Finally… That was the feeling of many when they saw the 2024 Cannes Festival Awards. There were many critics who supported Payal Kapadia, an enormously talented Indian filmmaker who would have made a tremendous leap in the international film industry if she had done with the Palme d’Or. It will have to settle, not bad, with the Grand Jury Prize, second place in the list of winners. However, there were many who were satisfied because the victory was once again taken by an American filmmaker, and this was none other than Sean Baker.
Baker is one of those filmmakers who has not stopped delivering one acclaimed film after another in his already notable filmography, but who had not managed to transcend to the front line of productions, distribution or awards. That is to say, his Palme d’Or for ‘Anora’ has been seen as a well-deserved promotion after years of demonstrated talent. Although to see the acclaimed Palme d’Or in Spain we will still have to wait. But the truth is that ‘Anora’ seems to follow the line of the rest of Baker’s filmography.
Baker has won the Palme d’Or at 53 years old with the story of a sex worker who marries the son of a powerful Russian millionaire, and for whom things soon go wrong. A kind of dark reboot of ‘Pretty Woman’ that, however, is even more similar to the rest of her filmography. Although Baker directed her first film in 2000, ‘Four Letter Words’, she became famous in the circle of international film buffs starting in 2012, with ‘Starlet’. The film starring Dree Hemingway told the story of a young porn actress in California who found a bit of human connection in her friendship with an elderly woman. She followed up with the first movie filmed with an iPhone, the impressive ‘Tangerine’, where she followed the misadventures of several transsexual prostitutes of color. She knocked on the doors of the industry and achieved her, so far, most famous title with ‘The Florida Project’. Accompanied by Willem Dafoe, he retold the story of a sex worker through an irresponsible mother who decides to prostitute herself through networks to continue living in the Motel that has become the home of her daughter.
They are all excellent but it is a bit annoying that one of the ones that received the least attention was precisely the film that has remained between his, until now, biggest hit such as ‘The Florida Project’ and his recent Palme d’Or. We talk about ‘ Red Rocket’, a 2021 film with an immense Simon Rex as the protagonist in which it tells the story of a porn actor who returns to his local city ruined. Produced by A24, this poor soul will try to make a living in two ways, reconciling with his ex-wife and former scene partner (Bree Elrod) and recruiting a naive and dreamy teenager who sees an escape route in the protagonist. The latter is embodied by Suzanna Son, a young woman of very particular presence and sensuality who also made the most of her minutes in the controversial ‘The Idol’ and who, without a doubt, deserves more attention.
Perfect summary of what has made Sean Baker one of the fundamental filmmakers of American cinema since 2010, in our review of ‘Red Rocket’ we said the following:
The mixture of wisdom, affection and light with which he departs from the personal – the intimacy of his characters, which he never invades without reason – to talk about the present of the United States. Specifically, he talks about the marginalized of him, for whom the American dream can only be that, a dream. And one of the strong points of his cinema is precisely his particular way of configuring those fantasies doomed to be frustrated.
That’s why ‘Red Rocket’ is the film that every arthouse film fan should see on Amazon Prime Video.
Rafael is an expert in movies, series and video games. His thing is classic and auteur cinema, although he doesn’t miss a Marvel movie or the hit of the moment on Netflix due to professional deformation. He also has a geeky side to him, as proven by his specialization in anime, k-pop, and everything related to Asian culture.
By generation, sometimes he has to write about current musical hits, from Bizarrap to Blackpink. It even has its erotic side, but limited, unfortunately, to selecting the best erotic series and movies. But he doesn’t limit himself there, since he also likes to write about gastronomy, travel, humor and memes.
After 5 years writing for Fotogramas and Esquire, the truth is that he has already done a little bit of everything, from interviews with international stars to mobile phone presentations or tastings of oil, insects and, yes, if he’s lucky, wine.
He trained in Audiovisual Communication at the University of Murcia. She later continued at the Carlos III University of Madrid with a Master’s Degree in Research in Media. In addition to beginning a doctorate on sexual representation in arthouse cinema (which she never finished), she also studied a Master’s degree in film criticism, both at ECAM and at the Writers’ School. Before, he cut his teeth writing on the Cinealacarbonara blog, continued in media such as Amanecemetropolis, Culturamas or Magnolia Magazine, and dedicated all his efforts to Mutaciones Magazine since its foundation.
He arrived at Hearst in 2018 and managed to carve out a niche for himself in the editorial offices of Fotogramas and Esquire, with which he continues to write about everything he likes and what they send him (often coincides). His good or bad taste (depending on how you look at it) also led him to get into the world of gastronomy and video games. Come on, he likes to entertain himself.
