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Berlin International Film Festival · 2022

Berlin International Film Festival 2022

Competition

Programme

18 films · 6 reviews

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Alcarràs

Review preview for Alcarràs

Simón takes a loose approach to the narrative, letting the small dramas of family play out alongside larger ones, giving as much value to the transient pleasures of fresh peach juice and cooked snails as the tensions between siblings.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The Solé family spends the summer picking peaches - but this year’s crop may well be their last as new owners plan to replace the peach trees with solar panels and the family’s livelihood is threatened.

(Country: Spain, Italy; Year: 2022; Director: Carla Simón; Writer: Carla Simón; Stars: Jordi Pujol Dolcet, Anna Otin, Xènia Roset, Albert Bosch, Ainet Jounou, Josep Abad, Montse Oró, Carles Cabós, Berta Pipó, Isaac Rovira, Joel Rovira)

Full review

Before, Now & Then (Nana)

Indonesia, the 1960s. After losing her family to the conflicts that shook the country, Nana has built a new life with a rich Sundanese man. In spite of the love she bears for her children, she still feels out of place.

(Country: Indonesia; Year: 2022; Director: Kamila Andini; Writer: Kamila Andini; Stars: Happy Salma, Laura Basuki, Rieke Diah Pitaloka, Arawinda Kirana, Arswendy Bening Swara, Ibnu Jamil)

Both Sides Of The Blade (Avec amour et acharnement, Fire)

Review preview for Both Sides Of The Blade

Although this film has no body count, it carries with it all the danger of an erotic thriller.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Sara has been in a stable, loving relationship with Jean for years. But then a man from their past reappears and, without warning, an old passion reignites.

(Country: rance; Year: 2021; Director: Claire Denis; Writer: Christine Angot, Claire Denis; Stars: Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon, Grégoire Colin, Issa Perica, Bulle Ogier, Mati Diop, Hana)

Full review

Call Jane

Review preview for Call Jane

Nagy and her screenwriters’ disciplined refusal to pursue grandiose storylines results in a well-earned sense of community.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
Chicago, 1968: after having a life-saving secret abortion, a suburban housewife seeks to give women access to healthy and safe abortions through an underground collective of women known as "Jane".

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Phyllis Nagy; Writer: Hayley Schore, Roshan Sethi; Stars: Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara, Chris Messina, John Magaro, Aida Turturro, Wunmi Mosaku, Cory Michael Smith, Alison Jaye, Rebecca Henderson, Geoffrey Cantor, Rachel Rosenbloom, Gina Jun, Bianca D'Ambrosio, Grace Edwards)

Full review

Everything Will Be OK

A 21st century dystopian fable.

(Country: Cambodia; Year: 2022; Director: Rithy Panh; Writer: Christophe Bataille, Rithy Panh, Agnès Sénémaud)

A E I O U - A Quick Alphabet of Love

A sixtysomething former actress accepts a job as a voice coach, only to recognise the teenager she is teaching as someone who recently snatched her handbag in the street.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2022; Director: Nicolette Krebitz; Writer: Nicolette Krebitz; Stars: Sophie Rois, Udo Kier, Milan Herms, Nicolas Bridet)

Leonora Addio

The ashes of writer and playwright Luigi Pirandello are transported from a hasty burial site in fascist Rome to a permanent resting place in his native Sicily, on a trek that takes us through post-war Italy and its filmed memories.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2022; Director: Paolo Taviani; Writer: Paolo Taviani; Stars: Nathalie Rapti Gomez, Fabrizio Ferracane, Massimo Popolizio, Jessica Piccolo Valerani, Claudio Bigagli, Francis Pardeilhan, Sinne Mutsaers, Giulio Pampiglione, Michael Schermi, Elvio La Pira, Freddy Drabble, Achille Marciano, Matteo Pittiruti, Francesco Cristiano Russo, Ivan Giambirtone)

The Line

After hitting her mother in a violent argument, 35-year-old Margaret is served with a three-month restraining order. But the line that marks the newly forbidden 100-metre zone around her mother’s home only exacerbates her desire to be closer to her family.

