(thanks, Corvo)
European Film 2013
La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty)
European Director
Paolo Sorrentino, La Grande Bellezza
European Screenwriter
François Ozon, Dans la maison (In the House)
European Actor
Toni Servillo, La Grande Bellezza
European Actress
Veerle Baetens, The Broken Circle Breakdown
European Animated Feature
The Congress, dir: Ari Folman
European Documentary
The Act Of Killing, dir: Joshua Oppenheimer
European Comedy
Love Is All You Need, dir: Susanne Bier
European Discovery Award – FIPRESCI
Oh Boy!, dir: Jan Ole Gerster
European Short Film
Death Of A Shadow, dir: Tom Van Avermaet
European Composer
Ennio Morricone, La migliore Offerta
European Cinematographer
Asaf Sudry, Fill The Void
European Editor
Cristiano Travaglioli, La Grande Bellezza
European Production Designer
Sarah Greenwood, Anna Karenina
European Costume Designer
Paco Delgado, Blancanieves
European Sound Designers
Matz Müller and Erik Mischijew, Paradise: Faith
People’s Choice Award
The Gilded Cage, dir: Ruben Alves
JoeS,
we don’t disagree entirely. Since I was a kid Fellini has been one of my favorite directors, along with Robert Altman.
I cannot really understand how someone can love Fellini and admire Sorrentino at the same time as I would be confused if someone who loves Altman cinema thought Crash was a good movie. But I see it is my own problem and of course cinema is always a subjective experience.
As I said I saw La grande Bellezza twice because I was intrigued after the first view.
I saw every single Sorrentino movie, all more than once (I might be a masochist). I’ve seen even shorts or segments directed by him, even a tv advertisement of a bra…
Il Divo is not a bad movie, probably the best Sorrentino has done along with La Grande Bellezza, but for someone who has lived in Italy and has been following Italian politics clodely il Divo is as shallow as a film about Lincoln that forgets to mention slavery.
This Must be the Place is meaningless to the offensive point: I’ve never seen Shoah mentioned and used in such a gimmicky disgusting way by a director. I don’t even want to talk about this movie, it makes me sick.
So, yes, I guess we just disagree on Sorrentino’s films.
Akumax, I guess we just disagree.
As to the Fellini/LA DOLCE VITA connection. Sorrentino has professed that Fellini is his favorite filmmaker (as he is mine). As someone who has read dozens of books on Fellini, as well as hundreds if not thousands of articles and reviews on him, I’ll just say that Fellini was often accused of being a banal superficial trick stylist to use your criticisms of BELLEZZA.
As to Sorrentino making films about “nothing”. If you’ve seen IL DIVO, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE and now BELLEZZA it is readily apparent that his films are far from meaningless. Very few directors make profound statements about their intentions. And, honestly, what do you expect Sorrentino to say? “I’m making a great statement about the meaning of life!?” He’d be raked over the coals for being pretentious.
JoeS,
La Dolce Vita, its characters and La Grande Bellezza are nothing alike in my opinion… that makes me mad!
If that is the “obvious model”, like I’m hearing a lot, I say it is even a worse movie than I think it is!
Sorrentino’s trick is a clever one: make a movie about nothing, like he always does, but this time “nothing” can be perceived as the subject; so everybody will say: “isn’t that the point?!”
No it is not.
Picking a subject, whatever it is, and express just banalities about it, adding oddness to seem smart, it’s just pretentious to me.
An example (maybe a spoiler): scenes like those with the art performances are just lame superficial accounts full of judgment. Their purpose seem just to be riding a very popular stereotype: a lot of contemporary art is fake and pretentious. So, do I need 30 minutes of “a glorious movie” to saying nothing but that? In my opinion I don’t.
See Marina Abramovic – the Artist is present, and look at the point of view expressed by Fox News in a scene of that movie (25 seconds at most): just the same level of crap is expressed in those “art scenes” of La Grande Bellezza, nothing more.
The rest of the movie is just a milk(gone bad)shake of random things and themes that are supposed to evoke a vague melancholic decadence in the beautiful decadence of Rome: boring and already done thank you.
I feel irritated by these kind of movies full of gimmicks and intellectual arrogance.
All I can see is a desperate attempt at making a “masterpiece”, not the need of telling a story, explore emotions, portray characters. I’m sorry… But obviously a lot of people see something else that I don’t see… and at this time it might be an attempt that fools critics and viewers, like Crash did.
By the way The Silence of the Lambs and The Godfather are great and TRUE works of art that don’t express banalities about evil killers that’s way I don’t feel like criticizing them.
But, Akumax, isn’t that the point in THE GREAT BEAUTY? It’s about fake and pretentious stereotypes? To criticize a glorious movie because of its subject matter is odd.
Do you feel the same about the film’s obvious model – Fellini’s LA DOLCE VITA? The Romans in that film are just as fake and pretentious.
To me, that is like criticizing THE GODFATHER and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS because they are about evil killers.
I saw La Grande Bellezza twice, ’cause after the first screening I was intrigued. After the second view and a few weeks after that I’m having a very irritating memory of it. It’s so fake and full of nothing but pretentious stereotypes disguised by beautiful (on the surface) images. Great cinema is something else in my opinion. This is just like Crash all over again: so judgmental and full of it, but displayed with some cinematic intuitions, ultimately it’s just void covered by a lot of razzle-dazzle.
I saw La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) on Friday night.
Tremendous film! One of the best films of 2013!
Hoorah for Veerle Baetens. One of the best performances this year.
Some superb choices here. Not all the films have opened stateside, but many of the winners compare very favorably to those that will likely be Oscar nominees.
THE GREAT BEAUTY will be one of those films that is remembered as a landmark for years to come. Nice to see some love for BLANCANIEVES and ACT OF KILLING.