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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival · 2019

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2019

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24 films · 11 reviews

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Apollo 11

Review preview for Apollo 11

Despite knowing, thanks to the consumption of a dozen or so books, how things would play out...I still found myself tensing up when we see the Eagle lunar lander begin its descent

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
A purely archival reconstruction of humanity’s first trip to another world, featuring never-before-seen 70mm footage and never-before-heard audio from the mission.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Todd Douglas Miller)

Full review

Dafne

Dafne is a self-aware and bright young woman with Down syndrome. When her mother dies, she has to attend to her father too, on top of attempting to process her own grief.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2019; Director: Federico Bondi; Stars: Stefania Casini, Antonio Piovanelli, Carolina Raspanti, Stefania Casini, Antonio Piovanelli, Carolina Raspanti)

Die Kinder Der Toten

A bloody car crash, undead doppelgängers, a grand feast at a Styrian pub, and a group of starving Syrians at death’s door…

(Country: Austria; Year: 2019; Director: Kelly Copper, Pavol Liska; Writer: Elfriede Jelinek; Stars: Georg Beyer, Lukas Eigl, Greta Kostka, Andrea Maier, Tamara Pregernigg, Renate Stoppacher-Rainer, Klaus Unterrieder, Jula Zangger, Georg Beyer, Lukas Eigl, Greta Kostka, Andrea Maier, Tamara Pregernigg, Renate Stoppacher-Rainer, Klaus Unterrieder)

Dogs Don't Wear Pants (Koirat eivät käytä housuja)

Review preview for Dogs Don't Wear Pants

Dogs Don’t Wear Pants ultimately relishes its uncomfortable themes buoyed by a little humour and hopes of a life happy ever after for our two damaged human beings

Tony Sullivan · 3.5 out of 5
A widower is struggling years after his wife drowned... meeting Mona, a dominatrix, changes everything.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2019; Director: Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää; Writer: Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää; Stars: Krista Kosonen, Pekka Strang, Jani Volanen, Oona Airola, Tomi Salmela, Eeva Soivio, Samuel Shipway, Ilona Huhta, Iiris Anttila, Helmi Lahti, Viivi Ihalainen, Sofia Kaipainen, Krista Kosonen, Pekka Strang, Jani Volanen)

Full review

A Dog Called Money

A glimpse into the creative process of groundbreaking British musician PJ Harvey, filmed in a London recording studio and during their travels to Afghanistan, Kosovo and Washington DC.

(Country: Ireland, UK; Year: 2019; Director: Seamus Murphy; Writer: Seamus Murphy; Stars: PJ Harvey)

Fire Will Come (O Que Arde)

Review preview for Fire Will Come

In terms of basic plotting, there might not seem to be much here, but emotions crackle beneath the surface and the mood burns deep.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A convicted arsonist returns to his rural home.

(Country: Spain, France, Luxembourg; Year: 2019; Director: Oliver Laxe; Writer: Santiago Fillol, Oliver Laxe; Stars: Santiago Fillol, Oliver Laxe)

Full review

Gold Is All There Is (Tutto l'oro che c'è)

Documentary about Ticino, the azure river.

(Country: Italy, Switzerland, France; Year: 2019; Director: Andrea Caccia)

Introduzione all'Oscuro

Review preview for Introduzione all'Oscuro

Introduzione all’Oscuro aims more for emotional beats and resonances than factual musings.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Cinematic tribute to Hans Hurch, the long-time director of Vienna Film Festival.