(Country: France, Belgium, Switzerland; Year: 2022; Director: Ursula Meier; Writer: Stéphanie Blanchoud, Antoine Jaccoud, Ursula Meier; Stars: Stéphanie Blanchoud, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Elli Spagnolo, Dali Benssalah, India Hair, Benjamin Biolay, Eric Ruf, Thomas Wiesel, Louis Gence)

The Novelist's Film

A film built on chance encounters.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Writer: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Yunhee Cho, Lee Eun-mi, Ju-bong Gi, Seong-guk Ha, Lee Hye-yeong, Hae-hyo Kwon, Kim Min-hee, Mi-so Park, Kim Si-Ha, Seo Younghwa)

One Year, One Night

Céline and Ramón, a young couple who survived the Bataclan terrorist attack, struggle to regain a sense of normality.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2022; Director: Isaki Lacuesta; Writer: Fran Araújo, Isa Campo, Ramón González; Stars: Alba Guilera, Miko Jarry, Noémie Merlant, Quim Gutiérrez, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Natalia de Molina, Sophie Broustal, Enric Auquer, Bruno Todeschini, Mike F. Pamphile, José Javier Domínguez, Blanca Apilánez, C. Tangana, Jean-Louis Tilburg, Alex Moreu Garriga)

The Passengers Of The Night (Les passagers de la nuit)

Paris, 1981. The presidential election heralds the winds of change which find an echo in the life of Elisabeth, whose husband has just abandoned her.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Mikhaël Hers; Writer: Maud Ameline, Mikhaël Hers; Stars: Emmanuelle Béart, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Noée Abita, Ophélia Kolb, Thibault Vinçon, Laurent Poitrenaux, Didier Sandre, Quito Rayon Richter, Morgane Portejoie Pinsard)

Peter Von Kant

Review preview for Peter Von Kant

Martyrdom and bad wishing, casual cruelty and sweet despair reign in this realm.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 3.5 out of 5
The life of famous film director Peter von Kant is turned upside down when he meets the handsome young Amir.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon; Stars: Denis Ménochet, Isabelle Adjani, Khalil Ben Gharbia, Hanna Schygulla, Stefan Crepon, Aminthe Audiard)

Full review

A Piece Of Sky (Drii Winter)

Review preview for A Piece Of Sky

The film could not be more Swiss if it were made out of chocolate, yet it feels real, organic, a natural expression of the world in which it is set.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A young woman commits to standing by her husband after he is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

(Country: Switzerland, Germany; Year: 2022; Director: Michael Koch; Writer: Michael Koch; Stars: Josef Aschwanden, Daniela Barmettler, Michèle Brand, Simon Wisler, Elin Zgraggen)

Full review See: Interview with Michael Koch and Michèle Brand about A Piece Of Sky

Rabiye Kurnaz Vs George Bush

Her son Murat’s detention in Guantanamo catapults Rabiye Kurnaz from everyday life in her terraced house in Bremen into the heart of world politics.

(Country: Germany, France; Year: 2022; Director: Andreas Dresen; Writer: Laila Stieler; Stars: Meltem Kaptan, Alexander Scheer, Charly Hübner, Samir Fuchs, Cornell Adams, Harvey Friedman, Nazmi Kirik, Martin Stange, Vince Eisenson, Alexander Hörbe, Tom Zahner, Jonathan Failla, Mike Davies, Stacy Thunes, William G. Tomek)

Return To Dust

In a rural Chinese village, reticent farmer Ma and a disabled woman named Guiying lead lives that are similarly sheltered and difficult. Their arranged marriage seems destined to make things worse, but instead they discover a shared purpose.

(Country: China; Year: 2022; Director: Li Ruijun; Writer: Li Ruijun; Stars: Wu Renlin, Hai-Qing)

Rimini

Review preview for Rimini

The director offers perhaps the best visual representation of the word ‘kitsch’ cinema has recently seen

Dora Leu · 4 out of 5
Rimini in winter. A group of older hotel guests is blissfully enjoying Richie Bravo singing about tears that hurt. But when his daughter holds up a mirror to his pathos, the past catches up with this star of schmaltz.

(Country: Germany, Austria, France, Italy; Year: 2022; Director: Ulrich Seidl; Writer: Veronika Franz, Ulrich Seidl; Stars: Michael Thomas, Tessa Göttlicher, Hans-Michael Rehberg, Inge Maux, Claudia Martini, Georg Friedrich, Silvana Sansoni, Natalya Baranova, Rosa Schmidl)

Full review

Robe Of Gems

Isabel and her family take possession of her mother’s villa in rural Mexico where they reconnect with their long-time domestic worker Mari, whose sister has disappeared.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2022; Director: Natalia López; Writer: Natalia López; Stars: Nailea Norvind, Antonia Olivares, Mónica Poggio, Aida Roa, Juan Daniel García Treviño)

That Kind Of Summer

Three women are spending “that kind of summer” in a quiet house by a lake, talking about (their) sexuality – from trauma to non-stop lust. A therapist is on hand to supervise them, a reversal of roles cannot be ruled out. The future is open.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Denis Côté; Writer: Denis Côté; Stars: Larissa Corriveau, Laure Giappiconi, Samir Guesmi, Aude Mathieu, Hinde Rabbaj, Anne Ratte-Polle)