A terrifying dive into the latest mission of an elite Iraqi unit hunting down Daesh fighters, a green fable by Ghibli, and a ghost ship: discover 3 films worth seeing on Netflix.
Mosul (2020)
Available for just over a year on the Netflix platform, Mosul is a terrifying and masterful dive into the latest mission of an elite Iraqi unit, clearing the city of Mosul of the last Daesh fighters.
As the war in Iraq draws to a close and the Islamic State in the Levant loosens its grip on a country ravaged by years of fighting, Mosul, the country’s second city, is still in the throes of violent clashes. This is especially true in the streets of Nineveh, a city located in the suburbs …
In a city in ruins, where death awaits its inhabitants at the slightest misstep and where life hangs by a thread, literally, this heroic unit has killed so many Daesh members that it is the only one to which terrorist organization did not offer Towba. That is, the choice for captured Iraqi soldiers to change sides: members of the SWAT unit were thus systematically executed.
It is an understatement to say that we did not really expect the brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, well known to fans of the Marvel universe, to produce a film like Mosul. But we should logically have been wary. Co-producers of Tyler Rake, also broadcast on Netflix, it is however, by their own admission, thanks to their success and planetary triumph of the last Avengers episodes that they were able to set up their production company, to finally devote themselves to much more personal projects that were important to them.
Titled a time City of a Million Soldiers, shot with a semi documentary and ultra realistic approach, Mosul is above all a true story, written and directed by Matthew Michael Carnahan, who wanted to make it his first film as a director.
If the person concerned has benefited from a comfortable budget for this type of production, we remain far from Hollywood envelopes, which in no way diminishes – quite the contrary – the strength of a film which does not, moreover, include a only Western actor, with the exception of Adam Bessa. Everyone here speaks Arabic.
The result ? A dense, nervous, tense work, which has the vigor of a sacred uppercut, worn by Adam Bessa (already seen elsewhere in Tyler rake), and, undoubtedly even more, by the Iraqi actor Suhail Dabbach, extraordinary charisma in the guise of Major Jasem, commander of this intervention unit which paid a terrible price in blood between 2016 and 2018. The film theirs is also dedicated.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
In this sumptuous tale by Hayao Miyazaki, Ashitaka, future chief of the Emishi clan, goes in search of the deer god to lift a curse that plagues his body. His quest leads him to meet Princess Mononoke who fights against humans to protect the sacred forest, populated by giant animals and other folk creatures.
It is with this film, which takes place in a feudal Japan of the 15th century, in the Muromachi era, that the work of Miyazaki-San – and more broadly the Ghibli productions – really broke through with the general public. With great visual power, elegant, where ancestral legends blend brilliantly with historical references, Princess Mononoke is also a great initiation story coupled with a strong ecological message.
Because in this story where man and nature clash with all their strength, the protagonist tries by all means to avoid the escalation of the conflict, advocating harmony between humans and gods without needing to dominate the other to survive and prosper.
“I was not satisfied with the image Ghibli studios gave of man in front of his environment. In particular the gentle, idyllic way in which we showed the connection to nature. I think in the relationship between man and nature there is a terrible aspect, something much larger … “ said Miyazaki, who took three years to deliver this dark and even violent work, not intended for very young audiences.
It is hardly surprising that the spectators, in particular those of DashFUN, place this work in the top 3 of the animated films of the house Ghibli. More than two decades after its release, the force of the film’s purpose is still there, intact. And more relevant than ever …
The Vessel of Anguish (2003)
Built in 1954, the prestigious liner “Antonia Graza” was the pride of Italy. Until that tragic night of 1962 when death fell brutally on the ship, mowing down all its occupants in a few moments.
Forty years later, Sean Murphy, the captain of the tug …