(Country: Austria, Argentina; Year: 2018; Director: Gastón Solnicki; Writer: Gastón Solnicki; Stars: Gastón Solnicki)

Full review

In Fabric

Review preview for In Fabric

You might not think you're in the mood for buying, but his extravagant sales pitch is likely to win you over by the end.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Two stories about a cursed dress and its victims.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Peter Strickland; Writer: Peter Strickland; Stars: Gwendoline Christie, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Caroline Catz, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Leo Bill, Hayley Squires, Richard Bremmer, Steve Oram, Julian Barratt, Karl Farrer, Gavin Brocker, Susanna Cappellaro, Fatma Mohamed, Sara Dee, Pano Masti)

Full review See: Interview with Peter Strickland about In Fabric

Koko-di Koko-da

Review preview for Koko-di Koko-da

We don't see the much of the immediate aftermath of death here, but instead are treated to the way grief can linger, catching anger and guilt in its wake

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
As a couple goes on a trip to find their way back to each other, a sideshow artist and his shady entourage emerge from the woods, terrorsing them, luring them deeper and deeper into a maelstrom of psychological terror.

(Country: Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Johannes Nyholm; Writer: Johannes Nyholm; Stars: Leif Edlund, Ylva Gallon, Peter Belli, Katarina Jacobson)

Full review

Lillian

Stranded in New York as a porn actress, Lillian decides to return to her homeland, Russia... on foot.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2019; Director: Andreas Howarth; Writer: Andreas Howarth; Stars: Patrycja Planik)

The Miracle Of The Sargasso Sea (To Thávma Tis Thálassas Ton Sargassón)

Crime drama.

(Country: Greece, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden; Year: 2019; Director: Syllas Tzoumerkas; Writer: Youla Boudali, Syllas Tzoumerkas; Stars: Angeliki Papoulia, Youla Boudali, Hristos Passalis, Argyris Xafis, Thanasis Dovris, Laertis Malkotsis, Maria Filini, Michalis Kimonas, Christian Culbida, Thanos Tokakis, Laertis Vasiliou, Katerina Helmy, Alkistis Poulopoulou, Romanos Kalokyris, Areti Seidaridou)

Monos

Review preview for Monos

Landes' film has the queasy, uneasy feel of a nightmare - and that's before magic mushrooms are involved.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
On a faraway mountaintop, eight kids with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow.

(Country: Colombia, Argentina, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Uruguay; Year: 2019; Director: Alejandro Landes; Writer: Alexis Dos Santos, Alejandro Landes, Alejandro Landes; Stars: Julianne Nicholson, Moises Arias, Jorge Román, Laura Castrillón, Wilson Salazar, Sofia Buenaventura, Deibi Rueda, Karen Quintero, Julian Giraldo, Paul Cubides, Sneider Castro, Julianne Nicholson, Moises Arias, Jorge Román, Laura Castrillón)

Full review

Monsters (Monstri)

A couple's inner demons surface over a day in their lives.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2019; Director: Marius Olteanu; Writer: Marius Olteanu; Stars: Judith State, Cristian Popa, Alexandru Potocean)

Out Of Tune (De frivillige)

Perhaps multimillionaire Markus realized that his investment fraud against the state would one day land him behind bars, but he definitely never imagined he’d be joining the prison choir.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Frederikke Aspöck; Writer: Lars Husum; Stars: Jacob Lohmann, Anders Matthesen, Christopher Læssø, Morten Hebsgaard, Søren Malling, Finn Nielsen, Jesper Groth, Anders Brink Madsen, Peder Thomas Pedersen, Signe Egholm Olsen, Elvir Ramovic, Sebastian Bull Sarning, Henrik Noël Olesen, Ulla Henningsen, Petrine Agger)

Real Love (C'est ca l'amour)

Drama about a single dad trying to raise his two daughters.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2018; Director: Claire Burger; Writer: Claire Burger; Stars: Bouli Lanners, Justine Lacroix, Sarah Henochsberg, Cécile Rémy-Boutang, Antonia Buresi, Célia Mayer, Lorenzo Demanget, Tiago Gandra, Laure Ballarin, Jean-Claude Acquaviva, François Aragni, Paul Giansily, Stéphane Serra, Jean Sicurani, Maxime Vuillamier)

The Sharks

Review preview for The Sharks

Tightly structured and well-shot

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
While a rumour about the presence of sharks in a small beach town distracts residents, 14-year-old Rosina begins to feel an instinct to shorten the distance between her body and Joselo's.

