{"id":93575,"date":"2025-11-01T16:22:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T16:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/?p=93575"},"modified":"2025-11-01T16:22:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T16:22:22","slug":"one-battle-after-another-paul-thomas-anderson-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/en\/one-battle-after-another-paul-thomas-anderson-review\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d by Paul Thomas Anderson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019<\/em>s new film, “One Battle After Another”<\/em>, arrives on the big screen as a cinematic manifesto that doesn\u2019t merely challenge the conventions of contemporary cinema \u2014 it blows them apart with a vision as fierce as it is poetic. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures <\/em>and written and directed by Anderson<\/em> himself, the film unfolds as an emotional, political, and existential odyssey, with a stellar cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio<\/em>, Benicio del Toro<\/em>, and Sean Penn<\/em>.<\/p>\n

From its premiere, critics have been clear: this is one of the Californian filmmaker\u2019s most ambitious yet intimate works. A film that takes time to settle, but once it does, it flows with disarming naturalness. When the story leaps forward sixteen years and lands in Bob<\/em>\u2019s modest home, the film truly takes off, and comedy begins to weave itself into the narrative. Like the sea evoked by Benicio del Toro\u2019<\/em>s character in one of the film\u2019s most memorable monologues \u2014 unpredictable, vast, full of beauty and danger. A perfect metaphor for Anderson<\/em>\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A cast that shines with its own light<\/h6>\n

At the heart of “One Battle After Another”<\/em> lies a trio of performances that mark a before and after. Leonardo DiCaprio<\/em> delivers one of his most human and charismatic roles, portraying a character clearly reminiscent of The Dude<\/em> from “The Big Lebowski”<\/em>: a man seemingly apathetic yet deeply sensitive, contradictory, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and desperately clinging to something resembling hope \u2014 especially after being abandoned by Perfidia<\/em> and forced into hiding. His chemistry with Benicio del Toro <\/em>is nothing short of spectacular; together they give us some of the film\u2019s most touching and humorous moments, with a wit that lightens the tension without undermining the tone.<\/p>\n

Benicio del Toro<\/em>, as the eccentric yet serene Sensei<\/em>, becomes an unexpected figure of wisdom and irony. He articulates many of the film\u2019s philosophical reflections, and his performance carries a quietly moving depth. Both Bob<\/em> and Sensei<\/em> represent resistance in its most human form \u2014 from the everyday, from vulnerability. They are the hopeful soul of a story dominated by oppressive political and military powers.<\/p>\n

But it is Sean Penn <\/em>who delivers, without question, one of the most powerful performances of his career. His character is complex and disturbing \u2014 not a mere villain, but a living embodiment of the cynical machinery of power. Penn<\/em> incarnates authoritarianism with hypnotic stage presence, crafting a performance as nuanced as it is terrifying.<\/p>\n

The cast is rounded out by an inspired Regina Hall<\/em>, a magnetic Teyana Taylor<\/em>, and Alana Haim<\/em>, who proves that her debut in Licorice Pizza<\/em> was no accident but the beginning of a promising career.<\/p>\n

Politics, absurdity and humanity: Pynchon\u2019s DNA updated<\/h6>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that this is Anderson<\/em>\u2019s second film influenced by Thomas Pynchon<\/em>\u2019s work, following Inherent Vice <\/em>(2014). “One Battle After Another”<\/em> takes partial inspiration from Pynchon<\/em>\u2019s 1990 novel Vineland<\/em>, transposing its spirit from the original 1980s setting to the present day. Anderso<\/em>n reshapes the timeline to reflect today\u2019s socio-political context, heightening its critical charge and resonance.<\/p>\n

Although he retains only fragments of the novel\u2019s plot, Anderson<\/em> preserves Pynchon<\/em>\u2019s satirical and absurdist spirit \u2014 visible in the caricatured names, the rhythmic dialogue, and that virtuosic balance between tragedy and the ridiculous.<\/p>\n

