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Abdel Chaouch

@abdel221

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cinephile / music lover / blogger / film critic / nerd / proud father / music journalist / collector / banker / the netherlands

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Eric & Harper - Industry by @abdel221

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7 months ago

Yasmin and Hayley - Industry by @abdel221

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7 months ago

Industry on HBO. Only two more episodes to go this season. A fantastic show that seems to get better with each passing season. by @abdel221

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7 months ago

Miller’s Crossing (1990) by @abdel221

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7 months ago

Wall Street (1987) by @abdel221

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7 months ago

Thief (1981) by @abdel221

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7 months ago

by @abdel221

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7 months ago

by @abdel221

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7 months ago

by @abdel221

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8 months ago

1. One Battle After Another (dir. by PTA)

One Battle After Another detonates on screen, thunderous and relentless, but every moment is cut with the delicacy of fine craft. Anderson, riffing off Thomas Pynchon’s anarchic paranoia and absurdist flair, has made something highly explosive and truly original. Every cut, every beat, every chase sequence lands with the pounding rhythm of a drummer who knows exactly when to let the silence hit hardest. This is PTA in full command—operating at the peak of his cinematic powers—and it’s nothing short of a masterpiece.

At its core, the film is a political thriller—homegrown revolutionaries squaring off against an extreme-right government that looks alarmingly like the world outside our windows. But Anderson, in his most incendiary and radical register, refuses to play it straight. Instead, he layers in absurdist overtones, sharp comedy, and breathless action. The result is a work that’s both timely and timeless: a portrait of a culture war turned into a propulsive, satirical action movie. It’s about rebellion, discontent, and the slow erosion of youthful fire under the weight of time. And yet, it holds onto hope.

Visually, the film is staggering. Shot on Vistavision, every frame is alive with detail and saturated color. Greenwood’s score, paired with an equally razor-sharp soundtrack, drives the film with relentless momentum; it thrums like a live wire, keeping the story in constant motion. At 2 hours and 45 minutes, it should feel indulgent, but instead it moves like a beast.

The script is a marvel—snappy, modern, and brimming with wit. Anderson’s dialogue sparkles with one-liners, sly political observations, and vivid character sketches. It’s writing that bites without sermonizing, always sharp but never heavy-handed.

This is incendiary cinema. It captures a moment in which the world feels radically politicized, where fascism lurks at the edges and rebellion flickers in the margins. But Anderson refuses despair. His film is fierce, funny, and deeply alive.

The best film of 2025? Without a doubt. Anderson has delivered not just a political thriller, but a bonafide landmark of modern filmmaking. Thank you, sensei! by @abdel221

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9 months ago

MY FAVORITE 30 FILMS OF 2025.

2. Sentimental Value (directed by Joachim Trier)

Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value unfolds with the kind of emotional intelligence that doesn’t announce itself. It’s a family drama about wounds that don’t bleed anymore but still ache—the kind we inherit quietly, almost politely, without understanding their origins. Trier lets the story accumulate in glances, silences, and aborted gestures, trusting his audience to read the tremors beneath the calm surface.

Renate Reinsve is astonishing. She carries the film’s volatility just behind her eyes, a reservoir of feeling that threatens to spill but never quite does. Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas is equally captivating as her sister. Even Elle Fanning surprises with a quiet, yet deeply moving performance. Together, they map the complex magnetic field around the father (Stellan Skarsgård), an artist who has confused control with intimacy, filmmaking with repair.

The house is more than setting; it’s emotional architecture. A place where memories cling to doorframes, where every hallway seems to lead back to an unresolved conversation. Trier uses it the way a novelist uses interiority—revealing character through space, letting the walls hold what people cannot voice.

There’s an aching undercurrent to the film, but also a tender, almost stealthy warmth. The camera lingers without intruding; the music guides but never manipulates. Understated cinematography and patient pacing allow the film to breathe, and give the performances room to unfold into something hauntingly real.

This is an intimate, quietly dazzling film: a mosaic of ego, longing, and inherited hurt that slowly assembles into a portrait of family as both burden and refuge. Trier has crafted something deeply personal and courageously vulnerable. Can’t wait to watch a second time. by @abdel221

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9 months ago

MY FAVORITE 30 FILMS OF 2025.

3. It Was Just An Accident (directed by Jafar Panahi)

It begins with a thud. A car glides through a dark country road; a dog rushes into its path. The driver brakes too late. “It was just an accident,” the mother tells her daughter. The line is meant to comfort, but in Jafar Panahi’s hands, it sets the tone for a film that treats such excuses as moral quicksand.

It Was Just an Accident is one of Panahi’s most searing and controlled works — a story that begins with something small and spirals into a profound examination of guilt, empathy, and the lingering wounds of violence.

Panahi’s direction is stripped down, yet precise. His camera lingers on faces, and the interactions of strangers dealing with buried trauma that resurfaces. There’s humor here, too — bitter, absurd, and deeply Iranian.

“The further you go, the more you sink,” a character warns, and the line becomes a prophecy. The deeper Panahi drives into this moral labyrinth, the more uncertain everything becomes — who deserves punishment, who deserves peace, and whether those two ever meet.

The brilliance of It Was Just an Accident lies in how its title shifts meaning. What begins as an excuse becomes an accusation. Every act of cruelty, every silence, every compromise can be framed as an “accident”. By the end, it’s a question about how much cruelty we’re willing to call “fate” so we don’t have to name it as choice.

Panahi doesn’t give us resolution, only reflection. As the film ends, we’re left with a simple yet emotionally shattering moment that echo’s the never-ending cycle of violence and trauma. Truly riveting stuff! by @abdel221

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