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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival · 2018

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2018

Horizons

Programme

35 films · 21 reviews

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Birds Of Passage (Pajaros De Verano)

Review preview for Birds Of Passage

The rituals set in motion at the start, also tune us into the wavelength of portent, so that a heron's feet on a rug or the sound of locusts carry at least as much threat as the site of a loaded gun.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Story of a family who become involved with the drugs trade.

(Country: Colombia, Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra; Writer: Maria Camila Arias, Jacques Toulemonde Vidal; Stars: Carmiña Martínez, José Acosta, Natalia Reyes, Jhon Narváez, Greider Meza, José Vicente, Juan Bautista Martínez, Miguel Viera, Sergio Coen, Aslenis Márquez, José Naider, Yanker Díaz, Víctor Montero, Joaquín Ramón, Jorge Lascarro)

Full review

BlacKkKlansman

Review preview for BlacKkKlansman

This emerges as a piece of bravura filmmaking that tackles huge themes with style and intelligence while providing a compelling narrative drive.

Richard Mowe · 5 out of 5
Ron Stallworth, an African-American police officer from Colorado, successfully managed to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan and became the head of the local chapter.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Spike Lee; Writer: Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz; Stars: Adam Driver, Topher Grace, Laura Harrier, Ryan Eggold, Paul Walter Hauser, Corey Hawkins)

Full review See: Interview with Spike Lee about BlacKkKlansman and Donald Trump

Burning

Review preview for Burning

Lee works the narrative with an ambivalence that borders on the inscrutable

Sunil Chauhan · 3 out of 5
Jong-soo, a part-time worker, bumps into Hae-mi while delivering, who used to live in the same neighborhood. Hae-mi asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2018; Director: Lee Chang-dong; Writer: Lee Chang-dong, based on the short story by Haruki Murakami; Stars: Yoo Ah-in, Jeon Jong-seo, Steven Yeun)

Full review

Cold War (Zimna Wojna)

Review preview for Cold War

Beautifully shot and articulated.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A passionate love story between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments, who are fatally mismatched and yet fatefully condemned to each other.

(Country: Poland, France, United Kingdom; Year: 2018; Director: Pawel Pawlikowski; Writer: Janusz Glowacki, Pawel Pawlikowski; Stars: Joanna Kulig, Jeanne Balibar, Jacek Rozenek, Agata Kulesza, Cédric Kahn, Martin Budny, Borys Szyc, Tomasz Kot, Philip Lenkowsky, Adam Woronowicz, Adam Ferency, Adam Szyszkowski)

Full review

Damsel

Review preview for Damsel

The Zellner brothers...enter into a fascinating structural dialogue with the history of the genre.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
Several suitors pursue a young woman in the Wild West.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner; Writer: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner; Stars: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Robert Forster, Joseph Billingiere, Morgan Lund, Ray Kelleher, Gabe Casdorph, David Wingo, Palmer Scott, Russell Mael, Gary Brookins, Landon Weeks, Larry Zeng)

Full review See: ‪David Zellner and Nathan Zellner in conversation on Butterscotch and Bunzo, the look of a Western, and Terry Anderson's costumes for Damsel , David Zellner and Nathan Zellner in conversation on Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, cowboy ballads, and the complexity to the characters for Damsel , David Zellner and Nathan Zellner in conversation on Westerns, Butterscotch, and being epic in scope for Damsel

Daughter Of Mine (Figlia Mia)

Review preview for Daughter Of Mine

Beautifully lit, Daughter Of Mine conjures up a tremendous sense of place, all salt breezes, scrubland and golden sand.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Vittoria is growing up in a remote Sardinian village. One day she meets the wildly independent Angelica who is so very different to her own caring mother Tina. The young girl has no knowledge of the secret that connects these two women.

