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Berlin International Film Festival · 2018

Berlin International Film Festival 2018

Competition

Programme

25 films · 13 reviews

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3 Days In Quiberon (3 Tage in Quiberon)

Dramatisations of Romy Scheider's last two interviews with journalists.

(Country: Germany, Austria, France; Year: 2018; Director: Emily Atef; Writer: Emily Atef; Stars: Marie Bäumer, Birgit Minichmayr, Charly Hübner, Robert Gwisdek, Denis Lavant)

Black 47

1847. An Irish soldier who fought in Afghanistan returns home where he experiences famine and British despotism. He becomes the avenger of his dead family.

(Country: Ireland, Luxembourg; Year: 2018; Director: Lance Daly; Writer: Lance Daly; Stars: Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Stephen Rea, Freddie Fox, Barry Keoghan)

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

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot

Review preview for Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot

It's hard to be tough on a film as warm-hearted as this one is in spirit - like Callahan, it's trying hard even when it fails.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Portrait of cartoonist John Callahan and his battle with alcoholism.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Gus Van Sant; Writer: John Callahan, Gus Van Sant; Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, Beth Ditto, Olivia Hamilton, Udo Kier, Kim Gordon, Carrie Brownstein, Emilio Rivera, Ken Tatafu, Angelique Rivera, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Anne Lane, Rebecca Field)

Full review

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)

Eldorado

Review preview for Eldorado

Imhoof tries to open the debate out to consider the unsavoury economics of the situation, with the personal touchstone ensuring that his film retains a character of its own that marks it out from others on the same subject.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The economic vicious circle that traps refugees.

(Country: Switzerland, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Markus Imhoof; Writer: Markus Imhoof)

Full review

Documentary. Out of competition

Entebbe (7 Days In Entebbe)

Review preview for Entebbe

The story expands beyond the conventions of a Boys Own adventure

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
Dramatisation of the rescue attempt after the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight en route from Tel Aviv to Paris.

(Country: United Kingdom, United States; Year: 2018; Director: José Padilha; Writer: Gregory Burke; Stars: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl, Eddie Marsan, Lior Ashkenazi, Denis Ménochet, Ben Schnetzer, Angel Bonanni, Andrea Deck, Nonso Anozie, Mark Ivanir,)

Full review See: Lior Ashkenazi in conversation on 2018 - 7 Days In Entebbe, My Zoe, The Wanderers: The Quest Of The Demon Hunter

Out of competition

Eva

A young writer hopes his encounter with a mysterious high-class prostitute will inspire him. But he becomes ensnared in an emotional entrapment.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Benoît Jacquot; Writer: Benoît Jacquot, Gilles Taurand, based on the novel by James Hadley Chase; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Gaspard Ulliel, Julia Roy, Marc Barbe, Richard Berry)

Ága

Review preview for Ága

Lazarov lets his tale unfold gradually like a gentle thaw

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
As an elderly couple who live in the traditions of their ancestors face the possibility of one of them dying, will the survivor be able to reconnect with their daughter?

(Country: Bulgaria, Germany, France; Year: 2018; Director: Milko Lazarov; Writer: Simeon Ventsislavov, Milko Lazarov; Stars: Mikhail Aprosimov, Feodosia Ivanova, Galina Tikhonova, Sergey Egorov, Afanasiy Kylaev)

Full review

Out of competition

The Heiresses (Las Herederas)

Review preview for The Heiresses

This film displays a deftness of touch.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
When Chiquita is sent to prison for debt, her introverted girlfriend Chela is left to her own devices. Chela offers rich women a taxi service in her old car. As she explores the outside world she also starts to focus on her own desires.

(Country: Paraguay, Uruguay, Germany, Brazil, Norway; Year: 2018; Director: Marcelo Martinessi; Writer: Marcelo Martinessi; Stars: Ana Brun, Margarita Irún, Ana Ivanova, Nilda Gonzalez, María Martins)

Full review See: Marcello Martinessi on cultural conservatism and filmmaking honesty in The Heiresses

In The Aisles (In Den Gangen)

Christian is new to the warehouse. He falls in love with Marion, but she’s married. Magical realism in the east German provinces.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Thomas Stuber; Writer: Clemens Meyer, Thomas Stuber; Stars: Franz Rogowski, Sandra Hüller, Peter Kurth, Andreas Leupold, Michael Specht)

Isle Of Dogs

Review preview for Isle Of Dogs

Go in as a fan of Anderson's work and you will not be disappointed. Go in as a fan of film and you will likely be delighted.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
In a future world where dogs have been exiled to the giant rubbish dumps of Trash Island, a Japanese boy sets out alone in search of his beloved pet.

