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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival · 2017

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2017

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Programme

27 films · 13 reviews

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The Beguiled

Review preview for The Beguiled

Coppola’s desire for a new “soft” approach seems to have emasculated the original material while failing to engross our senses with her storytelling techniques.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
Civil War drama about an injured Yankee soldier who seeks refuge in girls' boarding school.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Sofia Coppola; Writer: Sofia Coppola, Thomas Cullinan; Stars: Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, Kirsten Dunst, Colin Farrell, Angourie Rice, Oona Laurence, Addison Riecke, Wayne Pére, Emma Howard, Matt Story, Rod J. Pierce)

Full review See: Conversation with Sofia Coppola, Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman about The Beguiled

The Ciambra (A Ciambra)

Review preview for The Ciambra

Carpignano is interested in the margins - and the fringes of those margins.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A teenager faces choices as he comes of age.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Jonas Carpignano; Writer: Jonas Carpignano; Stars: Pio Amato, Koudous Seihon, Damiano Amato, Francesco Pio Amato, Iolanda Amato, Patrizia Amato, Rocco Amato, Susanna Amato) , Trailer

Full review

The Day After

A woman whose boss recently ended an affair gets mistaken for the girlfriend by his wife.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2017; Director: Hong Sang-soo)

Deliver Us (Libera Nos)

Review preview for Deliver Us

Di Giacomo treats us to some beautifully framed shots which provide a sense of the awe such environments must evoke in believers, but then gets in close, almost tabloid style, to capture the pleas of impassioned supplicants.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Documentary about the practice of exorcism and how it fits in the modern world.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2016; Director: Federica Di Giacomo; Writer: Andrea Osvaldo Sanguigni, Federica Di Giacomo)

Full review

Family Life

While house-sitting for a distant cousin, a lonely man fabricates the existence of a vindictive ex-wife withholding his daughter, in order to gain the sympathy of the single mother he has just met.

(Country: Chile; Year: 2017; Director: Alicia Scherson, Cristián Jiménez; Writer: Alejandro Zambra; Stars: Jorge Becker, Gabriela Arancibia, Blanca Lewin, Cristián Carvajal)

Good Time

Review preview for Good Time

The Safdies invest their own knowledge of their home turf to give it all a frenetic and authentic sense of urgency.

Richard Mowe · 3.5 out of 5
Crime caper sees a bank robber try to evade capture.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Benny Safdie, Joshua Safdie; Writer: Ronald Bronstein, Joshua Safdie; Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Robert Pattinson, Barkhad Abdi, Ben Safdie, Taliah Webster, Marcos A. Gonzalez, Cliff Moylan, Rose Gregorio, Shaun Rey, Souleymane Sy Savane, Buddy Duress, Phil Cappadora, Mahadeo Shivraj, Ratnesh Dubey, Jibril Goodman, Laurence Blum)

Full review See: Good Time star Robert Pattinson on being a lone wolf - and fame as a side dish , Robert Pattinson talks about the Safdie Brothers Good Time in Cannes

Happy End

Review preview for Happy End

Haneke is a master of his material, revealing just enough to keep the viewer on tenterhooks but not enough to give an easy explanations.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
Story of a bourgeois family, set against the backdrop of the Calais refugee crisis.

(Country: France, Germany, Austria; Year: 2017; Director: Michael Haneke; Writer: Michael Haneke; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Toby Jones, Mathieu Kassovitz, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Fantine Harduin, Loubna Abidar, Dominique Besnehard, Jack Claudany, Hassam Ghancy, Nabiha Akkari, Franck Andrieux, Jackee Toto)

Full review

How To Talk To Girls At Parties

Review preview for How To Talk To Girls At Parties

The energy is electric

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
Three teenage punks gatecrash a party on the Queen's jubilee night in London and have an unexpected experience that feels out of this world

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2017; Director: John Cameron Mitchell; Writer: Philippa Goslett, John Cameron Mitchell, based on a short story by Neil Gaiman; Stars: Alex Sharp, Elle Fanning, Ethan Lawrence, Abraham Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Ruth Wilson, Matt Lucas, Joanna Scanlan, Tom Brooke, Stephen Campbell Moore)

Full review

In The Fade (Aus dem Nichts)

