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Berlin International Film Festival · 2025

Berlin International Film Festival 2025

Competition

Programme

19 films · 10 reviews

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Ari

Ari, a young teacher, quits his job and is thrown out of the house by his father. Lost and alone, he reconnects with old friends, triggering a journey of self-discovery.

(Country: France; Year: 2025; Director: Léonor Serraille; Writer: Léonor Serraille; Stars: Andranic Manet, Eva Lallier, Ryad Ferrad, Pascal Rénéric, Théo Delezenne)

Blue Moon

Review preview for Blue Moon

As Blue Moon progresses it becomes clear that the one thing Hart really wants is to be wanted.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his groundbreaking hit musical Oklahoma!.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Richard Linklater; Writer: Robert Kaplow; Stars: Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott, Ethan Hawke, Bobby Cannavale, Patrick Kennedy, Simon Delaney, John Doran, Elaine O'Dwyer, Cillian Sullivan, Ian Dillon)

Full review

The Blue Trail (O Ultimo Azul)

Review preview for The Blue Trail

When you get old, hope you find someone who looks at you the way Mascaro looks at Tereza and Roberta.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
To maximise economic productivity, the government orders the elderly to relocate to distant housing colonies. Tereza, 77, refuses – and instead embarks on a journey through the Amazon that will change her destiny forever.

(Country: Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, Chile; Year: 2025; Director: Gabriel Mascaro; Writer: Tibério Azul, Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lorega, Gabriel Mascaro; Stars: Denise Weinberg, Rodrigo Santoro, Miriam Socarras, Adanilo)

Full review See: Interview with Gabriel Mascaro about The Blue Trail

Dreams

Believing his lover will support him, a young Mexican ballet dancer crosses the border to pursue his dreams in San Francisco. But as ambition and love clash with harsh realities, he must face the true nature of their relationship.

(Country: Mexico, US; Year: 2025; Director: Michel Franco; Writer: Michel Franco; Stars: Jessica Chastain, Rupert Friend, Marshall Bell, Isaac Hernández, Lee Braithwaite, Jim Anderson, Tracy Todd, Tatiana Ronderos, Sedrick Cabrera, Scott Jordan, Jayden Leavitt, Nicholas Gould, Nessa Dougherty, Bobby August Jr., Phillip Caires)

Dreams

Review preview for Dreams

Øverbye makes a compelling lead, taking on the chunks of voiceover without any problem but also excelling in terms of conveying her character’s moods via body language

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Johanne’s intimate writings about her crush on her teacher ignite both tension and self-reflection within her family, as her mother and grandmother confront their own unfulfilled dreams and desires.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2024; Director: Dag Johan Haugerud; Writer: Dag Johan Haugerud; Stars: Ane Dahl Torp, Selome Emnetu, Anne Marit Jacobsen, Ingrid Giæver, Valdemar Dørmænen Irgens, Ella Øverbye, Silje Breivik, Karina Sjøen, Lars Jacob Holm, Andrine Sæther, Nora Hagstrøm, Ammar Banewais, Brynjar Åbel Bandlien, Marja Folde, Sari Kader)

Full review See: Dag Johan Haugerud: 'When you fall in love, you get very self-obsessed'

Girls On Wire (Xiang fei de nv hai)

Tian Tian, the single mother of a five-year-old daughter, kills a drug dealer and is then pursued for vengeance. The only person she can turn to for help is her female cousin, Fang Di.

(Country: China; Year: 2025; Director: Vivian Qu; Writer: Vivian Qu; Stars: Haocun Liu, Vicky Chen, Youhao Zhang, Yitie Liu, Jing Peng, Jiankang, Haoyu Yang, You Zhou, Le Geng)

Hot Milk

Review preview for Hot Milk

Mackey is a simmering, sullen, potent lead, keeping viewers on edge even as she lounges in the sun.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Rose and her daughter Sofia journey to a Spanish seaside town to meet an enigmatic healer. As Sofia embraces an affair with an alluring stranger, tensions with her overbearing mother threaten their fragile bond.

(Country: UK; Year: 2025; Director: Rebecca Lenkiewicz; Writer: Deborah Levy; Stars: Emma Mackey, Vicky Krieps, Fiona Shaw, Vincent Perez, Yann Gael, Patsy Ferran, Yorgos Tsiantoulas, Korina Gougouli, Vasilis Tsigristaris, Paris Thomopoulos, Dimitris Oikonomidis, Denia Mimerini, Electra Sarri, Kostas Tatarakis)

Full review

The Ice Tower (La Tour De Glace)

Review preview for The Ice Tower

Cotillard is at her very best as a character we see only from the sidelines – earthy and opinionated in flashes, yet frozen by her art.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Colder than ice, her kiss pierces the heart ... The 1970s. Jeanne, a young runaway, falls under the spell of Cristina, the enigmatic star of The Snow Queen, a film which is being shot in the studio where Jeanne has taken refuge.

