BABYLON FILM. “Babylon” is the big cinema release of January 18, 2023. American critics are divided on Damien Chazelle’s film, while the French press is generally won over.
[Mis à jour le 18 janvier 2023 à 13h25] babylon is the big cinema release of this January 18, 2023, and more broadly of this beginning of the year. First, because it’s the new film by Damien Chazelle, to whom we owe La La Land Where whiplash. Then, because it brings together a five-star cast, brad pitt,, Margot Robbie, Jean Smart and Tobey Maguire in the lead. Finally, because it plunges the viewer into the decadence and mad excesses of 1920s Hollywood (the film abounds in vomit, violence and sex), in the midst of a revolution between silent cinema and talkies. babylon thus presents itself as a cinematic UFO of 3h08.
Critics’ opinion. On the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator, babylon collects the note of 55% of positive opinions and certainly divides. In France, the press is more won over, with a rating of 3.9/5 stars on Allociné. The specialist magazine Cinemateaser is not stingy with adjectives, describing Damien Chazelle’s feature film “exhausting, exciting, radical, masterful”. Ditto for Elle, who describes the film as “masterful, cruel, flamboyant”. Franceinfo thus salutes the “straightforward reconstruction of 1920s Hollywood” and the “hair-raising staging”, while mentioning that this is one of Brad Pitt’s “best roles”. Among the negative opinions, however, let us mention that of Inrocks, who criticizes the film for its lack of finesse. What is certain is that babylon will not leave its spectators indifferent.
Synopsis – A story of excessive ambition and the craziest excesses, babylon traces the rise and fall of various characters during the creation of Hollywood, an era of boundless decadence and depravity.
babylon may discourage some spectators by its length, which is more and more based on other big productions available in theaters. Damien Chazelle’s latest film actually lasts 3h08. It is therefore necessary to make arrangements before embarking on this frenetic fresco on the Hollywood of the 1920s!