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NEWS
Above: Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo on the set of Pierrot Le Fou (1965).
- Jean-Paul Belmondo has died, leaving behind six decades of films that started with his breakout role in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960). In his tribute to the iconic actor, critic Richard Brody describes Belmondo as the "height of cool [...] an icon of a cinema to which he didn't belong."
- The world has also been shocked by the death of the singular actor Michael K. Williams. Known to many as Omar Little from The Wire, Williams also worked with auteurs like Paul Thomas Anderson, Ava Duvernay, Martin Scorsese, and Steve McQueen. As his The Wire co-star Wendall Pierce says, Williams gave "voice to the human condition."
- Mondo is kicking off its Mondo x Death Waltz 10th Anniversary celebration with a deluxe reissue of the Full Metal Jacket soundtrack LP, designed by Alan Hynes. A rare, hand-poured edition of the soundtrack will also be given away through Mondo's social channels on Thursday.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING
- Ahead of the release of the trailer for Lana Wachowski's The Matrix Resurrections on Thursday, you can now watch 180,000 different teasers at a mysterious promotional website, where you'll first have to pick either a red or blue pill.
- A24 has released the official trailer for Mike Mills' C'mon C'mon. The film, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, stars Joaquin Phoenix as a radio journalist taking care of his young nephew.
- The trailer for Venice competitor Leave No Traces, directed by Jan P. Matuszyński. The film takes place in 1983, following the sole witness to the murder of high schooler Grzegorz Przemyk by Polish militia.
- An official teaser for Adam McKay's latest, Don't Look Up, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as two astronomers who must warn the world of an approaching comet that will destroy the planet. The film will be released on Netflix December 24.
- Lucrecia Martel's new short documentary, Terminal Norte, is now playing at Argentinian platform Cont.ar. Starring frequent collaborator and partner Julieta Laso, the film follows a group of musicians and artists who've gathered in Salta during quarantine.
RECOMMENDED READING
Above: Daïchi Saïto’s earthearthearth (2021).
- "Saïto’s impossibly saturated, exquisite gradations of color make it feel as if we are witnessing Earth not from a spaceship but through the warp and weave of a paint-soaked canvas by Helen Frankenthaler or Vivian Springford." Ara Osterweil digs deep into the layers of Daïchi Saïto’s earthearthearth.
- Kelli Weston reviews Nia DaCosta's Candyman, assessing the effectiveness of the film's "efforts to course correct."
- Moeko Fujii kicks off her new column on cinema and the environment at Orion Magazine with a reflection on fake plants and Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye.
- Dave Itzkoff investigates the changes signaled by Turner Classic Movie's new logo and new branding (including new costumes and sets), and its efforts to stay relevant as a linear cable channel in an era of streaming television.
- In a new interview with the Guardian, Michelle Yeoh discusses Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, her rise to action star fame, and kicking Jackie Chan's butt.
- For the New York Times, Taffy Brodesser-Akner revisits the anachronisms and micro-aggressions of the then-seemingly progressive 2000 film The Contender.
- To mark the occasion of Peggy Ahwesh's survey exhibition at the UK gallery Spike Island, you can now order Vision Machines, the first book dedicated to Ahwesh's practice.
RECENTLY ON THE NOTEBOOK
- Our Venice correspondent Leonardo Goi is continuing his coverage of this year's festival with reviews of the latest by Ricky D'Ambrose, Paolo Sorrentino, and Ana Lily Amirpour.
- Alex Broadwell takes a deep dive into the sonic world and working methods of Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, with a focus on his work on the most recent Candyman.
- For Movie Poster of the Week, Adrian Curry rounds up the most popular posters on Movie Poster of the Day on Instagram.
- In her essay on cinema, surveillance and Black trauma, Elisha Tawe calls on both artists and spectators to examine, imagine, and actualize a new Black cinematic tradition.
- Mo Muzammal encapsulates Jamil Dehlavi's debut The Blood of Hussain, based on the Islamic tale of the killing of Imam Hussain, in One Shot.
- For their One Shot entry, Arun A.K. focuses on a single climactic shot in Govindan Aravindan's meditative and philosophical 1977 film Kanchana Sita.
- Thomas Quist conducts a chronological exploration of what happens when a director is able to make two films in the same year.
EXTRAS
- To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Wong Kar Wai's production company Jet Tone Films, Sotheby's is collaborating with Wong on an NFT entitled “In the Mood for Love – Day One." The NFT consists of never-before-seen footage from the film's first day of production. Regarding the NFT, which will be auctioned off in October, Wong says: "Today, we are able to eternalize this first day in a brand-new form. In the world of blockchain, this arrow can chart a new course. Here’s to more of us that will live and chase that first spark in every flash."
Above: In the Mood for Love (Courtesy of Jet Tone Films).