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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival · 2018

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2018

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Programme

29 films · 15 reviews

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Amal

Review preview for Amal

Siam gives his film a strong sense of place, marked by chaos and flux - a city where you can drive past a "Welcome to Egypt" sign and army tanks within two blocks and where revolution may lead you to come full circle.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Documentary tracks the adolescence of a teenager in Cairo.

(Country: Egypt, Lebanon, Germany, France, Norway; Year: 2017; Director: Mohamed Siam; Writer: Mohamed Siam)

Full review

An Elephant Sitting Still (Da xiang xi di er zuo)

Review preview for An Elephant Sitting Still

Despite its grey, flat light and general melancholy punctured by menace, An Elephant Sitting Still is, by the end considerably more optimistic than it first appears about humanity.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The lives of four people cross over the course of a day in China.

(Country: China; Year: 2018; Director: Hu Bo; Writer: Hu Bo; Stars: Yu Zhang, Yuchang Peng, Uvin Wang, Congxi Li, Yu Zhang, Yuchang Peng, Uvin Wang, Congxi Li)

Full review

And Breathe Normally

At the edge of Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, two women’s lives will intersect – for a brief moment – while trapped in circumstances unforeseen. Between a struggling Icelandic mother and an asylum seeker from Guinea-Bissau, a delicate bond will form as both strategise to get their lives back on track.

(Country: Iceland, Sweden, Belgium; Year: 2018; Director: Ísold Uggadóttir; Stars: Kristín Thóra Haraldsdóttir, Babetida Sadjo, Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson)

Border

Review preview for Border

An original and highly ambitious premise that maintains its grip your attention and imagination.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
When a border guard with a sixth sense for identifying smugglers encounters the first person she cannot prove is guilty, their relationship forces her to confront terrifying revelations about herself and humankind.

(Country: Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Ali Abbasi; Writer: John Ajvide Lindqvist, Abbasi, Isabella Eklöf, based on a story by John Ajvide Lindqvist; Stars: Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Viktor Åkerblom, Jörgen Thorsson)

Full review

Boys Cry (La terra dell'abbastanza)

Two youngsters find themselves involved with the Mafia without realising the likely consequences.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2018; Director: Damiano D'Innocenzo, Fabio D'Innocenzo; Writer: Damiano D'Innocenzo, Fabio D'Innocenzo; Stars: Andrea Carpenzano, Matteo Olivetti, Milena Mancini, Massimiliano Tortora, Luca Zingaretti, Demetra Bellina, Michela De Rossi, Giordano De Plano, Walter Toschi, Andrea Carpenzano, Matteo Olivetti, Milena Mancini, Massimiliano Tortora, Luca Zingaretti, Demetra Bellina)

Chris The Swiss

In the middle of the war in Croatia, a young journalists' body was found dressed in the uniform of an international mercenary group. This documentary follows his sister's attempts to unravel his story.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2018; Director: Anja Kofmel; Writer: Anja Kofmel)

Cobain

A boy grooms fellow kids in a children's home for a pimp... until the day his mum arrives back on the scene.

(Country: Netherlands, Belgium, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Nanouk Leopold; Writer: Stienette Bosklopper; Stars: Bas Keizer, Naomi Velissariou, Wim Opbrouck, Dana Marineci, Cosmina Stratan, Sofia Dossantos, Maria Kraakman, Maartje van de Wetering, Thomas Ryckewaert, Ward Weemhoff, Tamar van den Dop, Oscar van Woensel, Jurre Otto, Tonko Bossen, Belinda van der Stoep)

Diamantino (Tristes Monroes)

Review preview for Diamantino

The film carries a message about the importance of tolerance, love and a healthy dose of silliness in the face of the darker elements of modern life.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Diamantino was once the greatest football player in Portugal. Now, in the middle of the worst crisis of his life, he decides to fill his void by adopting a refugee boy.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2017; Director: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt; Writer: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt; Stars: Joana Barrios, Abílio Bejinha, Chico Chapas)

Full review

Donbass

Review preview for Donbass

Each successive scene hits you over the head with the ferocity of the action.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
In the Donbass, a region of Eastern Ukraine, a hybrid war takes place, involving an open armed conflict alongside killings and robberies on a mass scale perpetrated by separatist gangs.

(Country: Germany, Ukraine, France, Netherlands, Romania; Year: 2018; Director: Sergei Loznitsa; Writer: Sergei Loznitsa; Stars: Valeriu Andriutã, Boris Kamorzin, Sergey Kolesov, Georgiy Deliev, Sergey Russkin, Alexander Zamuraev, Konstantin Itunin, Irina Plesnyayeva, Vadim Dubovsky, Svetlana Kolesova, Evgeny Chistyakov, Valeriu Andriutã, Boris Kamorzin, Sergey Kolesov, Georgiy Deliev)

Full review

Friend (Rafiki)

Review preview for Friend

Touching and brave.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
When they fall in love, two girls from rival families must choose between being together and being safe.

