It was just an accident
An act of rebellion
****1/2
Available in: cinemas
Duration: 103 minutes
Genre: Drama
The everyday accident of a car breaking down one night on a road in Iran triggers the release of one of the most moving films of the year, “It Was Just an Accident”: The car stops in front of a store, and the driver gets out and calls for help from those inside. He’s just trying to bring home his pregnant wife and premature young daughter. But inside there is someone who thinks he knows him. He is convinced that this man is the same intelligence officer who tortured him for years in prison. Now is the time for revenge.
Clearly written and directed by Jaafar Panahi after his release from prison (the director has since been re-sentenced), “It Was Just an Accident” is a dark and yet wickedly funny, existential and deeply human film as it explores the side effects of state violence and questions whether amnesty can ever be offered.
The film itself is an act of rebellion, as Panahi was imprisoned for his work and has no legal permission to produce films in Iran, as he is unwilling to have his scripts approved by the government. The film won the Palme d’Or and was selected by France for submission to the Academy Awards. It’s no coincidence: watch it and it will stay in your mind. It’s a film for Iranians, of course, but it’s valuable to any society that aspires to mend a once-divided country.
Oh. What. Hazar
Is family first?
***1/2
Available on: Prime Video
Duration: 108 minutes
Genre: Christmas comedy
Christmas movies are starting to hit the platforms: like every year, some of them are of questionable quality, the majority just seeking to exploit our feelings of loneliness, and our longing for that artificial heat of Christmas marketing.
But that’s not the case with “Oh. What. Fun,” a comedy starring Michelle Pfeiffer as a matriarch who disappears after years of taking charge of all the Christmas celebrations for an ungrateful family.
Every Christmas, it’s Claire Cluster who keeps her chaotic but adorable family together thanks to her mastery at baking, wrapping, and organizing everything. This year, however, her children and distracted husband get wrapped up in their own problems and forget about her.
When they noticed his absence, Claire actually decided to have her own Christmas adventure away from the chaos of the household. As her family tries to get her back and save the holidays, she rediscovers the true spirit of Christmas by putting herself first.
Completing the cast are Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Denis Leary, and Dominic Cessa, and it is directed by Michael Showalter, director of The Big Sick and The Idea of You.
Lali: The one who beats time
The journey of a pop singer
***
Available on: Netflix
Duration: 74 minutes
Genre: Musical Documentary
Argentine singer and actress Mariana Esposito, known internationally as Lali, premiered her first documentary yesterday: “Lali: La que le gana al tempo,” which covers the artistic transformation of her final years.
The film covers four crucial years in the artist’s artistic and personal life, a process of introspection, change and reconstruction that led to her triumphant return to the stage, according to what Netflix said in a statement.
Recorded over several years with full and exclusive access, the documentary accompanies the artist from the period of silence and remaking of her career until her big reunion with the public, which culminated in her becoming the first Argentine artist to sell tickets to Velez Sarsfield Stadium.
The film, directed by Lautaro Esposito, the singer’s cousin and artistic director of her music project, brings together unpublished archival material, testimonies from her inner circle and scenes that capture the artist’s emotional and creative development.
In an interview with Clarin newspaper, Lally said the documentary was born “almost by chance”, when her cousin began filming her in the process of creating her latest album.
The Argentine singer said: “Over time, this camera began to play an additional role in the creative process. We never thought it would become a real project.”
New years
Love eve
****
Available in: Mobi
Duration: 10 episodes
Genre: Romantic drama
It was one of last year’s series, and it has finally arrived in Argentina. Also at the perfect time: the romantic drama “Los Años Nuevos”, directed by Rodrigo Soroguín, crosses a new decade in ten episodes, and it is also the birthday of our two heroes, two lovers who meet and fall apart over the course of a decade.
The story begins with their first meeting, on the night they turned thirty, during ten New Year’s Eves.
She lives in a shared apartment, does not like her job and changes friends frequently. He’s a doctor and his life is in order… until they meet and fall in love.
There are ten consecutive years, with each episode narrating one night that reveals how love evolves: the series, far from romanticizing love like many of the products being released, Sukari, on platforms at this time, is an honest portrait of modern commitment and choosing someone, year after year. Hurts, doubts, incompatibilities, conflicting desires and even a pandemic pass through these ten years of Oscar and Anna, two people who love each other.