La Voz offers reviews of the premieres of “Conspiracy in Cairo”, “Novembre” and “Renfield”

La Voz de Galicia critics analyze the latest films by directors Tarik Saleh (Egypt), Cédric Jiménez (France) and Chris McKay (USA). It is a political drama with an undertone of a thriller Conspiracy in Cairocontinuation of the successful one confidential cairo; the thriller “Novembre” which deals with the investigation of the Islamist attacks in Paris in November 2015; and the horror comedy “Renfield,” which focuses on Count Dracula’s servant. Three titles arrived on Friday, April 16, on Galician screens.

“Conspiracy in Cairo”, magnets repel

Author: Miguel Anxo Fernandez

In 2017, the Swedish director of Egyptian origin Tarik Saleh treated the public to a singular thriller titled confidential cairo, a film that won the Golden Spike in Seminyak, won the Sundance Award in the international category, and won several Guldbagges from the Academy of its country, among other awards. The script was his as it is now, in Conspiracy in Cairo, which again features Lebanese actor Fares Fares as the lead. For obvious reasons, Cairo from the first film had to be recreated and filmed in Morocco; and the other, in Turkey, which is not enough under the regime of Abdelfatah al-Sisi to allow the screening of numerous interludes of both films, especially those of their stinking secret services. That’s also what this plot with a political background is about between religious elites educated at Al-Azhar University in the capital, where everything related to Sunni Islam is cooked up.

The sudden death of the great imam finds him in the midst of the fisherman’s son who manages to be accepted into his classrooms. It is in the successor’s interest to choose a certain path at the risk of siding with what the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood represents, those who supported the late Islamist president in 2012 (democratically elected but ousted the following year) Mohamed Morsi. A contradictory character close to power enters the game, who will devise a conspiracy to prevent this. Saleh, although he does not live in the country, is considered to be well aware of what is happening there (his script won an award at Cannes for a reason).

And although it is fiction in the key of thriller, it is true that it leaves a pleasant taste of the good political cinema of the 70s, Costa-Gavras, Elio Petri, Giuliano Montaldo and some others. His formal mannerisms are also those of an author who, starting in his fifties, promises moments of great cinematography, as is the case. No tachycardia or sensationalism or demagoguery or homilies.

“THE BOY FROM HEAVEN”

Sweden, France, Finland, Denmark, 2022.

Director: Tarik Saleh.

Cast: Tawfeek Barhom, Fares Fares, Mehdi Dehbi, Mohammed Bakri, Makram Khoury, Sherwan Haji, Yunus Albayrak, Ayman Fathy, Amr Mossad.

Drama. 126 minutes.

“Novembre”, some laughed

Eduardo Galan Blanco

A good number of films have been made about the attacks in Paris in November 2015 —memories of paris, you will not have my hate, Porte de Vincennes, one year one night— practically everywhere around the physical and psychological wounds of the survivors. November wants to be the first to produce an exhaustive chronicle of police investigations, which are being carried out against time to catch Islamist terrorists before they carry out new attacks.

The reconstruction of the investigations is presented in a Cartesian and meticulous way, with a good narrative pulse and touches polar —a term that defines French film noir— in which director Cédric Jiménez is an expert, the author of worthy intrigues Bac Nord or connection Marseille. And it is true that so much information cannot be better delivered in such a short time.

The counter-terrorist group shown here, during these five days of investigation, is led by Jean Dujardin (Artist) an experienced investigator for whom self-control is a religion —”let’s avoid personal emotions”— and an impulsive policeman played by Anaïs Demoustier who is horrified by listening to the testimonies of survivors, recounting his encounter with terrorists —”some of them were laughing”, “I couldn’t hold back his view»—, and to use his unorthodox methods to contact an Arab witness (the wonderful Lyna Khoudri) who made it possible to locate the shooters in the Bataclan room. These are two different and complementary ways of approaching research and life. Overhead shots of Dujardin’s head and frontal close-ups of Demoustier, focused on the eyes, show a delicate staging that says what we don’t hear. The film is willfully cold, restrained and avoids Manichaeism or clichés. For that reason, it will surely survive the avalanche of similar films and remain as the residue of an era.

“NOVEMBER”

France, 2022.

Director: Cedric Jimenez.

Cast: Jean Dujardin, Anaïs Demoustier, Sandrine Kiberlain.

Thriller/drama. 107 minutes.

“Renfield”, what a shame!

Eduardo Galan Blanco

Nicolas Cage plays Count Dracula, stuck in the spin-off a comic in which the real protagonist is his servant Renfield, played by the very rare Nicholas Hoult, who played Tolkien or Salinger; the two were installed for a few minutes in the black and white sets in which Bela Lugosi entered. dracula from 1931. In short, every fan wants that dish. It’s bad that the excess blood, dismemberment, exploding organs and so on overwhelms everything like a tiresome red tide, so characteristic of these times, with grueling fights filmed for girl X. What a shame!

Vampires and the myth of Dracula – the fictional character most often depicted in films after Sherlock Holmes – led to a long filmography, including several comedies, some good and some rubbish. Renfield it is closer to the latter —consumable material—, just as work is closer young dracula, Bite me, Mr. Count and buffy the vampire slayer what dance of the vampires, Love at first bite Oh Dracula, the very happy dead man, firecracker genius by Mel Brooks. But hey, the spectacle of hearing Cage — the quintessential, original version — say that famous “I am Dracula” — already recited by Lugosi or Christopher Lee — well, that’s really something we can’t miss. Cage’s characterization is excellent, not least with the help of prosthetic weapons and CGI [imágenes generadas por computadora]also for those abysmal gestures, the buzzing of the fish, the white-skinned patrician clown, that Coppola’s nephew — Cage will be Jonathan Harker from dracula of Francis Ford — he was already practicing at vampire kisses.

As for Hoult’s Renfield, he has his grace, going to support groups to overcome his boss’ abuses, wearing his dyed sweaters; but, of course, it does not bear comparison with the great Renfields of history: Alexander Granach, Dwight Frye, Tom Waits, Roland Topor or Klaus Kinski.

«RENFIELD»

United States, 2023.

Director: Chris McKay.

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Nora Awkwafina, Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Comedy/horror. 98 minutes.