(Country: Italy, Germany, Switzerland; Year: 2018; Director: Laura Bispuri; Writer: Laura Bispuri, Francesca Manieri; Stars: Valeria Golino, Alba Rohrwacher, Sara Casu, Udo Kier, Michele Carboni)

Full review

Dear Son

Story of parents and their troubled son.

(Country: Tunisia, Belgium, France; Year: 2018; Director: Mohamed Ben Attia; Writer: Mohamed Ben Attia; Stars: Imen Cherif, Mohamed Dhrif, Zakaria Ben Ayyed, Mouna Mejri, Imen Cherif, Mohamed Dhrif, Zakaria Ben Ayyed, Mouna Mejri)

Dovlatov

A few days in the life of the Russian-Jewish writer Sergei Dovlatov, whose brilliantly ironic texts were forbidden from being printed in the Soviet Union under Brezhnev, provide a portrait of an era of stagnation and its destructive effects.

(Country: Russia, Poland, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Aleksey German; Writer: Aleksey German; Stars: Milan Marić, Danila Kozlovsky, Helena Sujecka, Artur Beschastny, Elena Lyadova)

Euphoria (Euforia)

Two brothers with very different personalities have to live together in Rome for a few weeks.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2018; Director: Valeria Golino; Writer: Valeria Golino, Francesca Marciano; Stars: Riccardo Scamarcio, Valerio Mastandrea, Isabella Ferrari , Valentina Cervi, Jasmine Trinca)

Everybody Knows (Todos Lo Saben)

Review preview for Everybody Knows

While Farhadi certainly knows how to spin a web of intrigue, deceit and suspicion, the narrative has a tendency to leap from strand to strand, often leaving the audience stumbling in its wake.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
Secrets resurface after a woman returns to her family's village for a wedding.

(Country: Spain, France, Italy; Year: 2018; Director: Asghar Farhadi; Writer: Asghar Farhadi; Stars: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Bárbara Lennie, Ricardo Darín, Jaime Lorente, Carla Campra, Inma Cuesta, Eduard Fernández, Elvira Mínguez, Sara Sálamo, Roger Casamajor, Ramón Barea, Sergio Castellanos, Marianella Rojas, Penélope Cruz)

Full review See: Interview with Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Asghar Farhadi about Everybody Knows

Girl

Review preview for Girl

Directed with admirable understatement and restraint.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A teenage trans girl dreams of becoming a ballerina.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2018; Director: Lukas Dhont; Writer: Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens; Stars: Nele Hardiman, Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter)

Full review

Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras)

A lonely nurse is hired by a wealthy woman as a nanny for her unborn child, but one night has unexpected consequences.

(Country: Brazil, France; Year: 2017; Director: Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas; Writer: Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas; Stars: Isabél Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano, Miguel Lobo, Cida Moreira, Andréa Marquee, Felipe Kenji, Nina Medeiros, Neusa Velasco, Gilda Nomacce, Eduardo Gomes, Hugo Villavicenzio, Adriana Mendonça, Germano Melo, Naloana Lima, Clara de Cápua)

Happy As Lazzaro (Lazzaro Felice)

Review preview for Happy As Lazzaro

Newcomer Tardiolo is splendid in the lead.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A young nobleman asks a peasant to help fake his own kidnapping.

(Country: Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Alice Rohrwacher; Writer: Alice Rohrwacher; Stars: Nicoletta Braschi, Sergi López, Alba Rohrwacher, Natalino Balasso, Tommaso Ragno, Adriano Tardiolo, Luca Chikovani, Leonardo Nigro, Agnese Graziani, Ettore Scarpa, Carlo Massimino, Gala Othero Winter, Nicoletta Braschi, Sergi López, Alba Rohrwacher)

Full review See: Alice Rohrwacher in conversation on Italo Calvino, Astrid Lindgren, folktale magic and the casting for Happy As Lazzaro (Lazzaro Felice) , Alice Rohrwacher in conversation on Happy as Lazzaro (Lazzaro felice) before The Wonders: Alice and Alba Rohrwacher at the Museum of Modern Art

Hostiles

Review preview for Hostiles

Sound fades into nothing and the pace slows

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
An Army captain escorts a Cheyenne chief through hostile territory.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Scott Cooper; Writer: Scott Cooper; Stars: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Rory Cochrane, Adam Beach, Tanaya Beatty, Stephen Lang, Peter Mullan, Scott Wilson)

Full review

Hunting Season (Temporada De Caza)

A hunting guide tries to forge a relationship with his estranged son.

