on billboard
One of the most anticipated films of the year, the latest bet from the author of ‘Magnolia’, ‘Wells of ambition’ or ‘The invisible thread’, great titles in the recent history of the medium
The premiere on the billboard of the latest from Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the great filmmakers of our time, capable of maintaining his authorship in sinuous terrain, is always an event. He works in the American industry, with independence and a certain commercial halo, despite betting on projects far from the latest trends in audiovisual consumption. His undoubted personality, recorded in magnum opuses such as ‘The invisible thread’, ‘Pure vice’ or ‘The Master’, goes a step further with the help of ‘Licorice Pizza’, one of the most anticipated films of a year that has just ended to begin with, whose title refers to vinyl, to the records of yesteryear, those «liquorice pizzas» (translation of the title into Spanish). The new work by the person in charge of ‘Boogie Nights’ and ‘Magnolia’, titles that made him known internationally, has been nominated for three Oscars, best film, director and original screenplay, and was already present at the Golden Globes and the Bafta , among other important international awards. Starring Cooper Hoffman, son of the longed-for Philip Seymour Hoffman -when he died he was just eleven years old-, the film is screened on 70mm celluloid, the old-fashioned way, in some select theaters. This emotional teen drama set in the 70’s features a string of highly attractive vintage posters as promotional teasers. These images have been swarming through social networks for some time to the delight of the most moviegoers, claiming the magic of that unforgettable classic cinema that appeals to the sentimental memory of the viewer. A delicious revival, a tribute to an era, to a vital stage in our personal development and to the art of cinematography itself.
Paul Thomas Anderson has signed several music videos throughout his career, a creative facet that he has been nurturing for some time. He has worked with Radiohead and Fiona Apple on several occasions, and in 2019 he premiered ‘Anima’ online, with the support of Netflix, where he put images to the music of Thom Yorke in a curious fifteen-minute piece that surrendered to experimentation . In the five years that a new film has not been released, the main architect of the forceful ‘Wells of Ambition’ has made several clips of the Haim group and has decided to have one of its components, Alana Haim, as head of the main cast of ‘ Licorice Pizza’. The debutant actress -Hoffman is also expressing herself in front of the camera for the first time- unfolds with sensitivity in the frame, supported by the experience of Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper and Tom Waits. The film tells the story of two young people who end up falling in love in the San Fernando Valley in 1973. They meet at a photo session organized at the institute and from that moment a friendship arises that evolves over time.
‘Licorice Pizza’ is an evocative film that makes good use of nostalgia to talk about first love, the path to adulthood and the search for identity, as well as defending a way of understanding cinema. Less intense than his previous works, Paul Thomas Anderson takes special care of the aesthetics and staging, maintaining his stamp, squeezing a pleasantly inspired main cast. Perhaps it seems a simpler bet, by its nature, within the filmography of the laudable director, also author of the script. Nothing further from reality. Although it gives off more humor than usual in his recent career, the result airs, once again, with a remarkable finish, topics of great interest about the evolution of human emotions. Entertaining, deep and bright, although sometimes it falls on the postcard. Attention, of course, to its soundtrack.