The Apocalypse is Now, not in the Future, according to the report of The Mole Agent.
This week we present three very different films in terms of narrative, but that meet at the core of human connection, the feeling of loneliness, and interesting personal discoveries.
🎥 Apocalypse now (1979) 🪖🌴🔥💀
I had never had the opportunity or the intention of immersing myself in this classic film from the late 70s. One of the most significant and important works of cinema, directed by Ford Coppola, the brilliant director responsible for The Godfather saga, and I dismissed it because I'm not very enthusiastic about “war” movies. A few days ago, thanks to a magnificent suggestion and clarification, that obstacle was removed, and I plunged into the middle of the jungle.
The selected version was “Apocalypse Now Final Cut.” Released to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary, with extended scenes and a 4K restored adaptation of the original film. A true visual pleasure that is only possible, undoubtedly, due to the level of production, photography, and audiovisual quality of the original production. The magnitude of this project and the level of detail are simply overwhelming, even at times exaggeratedly detailed. Scenes by air, land, and sea. Multitudes of people in each shot, wild animals, war machines, and an endless number of elements that take us on a tremendous modern odyssey.
The tragic and intense odyssey of Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) searching for Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in the depths of Cambodia immerses us step by step, relentlessly, into the depths of the dark of human nature. From the team's reconnaissance and journey upriver to the depths of the jungle, we discover facets of humanity when it is pushed to a limit situation. From the most courageous, through the absurd and terrible, often at the same time.
Apocalypse Now is a very difficult journey to escape. With great scenes that disturb, surprise, and immerse us in a realm of moral questions in which the senselessness of war, the loss of morality, and the psychological impact that affects both its victims and its victimizers are exposed.
For 40 years, Apocalypse Now has been a brilliant, extensive, and intense work that gives us the opportunity to contemplate the depths of human nature, and it maintains a profound meaning in the present day.
⭐10/10. Prime Video
🎥 The Mole Agent (2020) 🕵️♂️👴❤️
This documentary focuses on Sergio Chamy, an 83-year-old senior citizen who is hired by a private investigator to go undercover in a nursing home. The goal is to confirm whether a client's grandmother is being mistreated. With a hidden camera and a small spy device, Sergio becomes another member of the home's community, establishing bonds of trust with the residents and staff of the place. Offering a realistic, funny, and sometimes sad perspective on old age, loneliness, love, and the capacity for happiness of those who are sometimes forgotten.
“The Mole Agent,” with an innovative and fun way of exposing the reality of life in a nursing home, is an excellent opportunity to immerse ourselves in the forgotten world of the elderly and the legacy they can offer us.
A magnificent testimony, with a remarkable message about the passage of time, wisdom, and the wonder of human relationships at all times in our lives. In my opinion, Maite Alberdi is, possibly, one of the most interesting documentary filmmakers of recent times.
⭐9/10 Netflix
🎥 The Future (2011) 🤔🐱🤷♀️
Directed and starring Miranda July, The Future introduces us to Sophie and Jason. They are in their 30s who are at a point in their lives where, searching for a way to bring new experiences to their relationship, they decide to adopt a cat. However, they must wait another month before receiving it. Consequently, a countdown begins in which they focus on enjoying the “freedom” of their 30 days before facing this arduous responsibility. This drives not only the possibility of discovering new experiences or activities, but also extreme acts such as quitting their jobs or completely disconnecting from their surroundings.
It is a funny and absurd work that manages to expose the very present problem of avoiding the commitments and responsibilities of modern times. With a novel and unusual narrative structure, this film can be very fascinating or tremendously unpleasant. In my case, it became an excellent opportunity to not only laugh for a moment, but also to examine and consider the current fragility of the modern concept of couple, family, and the responsibilities that it implies.
⭐8/10 MUBI