(Country: Argentina, US, France, Germany, Qatar; Year: 2017; Director: Natalia Garagiola; Writer: Natalia Garagiola; Stars: Germán Palacios, Lautaro Bettoni, Boy Olmi, Rita Pauls, Pilar Benitez Vivart)

Leave No Trace

Review preview for Leave No Trace

One thing I particularly enjoyed was that it balances its study of Will with an exploration of Tom’s coming of age, while never making Will’s decision to drop out morally clear-cut.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
A father and daughter find themselves searching for a place to call their own after their off-the-grid lives are discovered by the authorities.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Debra Granik; Writer: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini; Stars: Ben Foster, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Jeff Korber, Dale Dickey)

Full review

Loveling (Benzinho)

Review preview for Loveling

Teles runs the gamut of emotions. We don't need to hear her discuss how she is feeling, we can see it written on her face

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Snapshot of a Brazilian family as their son prepares to leave for Germany.

(Country: Brazil, Uruguay, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Gustavo Pizzi; Writer: Gustavo Pizzi, Karine Teles; Stars: Karine Teles, Otávio Müller, Adriana Esteves, Konstantinos Sarris, César Troncoso, Mateus Solano, Camilo Pellegrini, Ariclenes Barroso, Pablo Riera, Lucas Gouvêa)

Full review See: Interview with Gustavo Pizzi and Karine Teles about Loveling

Lucia's Grace (Troppa Grazia)

Review preview for Lucia's Grace

If only Zanasi and co had put a little more faith in the psychological elements of the screenplay rather than worshipping at the altar of cheap laughs.

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
When a surveyor has a vision of the Virgin Mary, she is inspired to try to build a church on land marked for commercial development, sparking conflict.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2018; Director: Gianni Zanasi; Writer: Federica Pontremoli, Gianni Zanasi; Stars: Alba Rohrwacher, Giuseppe Battiston, Valerio Mastandrea, Hadas Yaron, Carlotta Natoli, Vincent Papa, Alba Rohrwacher, Giuseppe Battiston, Valerio Mastandrea, Hadas Yaron, Carlotta Natoli, Vincent Papa)

Full review

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Review preview for The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Gilliam’s script cannot quite stand the excesses of his own imagination.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A cynical advertising director finds himself trapped in the outrageous delusions of an old Spanish shoe-maker who believes himself to be Don Quixote.

(Country: Spain, UK, France, Portugal; Year: 2018; Director: Terry Gilliam; Writer: Terry Gilliam, Tony Grisoni, based on the book by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra; Stars: Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård, Olga Kurylenko, Joana Ribeiro, Óscar Jaenada, Jason Watkins, Sergi López, Jordi Mollà, Rossy de Palma, William Miller, Paloma Bloyd, Viveka Rytzner, Bruno Sevilla, Mario Tardón)

Full review

The Miseducation Of Cameron Post

Review preview for The Miseducation Of Cameron Post

I was won over by the whole approach of this confident sophomore feature pretty early on, from the witty, frank but also very tender script to the great casting and performances.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
1993: after being caught having sex with the prom queen, a girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Desiree Akhavan; Writer: Desiree Akhavan, Cecilia Frugiuele, Emily M Danforth; Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Jennifer Ehle, Sasha Lane, John Gallagher Jr, Quinn Shephard, Forrest Goodluck, Christopher Dylan White, Steven Hauck, Emily Skeggs, Dalton Harrod, McCabe Slye, Isaac Jin Solstein, Melanie Ehrlich, Alexandra Imbrosci-Viera, Seamus Boyle)

