País da Violência

Não espere um thriller de ação, é principalmente uma sátira social sobre a privacidade online e a vida das mulheres adolescentes americanas nas redes sociais, que gostariam de ser consideradas ousadas e atrevidas, mas é tão superficial como as fotos da Instagram de modelos a posar em frente a um espelho. Através da história de cinco raparigas de liceu sobre o tema das vítimas de hackers da Internet que invadem repositórios online e extraem os dados privados dos utilizadores para o domínio público, a história constitui um espelho da América e do estilo de vida decadentemente depravado da sua juventude atrevida, mas em vez de o criticar, apoia-o e defende-o. Enquanto o filme atinge o clímax nos últimos quinze minutos com uma caça às bruxas dos tempos modernos (daí o cenário de Salem, piscar o olho) que finalmente consegue alguma ação, é preciso mais de uma hora de exposição de diálogo para lá chegar, em que as protagonistas de dezoito anos de idade são repetidamente apresentadas como moças antipáticas e pretensiosas com o gosto da moda das prostitutas de luxo que mandam tudo e todos para um certo lugar, mas choram e parecem magoadas quando alguém se atreve a mandá-las para um certo lugar. A tragédia, portanto, reside na tentativa fútil do filme de convencer o espetador a torcer por elas. Vale a pena mencionar a direção e câmara por vezes bastante imaginativa, um par de cenas bem filmadas (o roubo da casa da família numa), e a crítica bem dirigida aos hipócritas que condenam outras pessoas sem conhecer o contexto e os argumentos, mas que têm algo a esconder. Entretenimento plano pós-moderno visualmente equivalente às últimas partes de A Purga, que será apreciado especialmente por aqueles que se identificam com as heroínas dele. (11/10/2018)

A postmodern, feminist, politically incorrect, social-media and, most importantly, disturbing thriller that offers a little bit of everything and mixes multiple genres at once, including the excellent home invasion, revenge and grindhouse. Definitely not a film for everyone, but I enjoyed every second of it. The very idea of private details and photos being leaked onto the internet is disturbing in itself and when it happens to half the city suddenly there is uncompromising anarchy and chaos. The acting is first class, audiovisually the film is impressive and rightly far-fetched. There are executions, kidnappings, nudity, eroticism, suicide, humiliation and killing. I don't think I've ever seen a more intense teen massacre. Interesting line from the film: “When i grow up, I wanna be a director and only make male rape revenge films. Like Deliverance? Ew no. That's gross. I want it to be sexy. Like, if someone remade Straw Dogs, but instead of Susan George getting raped, Dustin Hoffman gets raped.” 80%. (09/12/2018)

It's appealing to watch writer-director Sam Levinson's dogged effort not to celebrate, judge, or tolerantly ignore the depicted vision of contemporary high school youth. Though almost everyone and everywhere is tethered to electronic devices, they are also capable of discussion, their own attitudes, and an awareness of the big picture, and while the film suffers from a certain thesis that becomes increasingly unbearable towards the end, at least it doesn't come across as anachronistically preachy to everyone involved from the position of a sensible senior who knows there’s more to life than this. Besides, almost all the adults here are ultimately the enemy. The resulting high-school revolution recalls the youthful rebellion characteristic of Japanese movies like Battle Royale or Shion Sono's films, and in fact directly acknowledges the homage to Japanese culture. But the whole show fails miserably in the last act, when it is no longer able to restrain its need to provide bitingly relevant allegory on the US and it starts throwing American flags and cheeky monologues around the set, which should have taken a back seat to the advancement of the plot, but instead proceeds by having four girls shoot at a car until it blows up. The existence of films like The Nightmare or Spring Breakers unfortunately doesn't help it much either. (19/02/2019)

This film perfectly encapsulates nearly everything that frustrates me about today's culture. It attempts to be a brutal satire but falls flat on many levels. Instead of delivering a biting critique, it ends up seemingly justifying the very things it's trying to mock, especially when it comes to the main characters. Assassination Nation is as absurd and silly as The Purge series – at times, it felt like it was set in the same universe. The film promises a politically incorrect, action-packed thriller with depth, but it's actually quite the opposite: politically and ideologically clear-cut and predictable. It's worth mentioning that South Park tackled almost the same theme and plot in its 20th season, doing so far more cleverly and without the annoying social media stereotypes, clichéd cops, and cringe-worthy dialogue. Also, don't be fooled by the promise of a violent, fast-paced ride – the film has a surprisingly slow tempo, with the first hour serving as one long setup for the second half, which ultimately fails to deliver any satisfying payoff. Instead, it reinforces the film's lack of cohesion and shallow writing. Purge: Assassination Nation is an overblown, silly piece of postmodern bullshit that might resonate with today's teens, who may see themselves reflected in it and think it's spot-on, while also mistakenly believing that it's all right. (12/10/2018)

This flick really can’t be taken seriously. It’s like Sam Levinson followed two directions. In the first half, it’s a mild socially critical drama gone wild, and in the second part, it turns into a shallow teenage grindhouse massacre, kicked off by a beautifully filmed scene of a house assault, but then drowns in illogical motivations of the characters and an incapacity to conclude the whole thing in a bold, uncompromising and most of all meaningful way. Instead, we are left with an ending that is safe, shallow and dumb. In this regard, the film structure slightly fails. Moreover, the piece is undermined by an uneven attempt at social satire on the one hand, while at the same time trying to appeal to the viewer with straightforward brutality. Still, thanks to some bravely spoken ideas in the first half that fit our current times, and given the fact I was well entertained even though it was late and I was tired from having watched other festival films, I will give this one a rating of over 50%. [Sitges 2018] (19/10/2018)