“Portrait of a Woman on Fire”
Is there a poetic cinema today? And if so, why does it seem to have disappeared? A simple answer is that directors who infuse their films with grandiose, awe-inspiring imagery are becoming rarer, preferring instead to devote themselves to plot and stylization. This is, of course, a rough formulation, as, among other things, the modern film market has been rapidly industrialized, severely limiting the scope for experimentation and the time for testing through which innovative and effortless inspirations emerge. Then, the era of the auteurs, that is, the directors whose films sought to constitute an unprecedented world in addition to formulating their personal aesthetic proposal, has passed. Creators like the great Andrei Tarkovsky, who has now become a meme for how he sought poetry in cinema, Thodoros Angelopoulos, Sergey Parajanov and many more. However, with a careful search, cinephiles can find several examples of lyrical cinema nowadays, such as Wim Wenders’ name and thing “Wonderful Days” still playing in theaters. For this reason and in the context of the celebration of World Poetry Day, we chose five poetic films of recent years to enjoy them.
“Paterson” (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)
The daily routine of the Paterson bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey, who returns to his wife Laura and dog Marvin after work and writes poetry in his spare time. With material from all these versions of “Patterson”, Jim Jarmusch attempts to compose a cinematic haiku, which with simple images and words searches for the poetry hidden in boring urban everyday life. A director of details, a follower of minimalism and a Zen thinker, he connects life and art in a natural way, which comes from the great romantics and reaches the New York school of poetry, remaining in the face of the triumphs and defeats of everyday life a wise man and a cool cinematographer. Read the detailed review of “a”.
“What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?” (Alexander Komberitze, 2021)
Over the course of two and a half hours, we witness a good-hearted and utterly romantic cinematic poem, which displays intoxicating visual and narrative virtues. In a clear fairy tale style, the film is about a pharmacist and a football player, who meet by chance and fall in love at once. They make a date the next day, but that same night something paradoxical happens: due to a curse they change faces and thus, it is impossible for them to recognize each other. This sweet twist is one of the many fantasy elements that make up the film’s magical realism. The unexpected moments of lyricism thrown into the narrative set the tone as the couple are violently separated, but then the focus turns to what Komberidge is really about: the folk rituals and relationships of ordinary people, sharing whims and emotions over a beer , a coffee or a… ball. The most enjoyable part of the film concerns football, specifically how it captivates the imagination of children in the alana and adults in traditional cafes, but also the dog-fans(!) of the neighborhood. Read the detailed review of “a”.
“The Wild Boys” (Bertrand Mantiko, 2017)
A group of boys commits a heinous crime and is exiled to an island, where they experience a harsh and abrupt coming of age. Iconoclast Bertrand Manticore constructs a poetic universe, where sexual urges run rampant and gender is a fluid concept, based on circumstances and appetites. The libido of the heroes sometimes acts liberating and sometimes like a prison, with their passions becoming challenges of a painful process of self-awareness. Thus the daring creator signs a torrential avant-garde masterpiece, which attacks the senses like a hallucinogen, with a power that is now rare, challenging the expressive limits of cinema. Read the detailed review of “a”.
“Portrait of a Woman on Fire” (Celine Siama, 2019)
At the end of the 18th century a painter arrives on a small island in Brittany to paint the wedding portrait of a young lady. Screenplay prize at Cannes for a passionate and tightly spelled cinematic poem, which analyzes human desire with thought, emotion and high technique. At the same time, he comments modestly and crucially on the relationship between power and sexuality, but also between reality and representation. Read the detailed review of “a”.
“All Dirt Roads Taste Like Salt” (Raven Jackson, 2023)
Film of unpretentious poetic cinema, which is rewarded for the multiple narrative risks it takes. In the heart of rural Mississippi, a woman’s life unfolds on the big screen without following the typical narrative line, as past – present – future mix in a cinematic time that obeys the rhythm of memories rather than objective events. Accordingly, the concept of plot is relevant, as Jackson employs a directorial style of almost absolute lack, investing in the power of her minimalist imagery. In other words, shots which mostly consist of suffocating close-ups, sculpted from shots of sometimes disarming beauty. How receptive a viewer is to this kind of visceral storytelling is of course a personal matter, but “All the Dirt Roads…” is a cinematic challenge generously rewarded. Because it belongs to that rare category of films that are assembled in the subconscious and make unannounced meaning in scenes of overwhelming emotion. Possibly in a moment of heartfelt embrace, in a tense touch or a knowing look, among the many that make up the film – an ode to the electricity of human contact.