Anamaria Vartolomei

Mickey 17

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Mickey floating in a spacesuit

Well Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer didn’t quite work, and nor does his Mickey 17, and for pretty much the same reasons. Small stuff – great; world building – great; political satire – gruesome. It’s Robert Pattinson in the lead, vaguely back in the sort of fantasy territory that made his name (I mean Harry Potter and Twilight), as an “expendable” in a dystopian future where humanity is fleeing Earth, heading out towards the brave new world of Niflheim on board a spaceship. He’s the living equivalent of a crash-test dummy, the one sent in to check things out whenever a new situation arises. Is it poisonous, will it eat us, will it cause our flesh … Read more

Happening

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Anamaria Vartolomei as Anne

Happening (L’événement) really is a happening, a remarkable film about a subject that seems to demand a certain sort of treatment which goes out of its way not to deliver it. The subject is abortion in a country where it is illegal, France in the early 1960s, where we meet Anne, probably the prettiest of three good-looking young women, certainly the smartest, most studious and level-headed and the one most likely to be about to do something with her life. Anne has her good friends, her university studies, the parents at home who adore her and who she visits at weekends. Director Audrey Diwan paints the picture with a few sunny strokes, the … Read more