Babylon

Babylon is a subjectively irrelevant and aesthetically disjointed depiction of early Hollywood with hackneyed (Brad Pitt), uninteresting (Diego Calva) and annoying (Margot Robbie) lead characters. Chazelle overshot the mark. If it weren’t for the accompanying jazz interludes, you wouldn’t even recognize him in this. The wild parties and scenes of hectic filmmaking are entertaining, but you can sense the strong theatricality in them. The scene of filming on the first soundstage is the best of the whole film, both in its execution and cinephilic dimension. But as soon as the overly long runtime veers into into a fatalistic lament over the inability to go along with progress, it gradually goes downhill, all the way into the “LA shit hole”, i.e. the most WTF scene in the whole film. (06/03/2023)

“Never have I seen such a maelstrom of bad taste and sheer magic.” Two feature films in one, each about something different. One is riveting, bold, frantic, brash; like a Mad Max: Fury Road of the film industry during the silent era. The other is also very good, but classic in themes and concept. It's about nostalgia for bygone times, inevitable progress and the love of cinema. Both are superb, though each in their own way. The first is an ocean liner better, for it is purely Chazelle's. The latter, for all its qualities, comes across as "merely" Chazelle's respectful homage to Sunset Blvd., Cinema Paradiso and the like. The worst thing for both films, however, is that they pretend to be one, which doesn’t help either of them. (28/05/2023)

I guess I'm too old for this kind of conceptually and dramaturgically disjointed and incoherent films, where nothing works and the mess on the screen slaps you so hard that you're completely numb and tired at the end. The only thing that works a little bit is the references to old classics, but these days they can emotionally enrich you incomparably more and they only need half the running time. This looks like it wasn't even made by Damien Chazelle, but by some egomaniac who merely needed to propel himself over his supposed genius. The production design and music are top notch, the should by shat on elephant shit and flushed. (06/09/2023)

An opulent fresco depicting the transformation of old Hollywood into new. I'm terribly sorry that I didn't catch it in the cinema, I wish I had when I think it was there for a measly week. Damien Chazelle pays deep tribute to what movies mean to people with a cynical comedy framed by weeping and mourning for the change that is the only certainty in the world. Margot Robbie is fantastic, she’s insufferable, but at the same time very genuine and worth of protection. The music is incredible, as only Chazelle and Hurwitz can deliver. (21/07/2023)

Explosive in places, but mostly unnecessarily theatrical, hectic and extremely long. Chazelle is recognizable thanks to the musical interludes, which are imaginary mini-peaks of the film. An ode to old Hollywood that has its positive moments, especially on the technical side. Starting with fantastic cinematography, impressive production design and good music. But watching this coked-up wilderness for 190 minutes requires a great deal of patience. Most of the dialogue passages oscillate somewhere between a selection of Tarantino and Scorsese, but never getting it right. A bold, unusual but hard to digest film. (10/03/2023)