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Berlin International Film Festival · 2016

Berlin International Film Festival 2016

Competition

Programme

23 films · 6 reviews

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24 Weeks

A woman who is already six months pregnant learns that her unborn child will have Down's syndrome as well as a serious heart defect.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2016; Director: Anne Zohra Berrached; Writer: Carl Gerber, Anne Zohra Berrached; Stars: Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf)

Alone In Berlin (Jeder Stirbt Für Sich Allein)

Working class couple Otto and Anna Quangel receive the news that their only son has lost his life in the battlefield and decide to resist the Nazi regime in their very own way.

(Country: Germany, France, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Vincent Perez; Writer: Vincent Perez, based on the book by Hans Fallada; Stars: Emma Thompson, Daniel Brühl, Brendan Gleeson)

Being 17 (Quand On A 17 Ans)

Damien and Thomas, sworn enemies at school, find themelves living under the same roof.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: André Téchiné; Stars: Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein, Corentin Fila, Alexis Loret)

Boris Without Béatrice (Boris Sans Béatrice)

A man begins having an extramarital affair to deal with his emotional and companionship needs while caring for his terminally ill wife.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2016; Director: Denis Côté; Writer: Denis Côté; Stars: James Hyndman, Simone-Élise Girard, Denis Lavant)

Chi-Raq

Review preview for Chi-Raq

Though not entirely successful, Lee's adaptation certainly has balls.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Lysistrata re-envisioned through an outbreak of street violence between black gangs.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Spike Lee; Writer: Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee, based on the play by Aristophanes; Stars: Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, John Cusack)

Full review

The Commune (Kollektivet)

A couple who inherit a big house by the sea invite their friends to live with them, but things don't work out as they hoped.

(Country: Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands; Year: 2015; Director: Thomas Vinterberg; Stars: Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Helene Reingaard Neumann, Martha Sofie Wallstrøm Hansen, Lars Ranthe)

Crosscurrent (Chang Jiang Tu)

A cargo boat captain travels the length of the Yangtze, discovering China's secrets along the way.

(Country: China; Year: 2016; Director: Yang Chao; Stars: Qin Hao, Xin Zhi Lei, Wu Lipeng, Wang Hongwei, Jiang Hualin)

Death In Sarajevo (Smrt U Sarajevu, Mort à Sarajevo)

A satirical film about political dreams and nightmares

(Country: France, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Year: 2016; Director: Danis Tanović; Stars: Jacques Weber, Snežana Vidović, Izudin Bajrović, Vedrana Seksan, Muhamed Hadžović)

A Dragon Arrives! (Ejhdeha Vared Mishavad!)

A sound engineer and a geologist help a police inspector investigate the apparent suicide of a political prisoner.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2016; Director: Mani Haghigh; Stars: Amir Jadidi, Homayoun Ghanizadeh, Ehsan Goudarzi, Kiana Tajammol, Nader Fallah)

Fire At Sea (Fuocoammare)

Review preview for Fire At Sea

The symbolism in Fire At Sea is so organic that it might dawn on you hours or days after seeing the film.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
A documentary looking at the inhabitants of Lampedusa and the desperate attempts made by refugees to reach the island.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2015; Director: Gianfranco Rosi; Writer: Gianfranco Rosi, Carla Cattani; Stars: Samuele Pucillo, Mattias Cucina, Samuele Caruana, Pietro Bartolo, Giuseppe Fragapane)

Full review

Genius

A reflection on the relationship between eccentric novelist Thomas Wolfe and editor Max Perkins.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2016; Director: Michael Grandage; Stars: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, Guy Pearce)

Hedi (Inhebbek Hedi)

A young Tunisian man is mistaken in thinking that there can be no more surprises in his life.

(Country: Tunisia, Belgium, France; Year: 2016; Director: Mohamed Ben Attia; Stars: Majd Mastoura, Rym Ben Messaoud, Sabah Bouzouita, Hakim Boumessoudi, Omnia Ben Ghali)

Hail, Caesar!

Review preview for Hail, Caesar!

The Coens' obvious fun in concocting scenes of mid-century paranoia is infectious.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Capitol Pictures is about to complete its biggest film of the year, but its star has been kidnapped. Can the studio fixer solve the problem in time?

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen; Writer: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen; Stars: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes. Alden Ehrenreich, Heather Goldenhersh, Jonah Hill, Frances McDormand, Christopher Lambert, Michael Gambon)

Full review

Letters From War (Cartas De Guerra)

A young doctor writes to his wife from the battlefront in Angola.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2016; Director: Ivo Ferreira; Writer: Ivo Ferreira, based on the book by António Lobo Antunes; Stars: Miguel Nunes, Margarida Vila-Nova, Ricardo Pereira)

A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery (Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis)

The story of revolutionary Andres Bonifacio and his fight against Spanish colonial rule.

(Country: Philippines, Singapore; Year: 2016; Director: Lav Diaz; Stars: Piolo Pascual, John Lloyd Cruz, Hazel Orencio, Alessandra De Rossi, Joel Saracho)

Midnight Special

Review preview for Midnight Special

A sublime family thriller

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
A man takes his eight year old son on a special journey.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Jeff Nichols; Writer: Jeff Nichols; Stars: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard)

Full review See: Interview with Jaeden Lieberher, Jeff Nichols, Michael Shannon and Kirsten Dunst about Midnight Special , Interview with Michael Shannon about Midnight Special

News From Planet Mars (Des Nouvelles De La Planète Mars)

Philippe Mars' orderly world is turned upside down when his two children and a mentally unstable colleague move into his home.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Dominik Moll; Stars: François Damiens, Vincent Macaigne, Veerle Baetens, Jeanne Guittet, Tom Rivoire)

The Patriarch (Mahana)

Feuding Maori clans are confronted by their past.

(Country: New Zealand, Australia; Year: 2015; Director: Lee Tamahori; Stars: Temuera Morrison, Akuhata Keefe, Nancy Brunning, Jim Moriarty, Regan Taylor)

Saint Amour

A father and son reconnect as they travel through the wine growing regions of France

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Gustave Kervern, Benoît Delépine; Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Benoît Poelvoorde, Vincent Lacoste, Céline Sallette, Gustave Kervern)

Soy Nero

A Mexican illegal immigrant in the US signs up to the military in the hope of receiving a green card and being allowed to stay.

(Country: Germany, France, Mexico; Year: 2016; Director: Rafi Pitts; Stars: Johnny Ortiz, Rory Cochrane, Aml Ameen, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Michael Harney)

Things To Come (L'Avenir)

Review preview for Things To Come

Huppert is perfect - no trace of self-pity waters down the complicated emotions at work.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
A philosophy teacher soldiers through her life being turned upside down on all fronts.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2016; Director: Mia Hansen-Løve; Writer: Mia Hansen-Løve; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Roman Kolinka, Edith Scob)

Full review

United States Of Love (Zjednoczone Stany Miłości)

Four Lonely women in a small Polish town contemplate their circumstances and what life has to offer.

(Country: Poland, Sweden; Year: 2016; Director: Tomasz Wasilewski; Stars: Julia Kijowska, Magdalena Cielecka, Dorota Kolak, Marta Nieradkiewicz, Łukasz Simlat )

Zero Days

Review preview for Zero Days

Good documentary finds an interesting story or is interestingly told - great documentary does both, and Zero Days is that.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
An investigation into Stuxnet and cyber security issues.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Alex Gibney)

Full review