Some shots appear overexposed, some underexposed, weaving smooth and grainy visuals that, alongside the soundscape, make for something as overpowering as it is naturalistic.
Herce’s 16mm work here constantly oscillates in depth and texture. Sure, it looks great in terms of color palette and framing, but that’s not necessarily what sticks out. Having harnessed something truly alien with his own Dead Slow Ahead, Mauro Herce returns as cinematographer for Oliver Laxe’s third feature. A world in which Evangelical Christianity has seeped into every facet of modern-day life, Mascaro and Garcia imbue their dystopian world in striking neon hues to capture a world enveloped in fundamentalism. – Logan K.ĭivine Love introduces its near-future world with captivating kaleidoscope imagery and lighting that sensually draws one into the intimate story director Gabriel Mascaro and cinematographer Diego Garcia have crafted. By the end, the artifice of its construction captures something profoundly real: the intense desperation to prevent fate, especially when there’s nothing left to do. As the night progresses, the Ross brothers’ photography starts to feel like it’s eroding alongside the physical space textures become hazier, shots more expressionistic. The camera of Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is rarely still, capturing every centimeter of its doomed bar as more idiosyncratic souls arrive for a final drink. Sotero’s gorgeously weird work gives you room to breathe, gasp, cheer, and look away as blood starts flowing. – Michael F.īloody Nose, Empty Pockets (Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross)
Combining striking landscape and moments of stillness with graphic violence, this genre-shifter uses the fullness of its setting to create a surreal, psychedelic sense of place. Shot by Pedro Sotero, the Brazilian Western Bacurau eases into its story before flipping you and its inhabitants upside-down-whiplash included. The sun-soaked vistas at lunch are as lively as the quiet, sensuous nights the lovers spend in their dimly lit rooms aboard the yachts where they sleep. Georges Lechaptois’ frames are gorgeous not just because of the landscape––we have reoccurring overhead shots of the crystal-blue tides rustling against the beach where characters lay––but the juxtaposition of the quiet life out on the sea. The French Riviera is the fitting location for this tale of sexual discovery and class criticism. From talented newcomers to seasoned professionals, we’ve rounded up the examples that have most impressed us this year. As we continue our year-end coverage, one aspect we must highlight is, indeed, cinematography.
“A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist–moving an audience through a movie making them think the way you want them to think, painting pictures in the dark,” said the late, great Gordon Willis.