(Country: Uruguay, Argentina, Spain; Year: 2019; Director: Lucía Garibaldi; Writer: Lucía Garibaldi; Stars: Romina Bentancur, Federico Morosini, Fabián Arenillas, Valeria Lois, Antonella Aquistapache)

Full review

Sick Sick Sick (Sem seu sangue)

Review preview for Sick Sick Sick

The director has an eye for a strong image that bodes well for future projects, but their use here is often smack on the nose.

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
A teenager becomes fascinated with a new kid in class who is a haemophiliac. When tragedy strikes, she finds a new obsession.

(Country: Brazil, Netherlands, France; Year: 2019; Director: Alice Furtado; Writer: Alice Furtado, Leonardo Levis; Stars: Luiza Kosovski, Juan Paiva, Digão Ribeiro, Silvia Buarque, Lourenço Mutarelli, Ismar Tirelli Neto, Valentina Luz, Nahuel Perez Biscayart)

Full review

Sons Of Denmark (Danmarks Sonner)

Drama looks at the impact of radicalisation in society on two young men.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Ulaa Salim; Writer: Ulaa Salim; Stars: Imad Abul-Foul, Ari Alexander, Ivan Alan Ali, Rasmus Bjerg, Asil Mohamad Habib, Morten Holst, Elliott Crosset Hove, Ali Hussein, Olaf Johannessen, Mohammed Ismail Mohammed, Özlem Saglanmak, Zaki Youssef, Imad Abul-Foul, Ari Alexander, Ivan Alan Ali)

Stitches

Ana believes that she and other Serbian women have had their newborn babies stolen from them to be given up for illegal adoption for money. She sets out on a quest.

(Country: Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Year: 2019; Director: Miroslav Terzić; Stars: Snezana Bogdanovic, Marko Bacovic, Jovana Stojiljkovic, Vesna Trivalic, Dragana Varagic)

Tlamess

Following the death of his mother, “S”, a young Tunisian soldier, returns home. He deserts the army and is sought by the authorities. After several altercations with the police, “S” is seriously injured, and takes refuge in a nearby forest. “F”, a young pregnant woman, lives in a luxurious villa in the same forest. There she meets the strange “S”, who is undergoing some unusual changes of his own.

(Country: Tunisia, France; Year: 2019; Director: Ala Eddine Slim; Writer: Ala Eddine Slim; Stars: Abdullah Miniawy, Souhir Ben Amara)

Tommaso

Review preview for Tommaso

Like many of Ferrara’s films, Tommaso starts out with seemingly insignificant details, but stacks them until they mount ominously.

Sunil Chauhan · 3 out of 5
An American film director in Rome tries to understand where life has taken him.

(Country: Italy, UK, US, Greece; Year: 2019; Director: Abel Ferrara; Writer: Abel Ferrara; Stars: Willem Dafoe)

Full review

The Trial (Process)

Documentary

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2018; Director: Sergei Loznitsa)

The Unknown Saint (Le Miracle du Saint Inconnu)

Review preview for The Unknown Saint

The situation is ripe with ridiculousness, but Aljem shows a lot of restraint.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Moments before his capture by police, a thief digs a grave to hide a bag of money. Released from prison years later he returns to retrieve the bag, only to find a shrine to an Unknown Saint build directly over his loot, and a brand new village constructed all around it.

(Country: Morocco, France, Qatar, Germany, Lebanon; Year: 2019; Director: Alaa Eddine Aljem; Writer: Alaa Eddine Aljem; Stars: Younes Bouab, Salah Ben Saleh, Bouchaib Semmak, Mohammed Nouaimane, Anas El Baz, Abdelghani Kitab, Hassan Ben Badida, Ahmed Yarziz, Younes Bouab, Salah Ben Saleh, Bouchaib Semmak, Mohammed Nouaimane, Anas El Baz, Abdelghani Kitab, Hassan Ben Badida)

Full review