(Country: Kenya, South Africa; Year: 2018; Director: Wanuri Kahiu; Writer: Jenna Cato Bass, Wanuri Kahiu; Stars: Patricia Amira, Muthoni Gathecha, Jimmy Gathu, Nice Githinji, Charlie Karumi, Patricia Kihoro)

Full review

Fugue (Fuga)

Review preview for Fugue

Smoczynska remains one to watch. She has a signature style and an ability to generate a sense of odd estrangement from virtually nothing.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A woman suffering from memory loss is reunited with the family she can't remember having.

(Country: Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden; Year: 2018; Director: Agnieszka Smoczyńska; Writer: Gabriela Muskala; Stars: Gabriela Muskala, Lukasz Simlat, Malgorzata Buczkowska, Piotr Skiba)

Full review

The Gentle Indifference Of The World

After her father’s untimely death, Saltanat is forced to trade her idyllic countryside life for the cruel city... and she is followed by her loyal but penniless admirer.

(Country: Kazakhstan, France; Year: 2018; Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov; Writer: Roelof Jan Minneboo, Adilkhan Yerzhanov)

Grass (Pullipdeul)

A woman people watches in a cafe.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2018; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Writer: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Kim Min-hee, Kee Joobong)

The Guilty (Den Skyldige)

Review preview for The Guilty

Well-written dialogue, strong acting all round and unobtrusive but taut direction give it real strength.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
After he takes a call from a woman in a desperate situation, an emergency operator feels unable to let go.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2017; Director: Gustav Möller; Writer: Emil Nygaard Albertsen, Gustav Möller; Stars: Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage, Omar Shargawi, Johan Olsen, Jakob Ulrik Lohmann, Katinka Evers-Jahnsen, Jeanette Lindbæk, Simon Bennebjerg, Laura Bro, Morten Suurballe, Guuled Abdi Youssef, Caroline Løppke, Peter Christoffersen, Nicolai Wendelboe, Morten Thunbo)

Full review

In My Room

Review preview for In My Room

Patrick Orth's cinematography gives this a beguiling warmth but it's really Löw's performance that makes it work.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A bored man suddenly realises that everyone around him has disappeared and he isn't sure what happened.

(Country: Germany, Italy; Year: 2018; Director: Ulrich Köhler; Writer: Ulrich Köhler; Stars: Hans Löw, Elena Radonicich, Antonia Putiloff)

Full review

Invasion (Hojoom)

Someone’s been murdered. The police have already identified a guilty party. When the crime is re-enacted at the stadium where it took place, more secrets are revealed. Suddenly, all those involved find themselves in a time warp.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2017; Director: Shahram Mokri; Writer: Nasim Ahmadpour, Shahram Mokri)

Light Years (Años Luz)

Review preview for Light Years

I'm not sure it constitutes scholarship in and of itself, but it is certainly (as with all good documentary) a satisfying look at something hereto unseen.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A documentary portrait of Lucrecia Martel during the shooting of Zama.

(Country: Argentina, Brazil, Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Manuel Abramovich)

Full review

Little Tickles (Les Chatouilles)

A dancer struggles to achieve her dreams after trauma in her childhood.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Andréa Bescond, Eric Métayer; Writer: Andréa Bescond; Stars: Andréa Bescond, Karin Viard, Clovis Cornillac)

Lucky

Review preview for Lucky

Deadpan absurdity, everyday madness and enlightenment through routine merge in an attempt to answer the big questions of life.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
The spiritual journey of a 90-year-old atheist.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: John Carroll Lynch; Writer: Logan Sparks, Drago Sumonja; Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr., Tom Skerritt, Beth Grant, James Darren, Barry Shabaka Henley, Yvonne Huff, Hugo Armstrong, Bertila Damas, Ana Mercedes, Sarah Cook, Amy Claire, Ulysses Olmedo)

Full review See: Article about the work of Harry Dean Stanton

Nina

Review preview for Nina

This film is as much about Nina coming to understand herself fully as a woman and as a whole, independent person as it is about her sexuality.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A woman desperate to save her marriage begins to have doubts after finding a surrogate.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2018; Director: Olga Chajdas; Writer: Julia Kijowska, Olga Chajdas; Stars: Julia Kijowska, Eliza Rycembel, Andrzej Konopka)

Full review

Oblivion Verses (Los Versos Del Olvido)

