Tiny Reviews from NYC: "Fjord", "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York"... and "Power Ballad"

FJORD

The director of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (one of my favorite movies of the 2000's) Cristian Mungiu is back with a movie that offers a daring subject in a plate, but somehow never provides an objective analysis of the subject. It's a movie about family, globalization and belief and how anyone who falls a bit out of the social norm circle is a subject of distrust even if their actions are seemingly harmless: no phones, no internet, no modern music and housework, Bible and activities that grow a sense of duty and discipline instead. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve are very good as the parents under investigation as their children are taken away from them when a teacher reports suspictions of children abuse - Stan, specially, delivers something really special here displaying a internal revolution in a masterclass of subtle acting. Fjord might not be as nail bitting as Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, since Mungiu has opted for a more distant approach, which allows the audience to analyse the narrative through a very rational viewpoint, but it fails at bounding emotionally. It's interesting to see how the same community that welcomed the family with huge smiles then goes to distrust the parents and then set a witch-hunt when the legal battle for their children begins - but I wasn't able to connect with the leading characters, since everything feels as cold as the land surrounding the characters. Still, there's one specific scene that snapped me: "Am I on trial for my beliefs?”. Fjord is good enough but not excellent. Brave? For sure.

R: 6,5/10

THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK

Extremely tender and a dreamy nostalgic love letter to an old New York City that struggles to still exist, The Only Living Pickpockoet in New York goes a little beyond a character study and it ends-up as a painting of a city that never went to sleep, yet changed! Noah Segan's tells the tale of the old ones that might not be part of an updated world city, but it shows those people still have value through a gifted performance by John Turturro (who might have just found his best film role yet). The movie contemplates, but it also entertains enough to keep the audience engaged in a slow-burning suspense that might not be for everyone but that worked for me. It's a song about old times and I could see it perfectly as a 70s or 80s movie. Very solid directorial debut from Segan!

R: 7,5/10 

POWER BALLAD

Funny, light and with the usual clicès of a music comedy, Power Ballad doesn't offer the same level of depht of previous Carney's works (in fact, it feels like the most shallow of them all), but it still works as an entertainment movie. With a strong central tune to guide the narrative (and the audience), it's a pleasant ride in Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas company, with some laughs from Peter McDonald. Although it touches very serious subjects like autorship and personal meaning behind artistic creation, it never delves deep. I liked it enough, but not enough to ever see it again. 

R: 5,5/10