Dissecting the "Wave": Linklater's cinephile hit and films from the "Lighthouse"

Richard Linklater's New Wave, one of the highlights of the Cannes Film Contest, has officially been released in Russian cinemas. The textbook story of how Godard created his first and main film is told as if it were filmed with a hidden camera. There are also two Mayak Film Festival contestants at the box office, both about powerful mothers and their unhappy children. The comedy "Fellow Travelers" ridicules stereotypes about the 90s, Milla Jovovich tries to survive with her family in "Destroyer of Worlds" - on an alien—invaded Earth. Izvestia has selected the best new items to visit in Russia this weekend.

"New Wave", 18+

Directed by Richard Linklater. Starring: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubrey Dulain, Adrien Rouillard, Antoine Besson

All cinephiles know perfectly well that the release of every new Linklater film is an event that should not be missed. The creator of one of the main romantic series of the generation "Before Dawn", the author of the monumental "Boyhood", this director is distinguished by the unique optics and strange charm of an intellectual from Texas. And, importantly, his films are officially released in Russia.

"New Wave", as you can easily guess from the name, is cinephilia squared, cubed, to the nth degree, because by genre it is a mockumentary about how Jean—Luc Godard shot "On his Last Breath". There is a special combination of quasi-documentary accuracy in how Godard sought financing, assembled a team, and conducted filming, and the conscious mythological nature of the dialogues, which are compiled as a ready-made quotation book for daily use.

Linklater achieved a portrait resemblance of the artists to their prototypes, shot in French for the first time in his life, and filled this short film with so much love for cinema that it would not be easy to gain even in the entire VGIK. Read more about the film in our review from the Cannes Film Festival.

"Fire Boy", 18+

Directed by Nadezhda Mikhalkova. Starring: Yulia Vysotskaya, Oksana Akinshina, Anna Mikhalkova, Denis Kosikov

After the Cannes Film Festival, sometimes you have to wait more than a year for films to be released from there. In Russia, this "window" is now often much smaller. The Mayak festival was held only in October, and the competition films are being released from there. There are two of them at once this week. The first is the "Fiery Boy" of Nadezhda (or Nadia, as she signed herself in the credits) Mikhalkova.

This film is a statement that can be considered both a metaphor in a certain sense, and taken literally, as it suits anyone. A boy from a deputy's family witnesses a suicide in a club, and then he needs to sort out what he saw and how to move on in the quiet of the village. In a broad sense, this is a reflection on the shock that a meeting with reality causes a prosperous person. It's just easier to show this by the example of a young man, although the choice of a hero can symbolize an infantile attitude to reality among several generations of viewers. We will see all this through the eyes of the brilliant cameraman Alisher Khamidkhodzhayev.

"My son", 18+

Director: Vyacheslav Klevtsov. Starring: Yulia Snigir, Leon Kemstach, Alexey Filimonov, Pavel Tabakov, Yuri Chursin, Pavel Chernyshev, Yana Sexte, Egor Koreshkov, Yulia Khamitova, Alexey Onezhen

Another release "originally" from the "Lighthouse". The superstar team, the cold interiors, the tension that translates the narratives from the drama genre into a thriller — all this should attract a wide audience. There is also a young man here, there is also a rich mother, but now the focus is on her: in the "Fiery Boy" the mother is a deputy, here is a lawyer who, for a lot of money, undertakes to organize any case as the client says. Who needs to be put in jail in full, who needs to be smeared so that you can't dig in. Everyone is in a share, everyone is tied up.

Yulia Snigir, the main star of the film, does not need to prove anything to anyone, the actress can play any material. Another thing is that the authors here cannot decide in any way whether they are telling an abstract, universal story or still touching the Russian reality in some way. Rather, it's the former, and because of this, expectations from the film still unwittingly turn out to be overstated, and the authors may not be to blame at all.

"Fellow travelers", 12+

Directed by Ivan Glubokov. Starring: Vitaly Khaev, Alexandra Bortich, Philip Ershov, Jan Tsapnik, Danila Yakushev, Yuri Kuznetsov

You always expect exploits and provocations from Sasha Bortich, she is an actress who is not afraid to be ugly in the frame, but to repel — and at the same time wonderfully fascinate. Because it gives you a sense of authenticity, and Bortich's talent and organics allow her to remain a sex symbol anyway. Unfortunately, all this will not be in the "Fellow Travelers", and Bortich is in the background here. The main character is given to Philip Ershov, and the plot of this eccentric comedy parodies the "Serf". Only time travel here is not in the 19th century, but in the 90s, to cops, loot and bandits.

This comedy is very calm and moderate. Vitaly Khaev will not utter a dialogue of the "Portraying the victim" level here, Jan Tsapnik will not give a grotesque, as in "Bitter!", we have already talked about Bortich. And we won't learn anything new about the 90s either. It's just a funny joke, an excuse to bring together good actors and relax with bearded jokes. Such a therapeutic movie is also needed, and it is good that it is among the new products.

"Destroyer of Worlds", 16+

Directed by Brad Anderson. Starring: Luke Evans, Milla Jovovich, Meadow Williams, Mila Harris, Billy Bull

This week, Predator: Planet of Death, a new representative of the cult franchise, launched at the global box office. The film's reviews have been rave so far. The film will not be released on Russian screens until next weekend, and the craving for fantastic action films among the people is inexhaustible. Therefore, you need to somehow pass the time before the "Predator", and "Destroyer of Worlds" is far from the worst option.

Among the trump cards of this picture are Luke Evans and Milla Jovovich in the main roles. Plus, director Brad Anderson, who once shot "The Machinist" and still periodically releases hits, such as "Peacemaker." The new movie has everything you need for a good evening. There are aliens who have been terrorizing the Earth for several years. There is a humanity that is trying to survive. There is a single family where a daughter needs to be prepared for how to live in new conditions. It's not a "Quiet Place," and it's not a pretentious movie at all. It is worth noting that in the USA it comes with a tough R rating, but here it was given only 16+, this happens infrequently.