One of the most striking \u2014 and absurdly comic \u2014 moments comes when Bob<\/em>\u2019s daughter, Willa<\/em>, is kidnapped, and he forgets the password needed to contact his former radical group, The 75 Frenchmen<\/em>, now living in hiding. DiCaprio<\/em> excels in one of his finest comedic performances, desperately trying to fix a situation far beyond his control, even enlisting his daughter\u2019s eccentric karate teacher, Sensei<\/em>, for help.<\/p>\n

The coexistence of drama and comedy is one of the film\u2019s greatest achievements. Anderson<\/em> allows both dimensions to breathe naturally, two sides of the same coin. Life, he seems to say, is as absurd as it is painful \u2014 and that ambiguity is what makes it so profoundly real.<\/p>\n

A visual epic with the soul of classic cinema<\/h6>\n

Shot in panoramic VistaVision<\/em> and glorious 35 mm, the film possesses a visual texture reminiscent of classic cinema, yet executed with hypnotic modern precision. Anderson<\/em> handles the camera with mastery: the use of Steadicam<\/em> gives fluid movement and life to spaces, while the action sequences are choreographed with surgical accuracy. Whether a military helicopter landing in a Californian valley or a dusty street in Baktan Cross, each moment carries equal epic weight and emotional charge.<\/p>\n

Nothing in the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne feels arbitrary. Every shot appears meticulously composed to convey emotion, tension, or beauty. Working alongside cinematographer Michael Bauman<\/em> and production designer Florencia Martin<\/em>, Anderson<\/em> creates a visually cohesive universe, rich in texture and symbolism. Costume designer Colleen Atwood<\/em> enhances the atmosphere with a palette that charts the characters\u2019 emotional and moral evolution, while editor Andy Jurgensen<\/em> orchestrates it all with a rhythm that respects the inner breath of each scene.<\/p>\n

Music as emotional pulse<\/h6>\n

The score, unsurprisingly, is by Jonny Greenwood<\/em>, the Radiohead<\/em> member who once again proves why he\u2019s one of the most distinctive composers in modern cinema. His music here is incisive, majestic, melancholic when it needs to be, yet electric and vibrant in moments of tension. Greenwood<\/em> doesn\u2019t merely underline emotion \u2014 he creates it. Some sequences \u2014 like the nocturnal coastal chase or the climactic raid on the fascist compound \u2014 reach their emotional peak thanks to the score, which acts as a silent narrator.<\/p>\n

A message for the present<\/h6>\n

Although filming took place in early 2024 \u2014 before the U.S. presidential elections \u2014 the film feels urgent and profoundly contemporary. The temporal shift is no narrative whim; it\u2019s a political statement. In a world where fundamental rights are threatened, migrants scapegoated, and authoritarian discourses gaining ground, “One Battle After Another”<\/em> stands as a cry of resistance.<\/p>\n

And yet Anderson<\/em> never preaches \u2014 he suggests. The fight for freedom, he reminds us, is never over. Every generation must fight its own battles.<\/p>\n

A necessary work<\/h6>\n

“One Battle After Another”<\/em> is not just a great film. It\u2019s a necessary one. Paul Thomas Anderson<\/em> has created a deeply human story that blends the best of auteur cinema with a sharp political and emotional lens. It\u2019s cinema that moves, provokes, and lingers long after the credits roll.<\/p>\n

With an outstanding cast \u2014 DiCaprio<\/em> at his most fearless, Penn<\/em> monumental, and del Toro<\/em> embodying poetic chaos \u2014 along with impeccable visuals and an unforgettable score, the film lodges itself in the viewer\u2019s memory as a total cinematic experience.<\/p>\n

In the end, life really is one battle after another \u2014 and cinema, when it\u2019s as powerful as this, reminds us why it\u2019s worth fighting on.<\/p>\n

Highly recommended to watch on the big screen \u2014 and in the original version.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s new film, “One Battle After Another”, arrives on the big screen as a cinematic manifesto that doesn\u2019t merely challenge the conventions of contemporary cinema \u2014 it blows them apart with a vision as fierce as it is poetic. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and written and directed by Anderson himself, the film […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":93362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5903,5904],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-en","category-cinema"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d by Paul Thomas Anderson<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s One Battle After Another is a bold, poetic and politically charged cinematic odyssey.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/en\/one-battle-after-another-paul-thomas-anderson-review\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" 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