We all got very familiar with the name Aronofsky because of his most recent masterclass at the fifth edition of the Gouna Film Festival.
The talk was insightful, giving and everything we hoped for. We are very proud to have him in Egypt, and especially at a global event like GFF!
We were so inspired by his talk, that we even reserved some of it’s quotes to our social media pages! Here are our three favorite snippets from the talk:
“A friend of mine once told me when you work on something enough and long enough people will appreciate it. This happened with my movies.”
“The only time I got good grades was at a film class in University. It all made sense then.”
“Something I learned is you should never meet your heroes cause you’ll be let down”
Now, to meet the man behind the art.
Have you seen “Black Swan”, what about “Mother!”? Some may be asking by now about what those two movies have in common, and that’s that they were both directed by Darren Aronofsky.
The American Director has garnered a lot of fame for his surrealistic and melodramatic style in movies. He is also known for heavily relying on psychological fiction and the biblical as a genre.
Here are five of his most notable works.
1. Black Swan (2010)
Photo Via: IMDb
The disturbing and macabre movie has all the combined elements that would make it an Aronofsky film. It takes the classic tale of the Black Swan and turns it into a cinematic materpiece, armed with an amazing cast, including Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman, the movie did amazing.
Many reviewers highlighted that although the story was very well written, it’s the direction and method of shooting that took it to the next level.
The movie has a rate of 8/10 on rotten tomatoes and was nominated and given many awards, to both cast and director.
2. A Requiem For a Dream (2000)
Photo Via: IMDb
The movie “A requiem for a dream” is one of his youngest works, the cast was young, Aronofsky himself was young, which made it very fresh blooded.
The film, which has a dark nature to it, tackles addiction and what it does to people’s lives. This could’ve been done in a very melodramatic way of course, which is what we’re usually familiar with when it comes to this topic. However, what sets this particular film apart is Aronofsky’s direction.
The movie is filled with sensory elements, that are felt through the screen. That is why it earned an 8.3/10 on IMDb and a 79% on rotten tomatoes.
3. Noah (2014)
Photo Via: Rotten Tomatoes
The film “Noah” tells the story of well, Noah. Yes, we are talking about Noah’s arc.
What’s special about a retelling of an age old story? Well, two things. First of all, the way it was shot. The movie was shot like a blockbuster, meaning, it felt less like a historical piece and more like a super hero movie. Second of all, it took influence from more than one version of the tale, going back to oral traditions and older versions of the story.
The story was bulked up even more by Aronofsky’s additions of an action movie like plot, and the anti-hero complex, which made the movie a little less poetic and a bit more exciting. It’s hard to compare this movie with any other one because you don’t see movie like this, well, ever.
This is why this movie has earned a 76% rating on rotten tomatoes and the admiration of many.
4.The Wrestler (2008)
Photo Via: IMDb
When faced with the choice to direct this movie, Darren Aronofsky was faced with a huge challenge. No one has made a “serious” film about wrestling before. That is because no one received the sport as anything but a joke before.
Aronofsky casted Mikey Roorke for the lead role, not only for authenticity, given that he had been an athlete but also because of Roorke as a character. His biggest accomplishment is bringing this out to the main screen.
This movie isn’t as macabre as his previous or following movies, it’s a different kind of accomplishment for him. A well liked one too, the film scored a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes!
5. Mother! (2017)
Photo Via: IMDb
At first glance, “Mother!” is just another horror movie, but when you look behind the obvious there is way more to it than that.
“Mother!” is a horror/thriller that left the audience so confused that Aronofsky himself had to explain it! It didn’t really get much admiration to the mainstream public, since it didn’t make sense to most people. Aronofsky depended on the controversy however, free marketing is always wonderful after all.
The movie is very biblically themed, and beautifully written but not meant to be admired by the masses and that’s why its ratings aren’t high (68% on rotten tomatoes,6.6/10 on IMDb). The director even jokes about the amount of hate mail he got because of it.
“Mother” might just be this director’s most controversial movie yet, always starting up a debate everywhere it’s discussed.