Review preview for In The Fade

Akin asks us to shift our perceptions of terrorist attacks in deliberately provocative ways, constantly flipping what we think we know and what we expect to see right up until the film's haunting final image.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Revenge thriller set in the aftermath of a bombing.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Fatih Akin; Writer: Fatih Akin; Stars: Diane Kruger, Numan Acar, Ulrich Tukur, Siir Eloglu, Jessica McIntyre, Ulrich Brandhoff)

Full review See: Interview with Diane Kruger about In The Fade

Jeune Femme (Montparnasse Bienvenüe)

Broke, Paula is back in Paris and determined to make a new start.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Léonor Séraille; Writer: Clémence Carré, Bastien Daret, Léonor Serraille, Léonor Serraille; Stars: Laetitia Dosch, Souleymane Seye Ndiaye, Grégoire Monsaingeon, Jean-Christophe Folly, Nathalie Richard, Arnaud de Cazes, Ahmed Zirek, Philippe Lasry, Marie Rémond, Jean-René Lemoine, Bélinda Saligot, Philippe Vincent, Agathe Desche, Philippe Ferreira Gonçalo, Lou Valentini)

Jupiter's Moon

After an immigrant is shot down illegally while crossing the border, he discovers he can now levitate.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2017; Director: Kornél Mundruczó; Writer: Kornél Mundruczó, Kata Wéber; Stars: Merab Ninidze, Zoltán Mucsi, György Cserhalmi, Mónika Balsai, Tamás Szabó Kimmel, Levente Törköly, Veronika Nemes-Jeles, András Bálint, Szabolcs Bede Fazekas, Sándor Terhes, Farid Larbi, Péter Haumann, Can Togay, Zsolt Végh, Alexandra Horváth)

L'Amant Double (Double Lover)

Review preview for L'Amant Double

If there is rather more surface than substance and the ending is signposted, it is a surface full of intricacy and a signpost of admirable elegance.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A fragile young woman falls for her psychotherapist... and his twin.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon; Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Marine Vacth, Jérémie Renier)

Full review

Let The Sunshine In (Dark Glasses, Un Beau Soleil Interieur, Bright Sunshine In)

Review preview for Let The Sunshine In

Denis and Binoche take a perceptive and light approach to what could have been hackneyed material.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
Isabelle, single mum, divorced artist with one child, is looking for love. True love at last.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Claire Denis; Writer: Christine Angot, Claire Denis; Stars: Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Josiane Balasko, Claire Tran, Xavier Beauvois, Alex Descas, Bruno Podalydès, Paul Blain)

Full review See: Interview with Juliette Binoche about Let The Sunshine In, Claire Denis and winning awards

Lucky (Fortunata)

A young mum dreams of opening her own hair salon.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2017; Director: Sergio Castellitto; Writer: Margaret Mazzantini; Stars: Jasmine Trinca, Hanna Schygulla, Stefano Accorsi, Alessandro Borghi, Edoardo Pesce, Rosa Diletta Rossi, Emanuela Aurizi)

Makala

Review preview for Makala

The way director Emmanuel Gras eases under the skin of his main subject makes for fascinating viewing.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A young peasant makes a difficult journey in the hope of creating a better life for his loved ones.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Emmanuel Gras; Stars: Kabwita Kasongo, Lydie Kasongo)

Full review

A Man Of Integrity (Lerd, Dregs)

A man struggles to maintain his livelihood in the face of local corruption.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2017; Director: Mohammad Rasoulof; Writer: Mohammad Rasoulof)

Mountain (Monte)

An irrepressible villager decides to defeat a massive mountain in order to allow life into his inhospitable valley and to fight against a merciless fate.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2016; Director: Amir Naderi; Writer: Donatello Fumarola, Amir Naderi; Stars: Andrea Sartoretti, Claudia Potenza, Zac Zanghellini, Anna Bonaiuto, Marco Boriero, Fabrizio Parenti)

My Happy Family

Tbilisi, Georgia, 2016: In a patriarchal society, an ordinary Georgian family lives with three generations under one roof. All are shocked when 52-year-old Manana decides to move out from her parents' home and live alone. Without her family and her husband, a journey into the unknown begins.

