childhood and going up to the time when the film hits theaters, with the biographee at 83 years old. So, we can say that Homem com H has several structural problems like so many other biopics out there, but it saves itself by having heart and soul, for real. You will be enchanted, you will sing and you will be moved, especially if you are a fan of Ney's work.
In Paris in the early 90s, more specifically in 1993, a recently divorced writer goes through a rediscovery of his sexuality - involving himself with a younger man who wants to be a filmmaker. In addition to addressing the conflict between the life the protagonist led before and the new paths he took, the feature also brings up the generational conflicts within the context of the new couple. All this written and directed in a touching way by Christophe Honoré (of 'Belle Junie'). Certainly many will identify with various aspects of this story.
With Love Lies Bleeding, filmmaker Rose Glass cements herself as one of the promising directors in horror and fantasy. It may sound odd, but her second film is a crime and romance thriller that injects elements of body horror and surrealism, with results as captivating as they are controversial. Set in 1980s New Mexico, the story follows Lou (Kristen Stewart), a gym employee who falls in love with Jackie (Katy O'Brian), a bodybuilder passing through to a competition in Las Vegas. However, a tragedy pulls them both into the world of Lou’s criminal family, and violence becomes inevitable. Through its criminal plot and with a dark, twisted sense of humor also seen in Saint Maud, her previous movie, Glass satirizes romantic ideals that are incompatible with behavioral patterns that, for better and (mostly) for worse, get dragged into love relationships.
Nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film, Close is a movie that overflows with emotion, sensitivity and truth. Directed by Lukas Dhont (Girl), the movie tells the story of a child who has an apparently homoaffective relationship with a classmate. Everything changes when they go to another school. Little by little, Leo (Eden Dambrine) begins to distance himself from Rémi (Gustav De Waele), fearful of his classmates' reaction to their relationship. That's where all the sensitivity of the movie lies, which speaks about maturity, grief and depression in a somewhat cold way at times, but which focuses on deepening the character of Dambrine and shedding light on what a pre-adolescent can feel. Dhont, who achieves great performances from his cast, once again shows the strength of his stories and how sensitivity is mandatory in his work as a director. Close is a movie that is uncomfortable, saddening, moving and conveys truth.
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.