Okay's Thoughts on Okay Films

Monsieur Hire is an eccentric loner, with little to no human contact. He actually prefers observing people, especially his young beautiful next door neighbour, who he had deeply fallen in love with. She finally catches on to his shenanigans, and what follows is an interesting and unconventional turn of events.

The film looks pretty great, due to its amazing cinematography. I especially loved how the ultimate climax of the film was shot. Overall, a lot of calculations were clearly done, in order to make every scene framed and composed appropriately, while also having them contain their fair share of visual metaphors. With all of that being said, there's still something missing that I currently can't put my finger on. Maybe the character of Hire wasn't handled with enough delicacy, which's why I couldn't fully get into him. Maybe the actor himself is responsible, for not portraying what's on paper with enough finesse. Maybe I was just in a particularly off mood that day. Regardless, I would love to watch this again, since I would also enter it with full context, thus with a whole other perspective. I highly recommend it!

⭐⭐⭐1/2

"The Square" is the most recent Palme d'Or winner, from the director of "Force Majeure". Overall, the film is very well acted, very well shot, and very well written. There were a handful of scenes that left me awestruck with the beauty in their composition, and this is no surprise if one has seen the director's preceding film. I was also very impressed with the performances, particularly Terry Notary's. As soon as his scene ended, I literally said out loud: "He's not acting like a monkey, he IS a monkey".

The movie manages to be philosophical, while also being incredibly entertaining. The comedic aspects work very well, as they take advantage of the absurd atmosphere surrounding the film. I was laughing my ass off throughout multiple scenes and sequences, such as the one featuring a continuously interrupted interview, or the one with the janitor who's cleaning around a particular "art piece". There are all kinds of statements that one can take away, from the absurd juxtapositions scattered around. Mainly, I think the film propagates freedom of expression, by poking fun at the displayed hypocrisy, when it comes to what is considered politically correct, and what's not. The phoniness of the art world is another big theme, especially once we zoom into the bourgeois members, who constantly shove their agendas on to their audience, by passionately preaching what they actually don't practice, unless around an entourage.

With a movie such as "The Square", of course there will be a worry about it having too much to say, and the problems that come with that, such as the film becoming an overall mess, or too preachy, or even the statements conveyed being sloppily handled, thus feeling ham-fisted and forced. Thankfully, all of the issues above aren't as present as I feared them to be, therefore, I would consider this a very deserving winner of the Palme d'Or.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The following film follows the ongoing battles between the Japanese forces, and the Korean resistance fighters, who are constantly hiding in the shadows, and attempting to quietly make their moves. Don't be mislead though, this is no history lesson, since most of the movie's focus is the entertainment value of the story, instead of faithfully devoting itself to any historical events.

The first thirty minutes or so were a bit of a chore to get through, because I was mostly lost and confused, by the multitude of names and faces that I couldn't keep up with. Of course, as the film went on, that problem slowly faded away, while my engrossment in the events increased. With that being said, I still can't really say I was totally into the happenings, and that probably stems from my lack of investment in the characters, who were neatly portrayed by the actors, but still weren't interesting or immersing enough, for me to care about them personally.

Nonetheless, there were some very memorable sequences here and there, like that greatly edited drinking scene, or the entire train trip. I also highly enjoyed the score, and the drama it brought by itself to the overall atmosphere. The cinematography is better than one would initially expect, from this kind of film, which resembles a better version of Hollywood blockbusters. Despite how expensive the movie looks, I can't really say that any of the effects, digital or practical, were that impressive, which is kind of a shame for a mostly action packed flick. Other than that, this is a perfectly paced, fairly entertaining, fun roller-coaster that I enjoyed riding.

⭐⭐⭐1/2