When the elderly caretaker of a remote morgue discovers the body of a young woman killed during a protest, he embarks on an odyssey to give her a proper burial before the militia returns.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Alireza Khatami; Writer: Alireza Khatami; Stars: Juan Margallo, Tomás del Estal, Manuel Morón, Itziar Aizpuru, Julio Jung, Amparo Noguera, Gonzalo Robles)

Our Struggles (Nos Batailles)

A man who has dedicated his career to fighting injustice must re-evaluate everything when his wife leaves and he has to take care of the kids.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2018; Director: Guillaume Senez; Stars: Laetitia Dosch, Laure Calamy, Lucie Debay, Marc Robert)

Pity

Review preview for Pity

Yannis Drakopoulos is on fine form in the central role and there are some great supporting performances.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The story of a man who feels happy only when he is unhappy: addicted to sadness, with such need for pity, that he’s willing to do everything to evoke it from others. This is the life of a man in a world not cruel enough for him.

(Country: Greece, Poland; Year: 2018; Director: Babis Makridis; Writer: Efthymis Filippou, Babis Makridis; Stars: Yannis Drakopoulos, Evi Saoulidou, Nota Tserniafski, Makis Papadimitriou, Georgina Chryskioti, Evdoxia Androulidaki)

Full review See: Efthymis Filippou talks about his career in Valencia

Profile

Thriller sees a journalist try to infiltrate the digital propaganda channels of Islamic State.

(Country: US, UK, Cyprus, Russia; Year: 2018; Director: Timur Bekmambetov; Writer: Brittany Poulton, Olga Kharina, Timur Bekmambetov, Anna Érelle; Stars: Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Amir Rahimzadeh, Morgan Watkins, Emma Cater, Kelley Mack, Louis Martin, Kate Watson, Therica Wilson-Read, Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Amir Rahimzadeh, Morgan Watkins)

The Queen Of Fear

Only one month left until the premiere of The Golden Time, the long-awaited solo show by acclaimed actress Robertina. Far from focused on the preparations for this new production, Robertina lives in a state of continuous anxiety that turns her privileged life into an absurd and tumultuous landscape.

(Country: Argentina, Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Valeria Bertuccelli, Fabiana Tiscornia; Writer: Valeria Bertuccelli; Stars: Valeria Bertuccelli, Diego Velázquez, Gabriel Eduardo "Puma" Goity, Darío Grandinetti)

A Skin So Soft (Ta peau si lisse)

Review preview for A Skin So Soft

By simply observing the men as they move around, the film avoids over-interpretation, working hard to leave space for each person watching to find their own narrative as to why each man might have chosen this sport.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Documentary about bodybuilders.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2017; Director: Denis Côté; Writer: Denis Côté; Stars: Jean-François Bouchard, Cédric Doyon, Benoit Lapierre, Maxim Lemire, Alexis Légaré, Ronald Yang)

Full review See: Denis Côté interview about Vic + Flo Saw A Bear

Styx

Review preview for Styx

There's a strong sense of isolation from the start in Fisher's film.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A storm in the middle of the ocean, a boat full of refugees that is about to sink and a woman all by herself...

(Country: Germany, Austria; Year: 2018; Director: Wolfgang Fischer; Writer: Wolfgang Fischer, Ika Künzel; Stars: Susanne Wolff, Gedion Oduor Wekesa, Alexander Beyer, Inga Birkenfeld, Anika Menger, Susanne Wolff, Gedion Oduor Wekesa, Alexander Beyer, Inga Birkenfeld, Anika Menger)

Full review See: Susanne Wolff and Wolfgang Fischer ‪in conversation on‬ her performance, cinematographer Benedict Neuenfels, recording the sound for Styx and Charles Darwin , Susanne Wolff and Wolfgang Fischer ‪in conversation on‬ the high seas and shooting Styx

Victory Day (Den' Pobedy)

An observational documentary capturing the celebrations of the victory over the Nazis, in Berlin’s Treptower Park.

(Country: Germany, Lithuania; Year: 2018; Director: Sergey Loznitsa; Writer: Sergey Loznitsa)

Virgins (Vierges)

Teenage Lana is languishing in her run-down hometown on Israel’s sun-soaked north coast — until an older, attractive writer arrives with tales of a mermaid sighting off the shore of the declining resort town.

(Country: France, Israel, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Keren Ben Rafael; Writer: Keren Ben Rafael, Élise Benroubi; Stars: Evgenia Dodina, Manuel Elkaslassy, Vladimir Friedman, Matan Lax, Yoni Meles, Eric Raphael Mizrahi, Isac Peker, Joy Rieger, Evgenia Dodina, Manuel Elkaslassy, Vladimir Friedman, Matan Lax, Yoni Meles, Eric Raphael Mizrahi, Isac Peker)