I have a love-hate relationship with realist cinema, a love for the movies that genuinely capture a naturalistic tone while also evoking something, and general antipathy for anything that sets realism as the ultimate achievement for cinema, ignoring the boundless possibilities of the art for something so banal. Corpo Celeste, Alice Rohrwacher's Rosetta-esque first feature, gets somewhat caught in between these two extremes, though it leans far more toward the former pole than the latter. Aided by a phenomenal performance by its child lead and some clever but not over-aggressive views of religion as a limiting social function, Corpo Celeste is a promising debut and a fine film its own right.
My full review is up now at Spectrum Culture.
Are you a fan of the Dardennes by any chance, Jake? Their films captivate me like no other and they furthered my appreciation of movies that strive to capture the trappings of life in a way that's both entertaining and insightful. I'm not sure what camp of realism their craft falls under for you, so I thought I'd ask.
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