“Nothing better be wrong”
This is such a strong starting point—deeply human and deeply American.
Lynch seems to be screaming: Everything is wrong, and this mentality of pretending that it isn’t is truly toxic. Let’s explore what’s wrong! And in how many ways all is wrong.
Whether you take what happens literally or not, the message of “things are off” could not be clearer. If you choose the literal—if you think what we see actually happens—we live in a terrible…
This felt deeply unoriginal (though I think it isn't?). Decent performances for the most part, but Kidman and Dickinson baaaaaarely move the needle and Banderas showcases the weaknesses of the movie: the stakes were never there. It will be hard to defend him as a good bad actor after this (I’m now scared of rewatching Dolor y Gloria).
It is hard to think of a movie that feels less earnest and more self-serving. (Megalopolis at least was earnest!) Truly unbearable.
It did give me time to think about a looooong list of whatthefucks:
- Musicals (sometimes in a good way)
- French people (rarely in a good way)
- Movies with bad and fake Latin American accents (it's not that hard to find actors with the proper accents—suggestion: start there and then try to find decent actors)
-…
I left with the very strong feeling that this pretty good documentary is also (knowingly or unknowingly) a bunch of Russian propaganda. Presenting Lumumba as a saint with no flaws, a symbol, a victim and—one of the worst things anyone can be—a martyr, and taking Khrushchev 's speeches at face value is, at the very least, negligent. Not sure if this is just naïveté or malice, but I can't shake that stain. The documentary is also electric and beautiful and…
