How Had I Never Seen... "Céline and Julie Go Boating" (1974)?

by Eric Blume

This week marks 50 years since the release of the Jacques Rivette classic Céline and Julie Go Boating.  I’m a devoted a Francophile, but this film was a hole in my viewing, so coming to this extraordinarily strange time capsule of a movie was a bit of a challenge.  C&JGB defies a lot of basic principles one expects from a movie, and by that I mean, there is no basic logic (the way these two characters initially meet, and how they behave together in their first scenes, is stylized beyond human recognition).  Rivette plunges you into a purposeful state of disbelief here, wanting you to abandon your impulses for traditional narrative, character development, and behavior...

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Best Actress '74 @50: The Greatest of All Time

by Cláudio Alves

Last weekend, on Mother's Day of all days, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore celebrated its 50th anniversary. The occasion calls for some acknowledgment here at The Film Experience, where actressexual Oscar obsessives abound. After all, Ellen Burstyn won the Best Actress race at the 47th Academy Awards, triumphing over what could be described as the greatest lineup in the category's history. Along with the eventual victor, AMPAS nominated Diahann Carroll in Claudine, Faye Dunaway in Chinatown, Valerie Perrine in Lenny, and Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence. They might have also nominated Liv Ullmann in Scenes from a Marriage had she been eligible, but we'll get there in time. 

As Faye Dunaway presents a new doc at Cannes, the stars have aligned to relitigate the 1974 Best Actress race. Are you ready? Let's go…

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Benoît Magimel Turns 50

by Eric Blume

A young Magimel in Benoît Jacquot's A SINGLE GIRL (1995).

This weekend, we’re celebrating one of French cinema’s greatest actors, Benoît Magimel, who turns 50 today. 

Magimel exploded upon the industry in the mid 1990s, making a string of pictures right after his 21^st birthday that involved collaborations with several big names.  Benoît Jacquot used his broad, handsome face and hooded eyes to great effect in 1995’s A Single Girl opposite Virginie Ledoyen.  The two actors have a truthful, easy spark between them that’s quintessential French post-teen.  The next year, he was featured in the excellent Thieves, by then-huge director André Téchiné, alongside two of the country’s finest, Daniel Auteuil and Catherine Deneuve...

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Godzilla @10: In defense of Gareth Edwards's American Kaiju

by Cláudio Alves

With the triumph of Godzilla Minus One still fresh and the box office success of Godzilla x Kong even fresher, kaiju lovers have reason to rejoice. The king of the monsters is on top as he deserves to be, blasting his atomic breath into the atmosphere as a show of victory. All things considered, there couldn't be a better time to revisit the American Godzilla that revitalized the franchise for a more global audience despite an unfavorable reputation. On its tenth anniversary, it's somewhat surprising how much Gareth Edwards' Godzilla has fallen out of favor. It was never a critical darling, but it feels that the movie has diminished in the collective consciousness. Which is understandable if undeserved…

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Star Wars: Charting Queen Amidala's Style

by Cláudio Alves

You never forget your first, or so they say. In this case, it's one's first costume obsession. Mine, to be precise. It came to be in 1999 when I was five years old, and my dad took me to see Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Like many men of his generation, he was a fan of George Lucas's space fantasy, eager to share that love with his kid. It started with the original trilogy on VHS tapes and then came the movie event of the season. Though many hated the prequel, we two didn't share that feeling. Indeed, little Cláudio was besotted.

Sure, the lightsaber duels were memorable and the score was stirring, the CGI was out of this world and Ewan McGregor left such an impression I went as Obi-wan Kenobi to the following year's Carnival. But what most shook me was Queen Amidala, played by Natalie Portman bedecked in Trisha Biggar's costumes…

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