Full review

Museum (Museo)

Review preview for Museum

The director has an aptitude for taking a dash of the familiar and giving it an individual twist.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Two students break into the national museum in Mexico City and escape with precious artefacts. A road movie.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2018; Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios; Writer: Manuel Alcalá, Alonso Ruizpalacios; Stars: Gael García Bernal, Leonardo Ortizgris, Alfredo Castro, Simon Russell Beale, Bernardo Velasco)

Full review

Nico, 1988

Review preview for Nico, 1988

This is astonishing filmmaking.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
Biopic of the German singer, who sang with the Velvet Underground

(Country: Italy, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Susanna Nicchiarelli; Writer: Susanna Nicchiarelli; Stars: Trine Dyrholm, Calvin Demba, Karina Fernandez, Sandor Funtek, John Gordon Sinclair, Anamaria Marinca, Thomas Trabacchi)

Full review See: Trine Dyrholm in conversation on not being defined by men, the costumes for Nico, 1988, Ruth Berlau and Bertolt Brecht, and Astrid Lindgren , Trine Dyrholm in conversation on finding Nico's voice, the emotional states of mind of her character, and Susanna Nicchiarelli's vision for Nico, 1988 , Susanna Nicchiarelli in conversation on Trine Dyrholm, Nico's sense of irony, and the look from costume designers Francesca Vecchi and Roberta Vecchi for Nico, 1988 , Susanna Nicchiarelli in conversation on Nico, 1988

Rainbow: A Private Affair

A love triangle set during the Italian Civil War.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2017; Director: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani; Writer: Beppe Fenoglio, Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani; Stars: Lorenzo Richelmy, Luca Marinelli, Valentina Bellè, Alessandro Sperduti, Francesca Agostini, Guglielmo Favilla, Anna Ferruzzo, Tommaso Maria Neri, Mauro Conte, Francesco Turbanti, Lorenzo Demaria, Marco Brinzi, Luca Cesa, Lorenzo Richelmy, Luca Marinelli)

River's Edge

Exploration of a group of high school teenagers and the problems they face.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2018; Director: Isao Yukisada; Writer: Kyôko Okazaki, Misaki Setoyama; Stars: Fumi Nikaidô, Ryô Yoshizawa, Aoi Morikawa, Shûhei Uesugi, Sumire, Shiori Doi, Jin Shirasu, Fumi Nikaidô, Ryô Yoshizawa, Aoi Morikawa, Shûhei Uesugi, Sumire, Shiori Doi, Jin Shirasu)

Season Of The Devil (Ang Panahon ng Halimaw)

A village is being terrorised by a brutal militia. A doctor from the town wants to help, but disappears without a trace. Her husband sets off in search of her.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2018; Director: Lav Diaz; Writer: Lav Diaz; Stars: Piolo Pascual, Shaina Magdayao, Pinky Amador, Bituin Escalante, Hazel Orencio)

Sweet Country

Review preview for Sweet Country

There is artistry here and an absence of cliche.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
Australian frontier drama, told from an Aboriginal perspective.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2017; Director: Warwick Thornton; Writer: Steven McGregor, David Tranter; Stars: Hamilton Morris, Bryan Brown, San Neill, Matt Day, Ewen Leslie, Tremayne Doolan, Trevon Doolan, Natassia Gorey Furber, Anni Finsterer, Thomas M Wright)

Full review

Touch Me Not

Laura doesn’t want to be touched. Christian, who lives with physical impairments, talks candidly about his sexuality. This film explores our ideas of intimacy.

(Country: Romania, Germany, Czech Republic, France; Year: 2018; Director: Adina Pintilie; Writer: Adina Pintilie; Stars: Laura Benson, Tómas Lemarquis, Christian Bayerlein, Grit Uhlemann, Hanna Hofmann)

Three Faces

The interwoven stories of three Iranian actresses.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2018; Director: Jafar Panahi)

To The Ends Of The World (Les Confins Du Monde)

Indochina-wars set drama about a young French soldier on a mission.

