DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

Perhaps the most bizarre film I have seen yet, Sergio Caballero's FINISTERRAE is equal parts intriguing, humorous and surreal. It is a film loaded with so much symbols that you just sit back, relax, and hope that you can piece together the plot (or the lack of it) as soon as the credits roll.  The basic premise is that there are two ghosts who decide they want to become human again, and so embark on "The Way of St. James" to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, and on to Cape Finnistera (or Finnisterae), which literally means "land's end". Along the way, they consult with an oracle, meet a hippie chick, elude an unknown assailant, encounter a forest filled with trees who bear ears (literally human ears!), and even find time to go fishing. The adventure is quite funny, at times just plain absurd, but all throughout existential questions abound. Just when I thought two guys dressed in white sheets were just escaped mental patients, Caballero pushes the s...

My initial reaction was: what the heck is Tilda Swinton doing in an Italian movie? Then again, Tilda Swinton can pass for any nationality. She is British, but she can very well be American (hello Academy-award performance in MICHAEL CLAYTON!), and in this instance Russian-Italian. In fact, this is one of the most daring roles she's ever had, as a housewife in a powerful bourgeoisie family slowly giving in to carnal desires. But lust is only the surface that explains why Swinton's character Emma did what she did. You'd have to consider the social expectations on her as a mother and as a wife, and yes, her right to self-happiness. The shots are beautifully photographed, and the score by John Adams is thrilling to the ears. Tilda Swinton's numerous costumes in this movie alone have a life of their own. Unfolding in classic melodrama fashion sans the excessive shouting, ridiculous plot twists, and characters appearing like mushrooms, I AM LOVE shows us a family ruled by...