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The Insider (1999)
Michael Mann's magnum opus (Let's see if Ferrari would make me delete this)
Mann's touch for crafting imperfect men obsessed with their profession shines here. From the blue-collar professional thief who wanted a family, to a criminal who would abandon his love for the heat around the corner. This film he tackled with an ordinary man whose family and fame is on the line, and a producer who lives in the craft.
The brilliant performances are only magnified by the brilliant cinematography. As if dancing with Crowe and Pacino with the camera, Mann and Spinotti often shoot them with a flair of interest, we follow their paperwork, their faxes, sometimes we could even share their visions. (Hint: meltdown)
In here, the art of broadcasting somewhat echos that of filmmaking, and the film shows that.
When Pacino is in the editing room, we hear his comments to the editors, we see his work on the computer screen, we also linger on his look of confidence, his craft. A lot of people say Mann is obsessed with the crime genre, but I think Mann is obsessed with obsession itself.
Kaibutsu (2023)
A contemporary masterpiece.
Ryuichi Sakamoto's music, the precise editing, the great use of anamorphic lenses, the surprisingly dynamic soundscape, the great use of the Ronin 4D compact camera system, Hirokazu's brilliant directing and surprisingly dynamic staging. All of this existed to serve the impeccable performances and the brilliant story.
Yes, it's very much a contemporary piece, made with contemporary gear, set in the present. Still, the story felt timeless. I think that's why comparisons to the classic Rashomon are often made about this film, though I find them incredibly stretched. We are never lied to like we would've been watching Rashomon in this film, we experience the story exactly as the characters experience them.
In a time where meta films like Babylon and Asteroid City are starting to re-examining their own value, and even big blockbusters like Oppenheimer and Dead Reckoning needed to remind a post-COVID audience of their "return to practicality" techniques to bring them to the cinemas, this is the one that truly reminded me of why I go to the movies in the first place.
Lightning in a bottle.