(Year: 2018; Director: Guillaume Nicloux; Writer: Jérôme Beaujour, Guillaume Nicloux; Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Kevin Janssens, Guillaume Gouix, Jonathan Couzinié, Lang Khê Tran, Anthony Paliotti, Vi Minh Paul, Gérard Depardieu, Kevin Janssens, Guillaume Gouix, Jonathan Couzinié, Lang Khê Tran, Anthony Paliotti, Vi Minh Paul)

U - July 22 (Utøya 22. juli)

A cinematic reconstruction of the attack that took place on Utøya on 22 July 2011 when a heavily armed right-wing extremist killed 69 young people at a summer camp.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2018; Director: Erik Poppe; Writer: Anna Bache-Wiig, Siv Rajendram Eliassen; Stars: Andrea Berntzen, Aleksander Holmen, Brede Fristad, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osbourne, Solveig Koløen Birkeland)

Wajib

Review preview for Wajib

Annemarie Jacir's characters may not leave the city of Nazareth as they take a circular road trip in Wajib but the emotional distance they travel is considerable.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A father and his son come together to deliver wedding invitations.

(Country: Occupied Palestinian Territory; Year: 2017; Director: Annemarie Jacir; Writer: Annemarie Jacir; Stars: Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik)

Full review See: Annemarie Jacir talks about working Mohammad and Salem Bakri on Wajib

Wildlife

Review preview for Wildlife

Landscape and music and everyday objects are used to splendid effect.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
A portrait of a family in crisis.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Paul Dano; Writer: Paul Dano, Richard Ford, Zoe Kazan; Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp, Lexi Anastasia, Zoe Margaret Colletti, Travis W Bruyer, Mollie Milligan, JR Hatchett, Darryl Cox, Kami King, Cate Jones, Blaine Maye, Laurie Cummings, John Walpole)

Full review

The Wild Pear Tree (Ahlat Agaci)

Sinan is passionate about literature and has always wanted to be a writer. Returning to the village where he was born, he pours his heart and soul into scraping together the money he needs to be published, but his father’s debts catch up with him...

(Country: Turkey, Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Sweden; Year: 2018; Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Writer: Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Stars: Serkan Keskin, Hazar Ergüçlü, Ahmet Rifat Sungar, Dogu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Ercüment Balakoglu, Tamer Levent, Öner Erkan, Bennu Yildirimlar, Kadir Çermik, Özay Fecht, Asena Keskinci, Kubilay Tunçer, Sencar Sagdic, Serkan Keskin)

The World Is Yours (Le monde ou rien, Le Monde Est à Toi)

(Year: 2018; Director: Romain Gavras; Writer: Karim Boukercha, Noé Debré, Romain Gavras; Stars: Karim Leklou, Vincent Cassel, Isabelle Adjani, François Damiens, Oulaya Amamra, Philippe Katerine, Michael John Treanor, Norbert Ferrer, Gabby Rose, Yun-Ping He, Karim Leklou, Vincent Cassel, Isabelle Adjani, François Damiens, Oulaya Amamra)

Zama

Review preview for Zama

This is a very particular film - one where particles of detail crystallise into observation, meaning and import accreting like nacre around grit, producing a pearl, a natural jewel.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A 17th century army officer in Ascuncion, awaits transfer to Buenos Aires.

(Country: Argentina, Spain, France, Netherlands, US, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Lebanon, Switzerland; Year: 2017; Director: Lucrecia Martel; Writer: Antonio Di Benedetto, Lucrecia Martel; Stars: Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lola Dueñas, Matheus Nachtergaele, Juan Minujín, Rafael Spregelburd, Nahuel Cano, Daniel Veronese, Mariana Nunes, Carlos Defeo)

Full review