Films Of The Fortnight: Caesar Must Die ★★★★ & Lore ★★★★

Veteran Italian siblings Paolo and Vittorio Taviani are the brains behind our favourite film of the last fortnight, ‘Caesar Must Die’★★★★ . The celebrated authors are back in top form with this excellent account of the preparations for a representation of Shakespeare’s classic ‘Julius Caesar’ happening in an Italian jail. Half documentary, half dramatization and with a dazzling array of visual techniques on display, the process brings to surface the inmates’ personal lives to superb, touching effect through the way they relate to their rooles. The winner of last year’s Golden Bear in Berlin, It was also Italy’s submission for the lastest edition of the Foreign Language Oscar.

Avoiding the traditional post-Oscars lull the film industry normally experiences, our theatres are packed instead with a ridiculous number of interesting new releases. The one that would have scooped our film of the week honours last week is ‘Lore’ ★★★★ , another festival favourite finally reaching our screens. Aussie director Cate Shortland earned a great deal of praise for her former work ‘Somersault’; her follow-up is set in Nazi Germany and expertly mixes the gripping drama of a German officer’s daughter left in charge of her younger siblings and forced to escape after the Nazi defeat; with arthouse pace and a gorgeous cinematography capturing the rural landscape they pass through on their runaway.

Terrence Malick dropped the first of two movies he’s got ready for 2013. ‘To The Wonder’ ★★★½ is another visual poem in the same vein of The Tree Of Life’s central part. A profound reflection about love and relationships at its core told through suggestive images and muted dialogues in the shape of the characters’ inner monologues. ‘To the wonder’ is rather enjoyable and far lighter than its critically acclaimed predecessor. However, it’s nowhere near flawless, beginning by a sense of déjà-vu too indebted to the former Palm D’Or winner. Malick’s deeply religious personality takes centre stage again despite not being totally needed for the storyline, this time in the form of a priest (Javier Bardem) desperately searching for a divine sign that puts an end to his doubts; equalling his search for meaning to other ways of love depicted. Its high profile cast also features Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams.

Fans of horror are spoilt for choice with four very different titles covering every corner of the genre’s spectrum, from the new wave of Catalonian shockers with ‘Sleep Tight’ ★★★ , the latest work from {REC} creator Jaume Balagueró; to the superior spirit entity tale of ‘Mama’★★½ , under Guillermo del Toro’s assured production and giving further proof of Jessica Chastain’s wide acting range; the visually exquisite ,psychological goth story of Chan-Wook Park’s ‘Stoker’★★★, also boasting fine performances by Nicole Kidman; Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode; plus the return of Oscar nominated director Barry Levinson with an eco-horror homage to the B-movie, ‘The Bay’★★½ , in which some waste dropped in the water produces a mutant bug causing havoc among the tourists that packs a fisherman’s village on its annual shellfish day celebration.

Last but not least, the much maligned but surprisingly enjoyable ambitious no-time-or-space-boundary sci-fi epic ‘Cloud Atlas’★★★, which provides such unexpected pleasures as watching Tom Hanks as a mad killer writer, doing his best cockney impersonation. On the other side of the spectrum, the BFI has put together the biggest European Pier Paolo Pasolini retrospective ever seen in Europe with ‘The Gospel According To St. Matthew’ ★★★★★ chosen as his flagship opus.

And our Top 15 recommended films are: