Corrientes de amor

Esnifar el catálogo de obras dirigidas por John Cassavetes implica en primer lugar armarse con una considerable dosis de paciencia, ya que entrar en la onda de la creación de este autor tan peculiar es todo un desafío. Sus actos totalmente cotidianos y a la vez absolutamente locos no van directamente al encuentro del espectador. Y aunque su última obra puramente autoral, Corrientes de amor, fue creada bajo el sello del estudio Cannon Group (conocido principalmente por sus películas de acción protagonizadas por tipos duros con pistolas en mano), definitivamente no esperes nada diferente o más accesible. Los productores Golan y Globus simplemente querían validarse como creadores de arte valioso gracias a Cassavetes. Sin embargo, entre la serie de películas de John Cassavetes presentadas en los últimos años en Karlovy Vary, esta fue la que más me atrapó. Aún así, me resisto a recomendarla de inmediato a cualquiera. [KVIFF 2024] (04.07.2024)

A 140-minute ode to vanity, slacking, irresponsibility, alcoholism and mental disarray, masquerading as an ode to the complexity of relationships and finding and maintaining love within them. Getting to know the characters in the first half-hour is enjoyable, but they then become boring and finally contend for the title of the most annoying and unbearable characters in the history of generally favorably reviewed films (I don’t understand that!). Cutting Love Streams in half and having all of the characters die tragically before the closing credits would have elevated the film to three stars. In a Finnish black comedy, for example, the story would be endearing and sympathetic to the characters, but in the hands of Cassavetes, it becomes unwatchable. That said, I like his other films. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival] (06.07.2024)

Truly a very "personal" Cassavetes film and also in its own way somewhat optimistic. I would perhaps use the word sentimental, although not in the usual pejorative sense. Cassavetes already knew back then that he didn't have too many years left, and without being a fan of incorporating the author's personal life into the final work, it shows in the film with his not-always-well-combined split between scenes of pessimistic despair and optimistic refusal to give up on life without love. On one hand, it’s classic Cassavetes - solitude, awkwardness, boredom, and alcohol, which gets to your head (in the film, Cassavetes occasionally reminds us of Gazzara from The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, while Gena Rowlands also reminds us of A Woman Under the Influence). On the other hand, the grotesque scenes are deliberately comedic (Rowlands and her suitcases). In between lies a middle ground of comedy, which is chilling - again, classic Cassavetes - in which the characters desperately try to convince themselves that happiness is possible. The question is: why are these relaxed scenes in the film? Probably precisely because the author somehow did not want to forget the "optimism" and hope in anticipation of the end, I think. That wouldn't be a problem if these scenes (in my opinion) didn't somewhat disrupt the tightness of the entire film and create an impression of authorial and script inconsistency, which can only be explained by pointing to something outside the film itself. (30.07.2015)