(Country: Georgia; Year: 2016; Director: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß; Writer: Nana Ekvtimishvili; Stars: Ia Shugliashvili, Merab Ninidze, Berta Khapava, Tsisia Qumsishvili, Giorgi Tabidze, Dimitri Oragvelidze)

The Nile Hilton Incident

In Cairo, weeks before the 2011 revolution, Police Detective Noredin is working in the infamous Kasr el-Nil Police Station when he is handed the case of a murdered singer. He soon realises that the investigation concerns the power elite, close to the President’s inner circle.

(Country: Germany, Denmark, Sweden; Year: 2016; Director: Tarik Saleh; Writer: Tarik Saleh; Stars: Fares Fares, Ger Duany, Slimane Dazi, Mohamed Yousry, Hichem Yacoubi, Hania Amar, Yasser Ali Maher, Mari Malek, Ahmed Abdelhamid Hefny, Nael Ali, Ahmed Selim, Tareq Abdalla)

The Other Side Of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen)

Review preview for The Other Side Of Hope

The director has a flare for encapsulating a world of emotion in a single moment.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A middle-aged restaurateur befriends a young refugee.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2017; Director: Aki Kaurismäki; Writer: Aki Kaurismäki; Stars: Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Simon Al-Bazoon, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu, Ilkka Koivula, Kaija Pakarinen, Kati Outinen, Tommi Korpela, Ville Virtanen, Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Taneli Mäkelä, Sulevi Peltola, Maria Järvenhelmi, Antti Virmavirta)

Full review

Quit Staring At My Plate (Ne gledaj mi u pijat)

After her despotic father has a stroke Marijana suddenly finds herself head of the family. Her new status gives her the opportunity to taste the kind of freedom she has never known before.

(Country: Denmark, Croatia; Year: 2016; Director: Hana Jusic; Writer: Hana Jusic; Stars: Mia Petricevic, Niksa Butijer, Arijana Culina, Zlatko Buric, Karla Brbic, Bruna Bebic-Tudor, Marijana Mikulic, Roko Sikavica, Vicko Bilandzic, Darija Lorenzi Flatz, Jasmin Mekic, Pasko Vukasovic)

Their Finest

Review preview for Their Finest

A charming and entertaining take on the film within the film scenario, with solid performances from all of its cast.

Evelin Toth · 3 out of 5
A British film crew in the Second World War makes a propaganda film.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Lone Scherfig; Writer: Gaby Chiappe, based on the novel by Lissa Evans; Stars: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston, Paul Ritter, Rachael Stirling, Richard E Grant, Henry Goodman, Jake Lacy, Jeremy Irons, Eddie Marsan, Helen McCrory, Hubert Burton, Claudia Jessie, Stephanie Hyam)

Full review

The Untamed (La región salvaje)

A mysterious young woman is convinced that something otherworldly could be the answer to all of her family's problems.

(Country: Mexico, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland; Year: 2016; Director: Amat Escalante; Writer: Amat Escalante, Gibrán Portela; Stars: Kenny Johnston)

Untitled

“This film is intended to show an image of the world that can only be created when one does not pursue any subject, or make any value judgement or follow any objective. When one lets one’s self be carried along by nothing more than one’s own curiosity and intuition.”

(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi; Writer: Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi)

Whitney: Can I Be Me

Profile of the singing star, who died tragically at 48.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Nick Broomfield, Rudi Dolezal; Stars: Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina Brown, Bobby Brown, Robyn Crawford, John Russell Houston Jr., Cissy Houston, David Roberts, Johnny Carson, Serge Gainsbourg, Mike Tyson, Oprah Winfrey)

Western

Review preview for Western

It quite subtly toys with the iconography of the genre - poking at the outlying parts of it, the parts dealing with "foreigness" and "home" rather than the more dependable elements of right and wrong.

Rory Ford · 3.5 out of 5
A group of German construction workers on a job in Bulgaria begin to compete for the approval of the locals.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Valeska Grisebach; Writer: Valeska Grisebach; Stars: Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Waldemar Zang, Detlef Schaich)

Full review

A Woman's Life

The harsh realities of a woman's life in 19th century France.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Stéphane Brizé; Writer: Stéphane Brizé, Guy de Maupassant, Florence Vignon; Stars: Judith Chemla, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Yolande Moreau, Swann Arlaud, Nina Meurisse, Olivier Perrier, Clotilde Hesme, Alain Beigel, Finnegan Oldfield, Lucette Beudin, Jérôme Lanne, Mélie Deneuve, Père François-Xavier Ledoux, Lise Lamétrie, Marc Olry)