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Berlin International Film Festival · 2021

Berlin International Film Festival 2021

Competition

Programme

15 films · 9 reviews

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Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn (Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc)

Review preview for Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn

At times, the dialogue is well done, scores points. At other times, it felt like we had wandered into a Socratic symposium.

Jane Fae · 3.5 out of 5
Emi, a school teacher, finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is leaked on the Internet.

(Country: Romania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg; Year: 2021; Director: Radu Jude; Writer: Radu Jude; Stars: Tudorel Filimon, Claudia Ieremia, Olimpia Malai, Ilinca Manolache, Daniela Ionita Marcu, Katia Pascariu, Alexandru Potocean, Nicodim Ungureanu, Andi Vasluianu, Dana Voicu)

Full review See: Jude Uncovered! An almost complete A to Z to Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn

Ballad Of A White Cow (Ghasideyeh gave sefid)

Review preview for Ballad Of A White Cow

There's an elegance to the filmmaking as this story unravels its themes of societal prejudice, justice and remorse that elevates every frame.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A single mum, whose husband has been executed, struggles for justice.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2020; Director: Maryam Moghadam, Behtash Sanaeeha; Writer: Mehrdad Kouroshniya, Maryam Moghadam, Behtash Sanaeeha; Stars: Maryam Moghadam, Alireza Sani Far, Pouria Rahimi, Avin Poor Raoufi, Mohammad Heidari, Maryam Moghadam, Alireza Sani Far, Pouria Rahimi, Avin Poor Raoufi, Mohammad Heidari)

Full review

A Cop Movie (Una Película de Policías)

Review preview for A Cop Movie

For all its intricacy and cleverness, this is a film that never loses its central focus.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A docufiction dive into the Mexican police force.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2021; Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios; Writer: Alonso Ruizpalacios; Stars: Raúl Briones, Mónica Del Carmen, María Teresa Hernández Cañas, José de Jesús Rodríguez Hernández)

Full review

Drift Away (Albatros)

The captain of a police squad finds his life turned upside down in the course of duty.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Xavier Beauvois; Writer: Xavier Beauvois; Stars: Jérémie Renier, Marie-Julie Maille, Victor Belmondo)

Fabian - Going To The Dogs (Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde)

Drama about a copywriter set against the backdrop of 1920s Berlin.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Dominik Graf; Writer: Dominik Graf; Stars: Tom Schilling, Albrecht Schuch, Saskia Rosendahl, Meret Becker, Eva Medusa)

Forest - I See You Everywhere (Rengeteg - mindenhol látlak)

A sequel to Fliegauf's earlier film Forest.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2021; Director: Benedek Fliegauf; Writer: Benedek Fliegauf; Stars: Juli Jakab, Eszter Balla, Ági Gubík, Mihály Vig, Péter Fancsikai, Zsolt Végh, Eliza Sodró, Felicián Keresztes, István Lénárt, Natasa Kovalik, Lilla Kizlinger, Laszlo Cziffer, Réka Lukoviczki, András Lukács, Barnabás Prukner)

I'm Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch)

Review preview for I'm Your Man

Watching Alma grow closer to Tom is bittersweet – not least because she knows the danger.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
In the near future, a scientist finds herself agreeing to live with a humanoid "partnership robot" in order to fund her research.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Maria Schrader; Writer: Emma Braslavsky, Jan Schomburg, Maria Schrader; Stars: Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens, Sandra Hüller, Hans Löw, Henriette Richter-Röhl, Annika Meier, Jürgen Tarrach, Monika Oschek, Wolfgang Hübsch, Helena Hentschel, Falilou Seck)

Full review

Introduction (Inteurodeoksyeon)

A young man tries to find his way in the world in the face of his parents' desires.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2021; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Shin Seokho, Park Miso, Kim Minhee)

Memory Box (The Notebooks)

Review preview for Memory Box

The memories have the vibrant immediacy of teenage energy and are treated by Hadjithomas and her co-director Khalil Joreige in the same spirited fashion.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Three generations of women in Canada, deal with memories of their homeland of Lebanon.

(Country: France, Lebanon, Qatar, Canada; Year: 2021; Director: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige; Writer: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige, Gaëlle Macé; Stars: Manal Issa, Isabelle Zighondi, Rim Turkhi, Manal Issa, Isabelle Zighondi, Rim Turkhi)

Full review

Mr Bachmann and His Class (Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse)

Documentary about a teacher and his pupils.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Maria Speth)

Natural Light (Természetes fény)

Review preview for Natural Light

Unlike many first-time directors who have the urge to cram more and more in, Nagy and his co-writer Pál Závada instead strip things back, letting the trudge of the men tell its own tale.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A company of soldiers hunt for partisans in occupied Soviet territory during the Second World War.

(Country: Latvia, Germany, Hungary, France; Year: 2021; Director: Dénes Nagy; Writer: Dénes Nagy, Pál Závada; Stars: Ferenc Szabó, László Bajkó, Tamás Garbacz, Gyula Franczia, Stuhl Erno, Szilágyi Gyula, Mareks Lapeskis, Kozó Krisztián, Nánási Csaba, Fodor Zsolt, Mondovics Mihály, Barta József, Illés Pál, Szeverényi János, Besenyei Ferenc)

Full review

Nebenan (Next Door)

Ensemble drama set in modern-day Berlin.

(Country: US, Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Daniel Brühl; Writer: Daniel Kehlmann; Stars: Daniel Brühl, Peter Kurth, Aenne Schwarz, Rike Eckermann, Gode Benedix, Nils Doergelo, Mex Schlüpfer, Stefan Scheumann, Daniel Brühl, Peter Kurth, Aenne Schwarz, Rike Eckermann, Gode Benedix, Nils Doergelo, Mex Schlüpfer)

Petite Maman

Review preview for Petite Maman

The autumn setting fits it perfectly, because although this is the change of the year as things die back for winter, it is also blazing with colour and hopefulness.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Something magical happens to a young girl after the death of her grandma.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Céline Sciamma; Writer: Céline Sciamma; Stars: Gabrielle Sanz, Joséphine Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne, Margot Abascal,)

Full review

What Do We See When We Look At The Sky? (Ras vkhedavt, rodesac cas vukurebt?)

Review preview for What Do We See When We Look At The Sky?

Digression builds upon detour, which piles charmingly onto excursion, sometimes lifted, sometimes pushed and always shaped by a score that also roams freely in its influences.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A couple who fall in love at first sight, wake the next day with different appearances and struggle to find one another.

(Country: Germany, Georgia; Year: 2021; Director: Alexandre Koberidze; Stars: Irina Chelidze, Giorgi Bochorishvili, Ani Karseladze, Giorgi Ambroladze)

Full review See: Alexandre Koberidze in conversation on What Do We See When We Look At The Sky? and folktales

Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy (Guzen to sozo)

Review preview for Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy

The Japanese filmmaker guides his actors as if they were just learning emotions, creating an impression of awkwardness.

Mateusz Tarwacki · 4 out of 5
An unexpected love triangle, a failed honey trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding are the three episodes, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi; Writer: Ryusuke Hamaguchi; Stars: Kotone Furukawa, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Fusako Urabe)

Full review