Unframed’s (late) favorite movies of 2017

by the Unframed team - February 2017
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WE’RE BACK as another year of cinema ends. It’s now time for judgment ! so here’s a recap of which movies have left their mark on the Unframed team. So if you missed some, grab some popcorn, lay back and watch them very (il)legally.
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Stay tuned to Unframed’s Facebook and website because this semester is going to be full of cinematic surprises.
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Augustin Denis : Grave, Julia Ducournau (2016)

Grave tient une place particulière dans mon coeur et dans le cinéma français actuel. D’abord c’est un film qui m’as totalement happé grâce au parcours de son personnage principal. Le film suis Justine, jouée par Garance Marillier, découvrant sa nature cannibale. C’est une oeuvre sur la découverte de soi et ce que ce processus comporte de difficile. Grave est lui-même un film difficile à cause d’un traitement réaliste de l’horreur. Ce traitement réaliste repose sur des visuels et des motifs fantastique qui traitent de manière complexe l’évolution de Justine. Un bon exemple de cela est lors d’une scène où Justine vomit ses cheveux: cela est traité de façon réaliste, car c’est un personnage stressé, et cela arrive parfois. Cependant, cet événement est symbolique dans le sens où Justine vient de consommer de la viande humaine et fantastique car l’on étonné par la quantité de cheveux qui est régurgitée. Ainsi cette scène est forte car elle joue sur deux plans très développés tout au long du film, le plan réaliste/litéral et le plan symbolique séparés par des éléments fantastiques, c’est-à-dire dont on est jamais certains de la réalité.Cela fait de Grave un film difficile dont la délivrance cathartique est forte.
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Roxane Avice : Loving Vincent, Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman (2017)
Loving Vincent was the world’s first manually painted feature film, and the result is impressive. The beautiful animated oil paintings couldn’t have been more on point to depict Van Gogh’s life. Add to this a well narrated story with proper suspense and a history-based enigma. Is Loving Vincent pioneering a new trend where cinema and painting fuse into a new genre?


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Camille Numa : I, Tonya, Craig Gillespie (2017)
A biopic about the career of atypical olympic ice skater Tonya Harding and its brutal end, the movie navigates through comedic and dramatic moments and Margot Robbie successfully manages to depict a honest and strong portrayal of the athlete away from the “white trash” reputation that was given to her by the medias.
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Quentin Pithois : Nocturnal Animals, Tom Ford (2017)
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Adapted from the novel Tony and Susan, this movie is incredibly well built around three narrative arcs. It creates powerful tension which leads to fascinating stakes. Fascinating because because of its breathtaking cast: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. All of them perfectly express their emotions and brilliantly embody their role in the story. We are attached to the characters, and we look forward to understand their complex psychologies, how they are going to evolve and what they really represent to each other. This movie is a very deep moving experience, and shines thanks to its writing. A must-see of the past year.
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Louis Noirault : King Arthur; legend of the sword, Guy Ritchie (2017)
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Guy Ritchie’s filming style applied to a medieval tale is something one has to see. It modernizes both the pictural and the narrative means of telling an already well known story. The director of Snatch proves to be a polyvalent film-maker, not afraid of experimenting; a too rare virtue nowadays ( looking at you JJ. Abrahms).
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Pierre-Ulysse Gorzkowski : Logan, James Mangold (2017)
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Rebirth of the superhero genre, complete with a dark and gritty esthetic and storyline, Logan by James Mangold tells the story of a tired, battle weary Wolverine forced back into active service. Hugh Jackman portrays a wonderful reinterpretation of the retired hero in a movie tackling the inevitability of death and the difficult topics of dementia, while leaving us with the certitude that new generations of mutants will make this a better world. It’s a radically different film from the rest of the Marvel universe and embraces the more mature amateurs of the franchise.

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Julie Hébrard : 120 battements par minute, Robin Campillo (2017)
I want you to live”. Follow Act Up Paris through a very crude and touching story taking place in the 1990s. The director, Robin Campillo, joined it in 1992 during the AIDS epidemic in France. This very active association fought against several pharmaceutical laboratories by demonstrating and throwing blood all around the agencies. Between demonstrations, hospital stay, prevention campaigns and association meetings, this movie reconstitutes perfectly the atmosphere that the gay community was facing at that time. Moreover, the casting is simply breath-taking: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Adèle Haenel and Arnaud Valois, all interpreting figures who fight for the right to medicine. The “Grand Prix” of the Cannes festival 2017 will not disappoint you!
