Anora

Se não se ler nada sobre o filme antes e se não vir o trailer, este é perfeitamente imprevisível, não só em termos de enredo, mas também em termos de género. A gravidade da situação em que a protagonista se encontra pode facilmente passar de uma comédia intensa para um drama cruel. E o filme equilibra esta linha subtil com mestria, divertindo-nos com gargalhadas e mantendo-nos em suspense e preocupação. Sean Baker é o Steven Spielberg do cinema independente, um argumentista e realizador extraordinariamente imaginativo, com um talento único para a sociologia, que consegue contar uma história sobre pessoas e as suas almas como ninguém. Anora é uma comédia como nenhuma outra e um drama que expõe o coração de onde não se espera. Uma obra absolutamente impressionante e comovente. Obrigado. [Cannes FF] (24/05/2024)

I didn't bother with it for the first forty minutes. A jealous Russian asshole and a money-hungry hooker are definitely not characters I want to spend time with, and in whom I could invest emotionally enough to make it worthwhile for me to watch a serious drama with them. I found them actively annoying. Fortunately, the plot develops in a not-entirely-predictable way, and formally the film becomes essentially a shaky situation comedy (which in turn apparently annoys uptight viewers). I began to have fun with the introduction of new characters, and in places very well, but that didn't change the fact that I continued to not care for the protagonist, Anora, and that made the overwrought ending fizzle out. A weaker 4* and expectations were higher given the award at Cannes. (25/10/2024)

The only thing I knew about Anora before the festival was that it was supposed to be about a stripper who meets the son of a Russian oligarch, and very quickly they want to get married. And I think that's pretty much all you need to know. When it gets here, go see it in the theater and I promise you'll have a good time. You'll get a solid dose of harmoniously balanced drama and comedy. What I found very interesting about this film is that I actually didn't find most of the characters entirely likeable, (which is usually what I need for a film to fully draw me in), but I still enjoyed it immensely because it's played to perfection by the entire ensemble cast. So I'm quite happy about the Palme d'Or award at Cannes. [Festival de Cannes 2024] (25/05/2024)

San Sebastian Film Festival: Film Number 11. For me personally, one of the most anticipated films of the entire festival, given its immense success in Cannes and also director Sean Baker, whose The Florida Project hit me right in the heart. I would divide Anora into three parts. The first about twenty to thirty minutes of incredible energy, joie de vivre, animality, and passion, for which I would use all superlatives. The second and largest part of the film is a frantic, crazy, insane tragicomedy, and sometimes even a parody, which for me detracts from the quality of the film and reduces the rating. And the final part, probably the shortest, is pure drama, ultimately even initimate and heart-wrenching. All respect to Baker for being able to so cleverly connect genres into one whole, and huge applause for Mikey Madison, because her performance stands out with all intensity, emotions, incredible strength, as her character fights for a dreamy fairytale world that was an illusion from the beginning?! A film that will be talked about for a long time, and subsequent awards should not overlook it. (24/09/2024)