Whiplash

Directed by: Damien Chazelle

2014 | USA | 1hr 46min

“In Whiplash music competition is a bloodsport and the instructor is a drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket. He bullies his students into total obedience and fear. His student, Andrew, is an obsessive who is intense, driven, and at times insufferably arrogant and self-absorbed. He’s not very likable, but he is compelling, taking the sports ethos of pushing past the pain to reach perfection. Writer/director Damien Chazelle has created a collision of ruthless ambition and ferocious control. The jazz band pieces aren’t played to express musical joy, they are designed to showcase musical precision. This is as much psychological thriller as musical drama and it turns on the toxic chemistry between two clearly damaged people.” Sean Axmaker, Parallax View.

Winner 3 Oscars, Academy Awards 2015