(Country: US, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Wes Anderson; Writer: Wes Anderson; Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Liev Schreiber)

Full review

Mug (Twarz)

Review preview for Mug

Szumowska isn't aiming for subtly here and runs the risks of some of the townsfolk's attitudes slipping into broad brush character but the pathos at the film's heart for Jacek off-sets the problem.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Jacek enjoys his existence as a cool misfit in his Polish backwater. After a terrible accident on the site where the world’s largest statue of Jesus is being constructed, he is celebrated as a national hero and martyr.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2018; Director: Malgorzata Szumowska; Writer: Michal Englert, Malgorzata Szumowska; Stars: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Malgorzata Gorol, Roman Gancarczyk, Dariusz Chojnacki, Robert Talarczyk, Anna Tomaszewska, Martyna Krzysztofik, Iwona Bielska, Tadeusz Bragiel, Pawel Browczuk, Katarzyna Chlebny, Juliusz Chrzastowski, Wojciech Citak, Krzysztof Ciureja)

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

My Brother's Name Is Robert And He Is An Idiot (Mein Bruder heißt Robert und ist ein Idiot )

Robert is helping Elena prepare for her final school exams. These twins live in a world of their own, talking about sex, love and philosophical concepts of time. They want to cut the cord but their last summer together might just go on forever.

(Country: Germany, France, Switzerland; Year: 2018; Director: Philip Gröning, Sabine Timoteo; Writer: Philip Gröning; Stars: Josef Mattes, Julia Zange, Urs Jucker, Stefan Konarske, Zita Aretz)

Platoon

A realistic depiction of the American military ‘in country’ during the Vietnam War.

(Year: 1986; Director: Oliver Stone; Writer: Oliver Stone; Stars: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn)

Pig (Khook)

Review preview for Pig

There is satire here but this the director takes a jokes first, social comment second approach.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Hasan, a blacklisted filmmaker, starts to sulk when he isn't bumped off by a serial killer.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2018; Director: Mani Haghighi; Writer: Mani Haghighi; Stars: Hasan Majuni, Leila Hatami, Leili Rashidi, Parinaz Izadyar, Mina Jafarzadeh)

Full review

The Prayer (La prière)

In a remote community subject to a strict regimen in the French mountains, Thomas struggles to overcome his drug addiction.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Cédric Kahn; Stars: Anthony Bajon, Damien Chapelle, Alex Brendemühl, Louise Grinberg, Hanna Schygulla)

The Real Estate (Toppen av ingenting)

After a life of luxury financed by her father, 68-year-old Nojet inherits one of his apartment buildings in Stockholm city centre. Her future seems secure, but the house turns out to be a surreal curse for this lady accustomed to a life of leisure.

(Country: Sweden, UK; Year: 2018; Director: Måns Månsson, Axel Petersén; Writer: Måns Månsson, Axel Petersén; Stars: Léonore Ekstrand, Christer Levin, Christian Saldert, Olof Rhodin, Carl Johan Merner)

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)

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)

Transit

Review preview for Transit

Time and place hold both no and every meaning in Christian Petzold's latest film.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Georg flees to Marseilles to escape the German army. Assuming a false identity, he tries to obtain passage on a ship bound for Mexico. But then he meets Marie and his plans change.

(Country: Germany, France; Year: 2018; Director: Christian Petzold; Writer: Christian Petzold, baesd on the novel by Anna Seghers; Stars: Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese, Lilien Batman, Maryam Zaree, Barbara Auer, Matthias Brandt, Sebastian Hülk, Emilie de Preissac, Antoine Oppenheim, Louison Tresallet, Justus von Dohnányi, Alex Brendemühl, Trystan Pütter, Ronald Kukulies)

Full review See: Franz Rogowski ‪in conversation on‬ controlling his breath, a space for the imagination, the images and colours in Transit, and his work at the Kammerspiele , Christian Petzold ‪in conversation on‬ Franz Rogowski, a memory, an identity and the language in Transit , Christian Petzold ‪in conversation on‬ Alex Brendemühl and George Romero in Transit, author Anna Seghers, Isabelle Huppert and Claude Chabrol , Franz Rogowski ‪in conversation on‬ Christian Petzold's Transit and The State We Are In

Unsane

Review preview for Unsane

That the biggest surprise of the film is not a plot point at all but the appearance of someone famous in a cameo role, speaks volumes.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she is confronted by her greatest fear - but is it real or is it a product of her delusion?

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Steven Soderbergh; Writer: Jonathan Bernstein, James Greer; Stars: Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins)

Full review

Out of competition

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)