The Apprentice – "Make America Great Again"

"The first rule, and the most important one: attack, attack, attack. The second: never admit anything, deny everything. And the third, the most important: never acknowledge defeat."

A partial portrayal of Donald Trump's life, focusing on his rise in real estate, driven by a sleazy and ruthless lawyer. Beware, die-hard Trump supporters, as this film is highly critical of the man with the over-the-top hairdo. Don’t expect the usual reserved biopic treatment. The characters are colorful—there’s a father who denies being racist by declaring his chauffeur is Black, and a Donald Trump who swoons over a lover suffering from AIDS. Sebastian Stan expertly parodies Trump’s mannerisms. The ending highlights the superficiality of appearances, showing the protagonist struggling with a receding hairline and growing weight. Despite its sharp sense of satire, it doesn’t quite match the outlandish reality of Trump’s wild statements about Haitian cats. In short, the film aims to unsettle the candidate, but it’s not surprising given capitalism's history. Still, it’s a biting, cynical satire on how a mogul becomes a true predator.

When Autumn Comes – "Money Isn’t Love"

Michelle is a retired woman living in a village in Burgundy. When she prepares poisonous mushrooms for her daughter, tragedy ensues.

This film deserves praise for portraying characters usually marginalized in cinema: elderly women. It touches not on the season but the autumn of life itself; indeed, the audience was mostly seniors. The script exudes subtlety, especially regarding the grandmother’s character—whether she is a deranged old woman or mentally sound is left ambiguous. The director focuses on many aspects of a lonely woman's life: eating soup alone, reading alone, and crying alone. François Ozon cleverly omits the pivotal scene, leaving the audience in suspense.

SPOILER ALERT:
It’s interesting to see how the film approaches the death of mothers: the first is depicted with coldness, while the later ones are more emotional.

Lee Miller – "I’d Rather Take a Photo than Be in One"

A depiction of the life of Lee Miller, a pioneering war correspondent.

This is the portrait of a feminist who had to fight against male stubbornness to make a name for herself. It’s interesting to see the lightness of her early career in contrast to the horrors she would later photograph. The film’s direction is quite traditional, but it becomes powerful when exploring the atrocities of the concentration camps. Kate Winslet is majestic in her humanity, particularly in a scene where a French woman is shaved as punishment. However, the film didn’t evoke any strong emotion in me.