From 8 to 19, the London Film Festival takes place, one of the main premieres of which is the film “After the Waterfall” by Luca Guadagnino. Film critic Sonya Vselyubska admired the film and spoke with the director especially for Vogue.ua
Luka Guadagnino is one of the most successful directors today. The career of the 54-year-old filmmaker, originally from Naples, spans a variety of topics and genres, even starting as a director of documentary films. Svetov’s fame came before the end of the trilogy “Bazhannya”: “I Am Love” (2009), “The Great Splash” (2015) and his most important project “Call me by your name” (2017), which was made with Timothy Chalamet superstar.
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The very word “bazhanna”, which signifies this trilogy, became a guiding motive for all of Guadagnino’s further creativity – regardless of genre or topic. It’s enough to know about his recent works: “Together with Brushes” – a variation of the sublime cinema through the prism of the city about two maddened cannibals; or “Superniki” is the story of a love match between tennis players, with a lot of sexual tension. After it appeared “Queer” – a biographical piece about the life and unhappiness of William Burroughs. All these films share bright colors, dynamic editing, thoughtful sound design and characters that break addictions or obsessions.
His new film “After the Waterfall”, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, is a calm, intelligent film in which the director explores the psychology of people, when the land is not ecstatic, and unsafe and destructive.
At the center of the plot is Alma (Julia Roberts), a highly qualified philosophy major at the University of Yale. Vranza gives lectures to students, explaining complex objects, and in the evenings she gathers a group of colleagues and students at her university home, where over cocktails they talk about inter-ethical norms and generational problems. Alma is married to a psychologist, and her love is quite wonderful: she allows herself all sorts of emotional troubles, a great intimate and psychological distance, and so her husband graciously endures them. The only one to whom Alma shows her affection is her colleague and close friend Genk (Andrew Garfield), the soul of the party.
The stately Alma has a lot of friends, and among them is the brilliant PhD student Meghi (Ayo Edebiri). She studies in Alma not only with an academic outlook, but also with the potential to become a mother, and trusts her with all her secrets. One evening, turning home, Alma found Meghi at the door of Meghi’s door. That is known: Genk, who saw them off after the evening, having risen to it, “crossed the boundary.” Instead of the cleaned up support, Alma coldly cuts off the rose. Thus begins a great drama in the university community, which not only shows empathy and trust, but also encourages one to maintain as much distance as possible from the situation. But you won’t forget your past.
Carefully continues to experiment with visual form, challenging the boundaries of powerful directorial possibilities. For the first time in a long time, the image of moans and sexual intimacy seems to be something bright, and its visual language becomes calm, weary gazes in the academic middle, and the drama flares up. Moreover, we are constantly creating an asexual middle ground in the dry atmosphere of the academic institution. Intimacy in the light of this film does not carry positive associations, but rather is the center of deep traumas and lasting tragedies.
Vlasna, the word “polyuvannaya” appears in the title, as it promotes the central theme from natural physical indulgence to unhealthy intellectual dominance. A film filled with calm pastel colors, classic interiors, and crisp costumes. This visual idyll is infused with a marvelous sound design – the sharp sounds of the final anniversary of deathly silence and even more booming experimental sounds. As in the previous film “Superniki”, the psychological state of the heroes is clearly depicted through expressive music, as here, with its sharpness and imbalance on the background of the set design, it symbolically represents the psychological state of Almi.
The director explains that in Almi’s case, he prioritizes intellectual growth over human capital, while wanting to explore the other side of innate human instinct: “I think people will eventually try to gain power over the world.” In other words, power, dominance, and invisible power are not without love.” Reflecting on the theme of stylistic and thematic importance of the leading works, the director says: “I no longer have the same energy, which was five years old. And this is even worse for my work – become aware of the changes in body and energy. Now I can more clearly understand the problems of an adult and deal with them on the screen. I'll let you know своїх героїв”.
To be honest, Alma is one of the most flexible heroines the director has ever created. She is a sharply negative person who has nothing positive: she is self-righteous, unsympathetic, intolerant, has serious problems with alcohol and, as a result, with health. However, he probably doesn’t want to change – neither psychologically nor physically, but he will become more deeply entrenched in the trauma of his youth, so we will continue the film with explanations of his behavior. Those that Julia Roberts instills so subtly and talentedly are completely uncalled for and penetrating for such a role.
Fortunately, the right master brings together rich, talented actors in one frame, giving them flexible roles that were either not a job, or a re-interpretation of their careers. This was the case with Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, and Daniel Craig. “My great interest is to put a movie in the everyday life of ordinary people with their weaknesses and shortcomings,” says the director. In fact, Julia Roberts is the ideal choice for this wickedly satirical film, which is in keeping with the image of the delicate beauties that she has become.
It’s clear to Rozmov how much he has the magic of cinema, as he knows the classics and Volodya well. Being a cinephile, he often gets excited about his favorite lines and happily discusses them. Speaking about the design for “Wildlife,” the director recalls the classic Hollywood film “All About Eve” (1950): “I love this line. This is one of the brightest butts of Hollywood’s gold, this script Incredibly beautiful. This is a film about the price you have to pay in order to get rid of the fruits. For example, Yeva gets what she threw away, but sticks with the other one, and in my film Alma also refuses. those you want, whatever you want price?”
The chamber atmosphere of narrow offices and households brings “After the Water” closer to the genre of films in which action takes place in one space. Speaking about the intensification of the script by the talented debutante Nori Garrett, he adds: “Having finished the script, I immediately thought about Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966). just one miserable speech. I thought a lot about how Mike Nichols is able to display many people in one frame, making them laugh, but it was a lot of effort.”
After the world premiere in Venice, the directors can’t wait to show the film to a wider public, and a sensitive topic has arisen before any discussion: “I am very excited to present “After the Fall” to the world. I don’t know how I’m going to rent it, but I’m still wondering that after watching it, people are actively discussing. Why am I making sure that the film doesn’t have a “hero”? nachebto zhakhi, ah The truth is a drama about separation, the war in Vietnam and the offense against one’s mother. Cinema tends to be chaotic, and not modeled after the patterns of screenwriting schools.”
It’s impossible to keep up with the tempo. Varto should also look at film portals to learn: he has a dozen projects in development, varying in genre and scale. And although the director’s passions do not interfere, they are deprived of admiration, the stars take as much energy as possible. At this point, he says simply and beautifully: “Before, there were long pauses between films – and it was unbearable, because I really like to take pictures, to deal with people. So I told myself: how to show up the ability to work at a fast pace, I am aware and not worried.