(Country: France, Germany, Italy; Year: 2025; Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic; Writer: Geoff Cox, Lucile Hadzihalilovic; Stars: Marion Cotillard, Gaspar Noé, August Diehl, Clara Pacini, Lila-Rose Gilberti, Carmen Haidacher, Wilhelm Bonnelle, Raphael Reboul, Marine Gesbert)

Full review

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Review preview for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Rose Byrne anchors the whole damn thing with a performance that gives the sense of wobbling for eternity on a tightrope without ever quite falling off.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Mary Bronstein; Writer: Mary Bronstein; Stars: Rose Byrne, Danielle Macdonald, Josh Pais, Daniel Zolghadri, Ivy Wolk, Conan O'Brien, A$AP Rocky, Helen Hong, Ella Beatty, Delaney Quinn, Mark Stolzenberg, Lark White, Eva Kornet)

Full review

Kontinental '25

Orsolya is a bailiff in Cluj, the main city in Transylvania. One day she has to evict a homeless man from a cellar, an action with tragic consequences that triggers a moral crisis which Orsolya must weather as best she can.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2025; Director: Radu Jude; Writer: Radu Jude; Stars: Serban Pavlu, Eszter Tompa, Gabriel Spahiu, Adonis Tanta, Mardare Oana)

Living The Land (Sheng xi zhi di)

With both parents working far away, ten-year-old Chuang is being raised by extended family in his home village, where thousands of years of rural tradition collide with the socio-economic changes of China in the early 1990s.

(Year: 2025; Director: Meng Huo; Stars: Wang Shang, Zhang Chuwen, Zhang Yanrong, Zhang Caixia, Cao Lingzhi)

The Message (El Mensaje)

Review preview for The Message

Fund encourages us to tune in to the energies of the trio, the subtle shifts of mood, shared moments of understanding or joy.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A young girl and her grandparents travel the Argentinian countryside as she gives pet owners psychic readings of their animals.

(Country: Argentina, Spain; Year: 2025; Director: Iván Fund; Writer: Iván Fund; Stars: Marcelo Subiotto, Mara Bestelli, Anika Bootz, Betania Cappato)

Full review See: Iván Fund on his loose and intuitive approach to filmmaking and story in The Message

Mother's Baby

Review preview for Mother's Baby

The filmmaker who previously made her name with romantic comedy-dramas, proves to be a bonafide genre auteur, although it is her first attempt

Marko Stojiljkovic · 3.5 out of 5
The family dream becomes a nightmare as 40-year-old Julia struggles to bond with her newborn child.

(Country: Austria, Germany, Switzerland; Year: 2025; Director: Johanna Moder; Writer: Arne Kohlweyer, Johanna Moder; Stars: Claes Bang, Julia Franz Richter, Marie Leuenberger, Hans Löw, Caroline Frank, Andreas Ortner, Judith Altenberger, Evelyn Ruzicka, Nina Fog, Nairi Hadodo, Ines Miro, Selina Ströbele, Tchuci)

Full review

Reflection In A Dead Diamond (Reflet Dans Un Diamant Mort)

Review preview for Reflection In A Dead Diamond

For something so lovely, it is hard-edged, and it sparkles with visual wit.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
When the mysterious woman in the room next door disappears, a debonair 70-year-old ex-spy living in a luxury hotel on the Côte d’Azur is confronted by the demons and darlings of a lurid past in which moviemaking, memories and madness collide.

(Country: Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, France; Year: 2025; Director: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani; Stars: Maria de Medeiros, Koen De Bouw, Fabio Testi, Yannick Renier, Barbara Hellemans, Thi Mai Nguyen, Céline Camara, Kezia Quintal)

Full review See: Interview with Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani about Reflection In A Dead Diamond

The Safe House (La Cache)

An eccentric family portrait set during the May 1968 protests in Paris. A nine-year-old boy stays with his grandparents and uncles while his parents protest. When an illustrious guest seeks refuge in the apartment, the family’s dynamics change.

(Country: Switzerland, France, Luxembourg; Year: 2025; Director: Lionel Baier; Writer: Lionel Baier, Catherine Charrier; Stars: Michel Blanc, Liliane Rovère, William Lebghil, Dominique Reymond, Larisa Faber, Aurélien Gabrielli, Adrien Barazzone)

Timestamp (Strichka Chasu)

Despite the war, school life continues in Ukraine, with pupils and teachers striving to carry on learning even under constant threat. The film is a mosaic of the everyday lives of teachers and students from different corners of Ukraine.

(Country: France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ukraine; Year: 2025; Director: Kateryna Gornostai; Writer: Kateryna Gornostai; Stars: Olha Bryhynets, Borys Khovriak, Mykola Kolomiiets, Valeriia Hukova, Yelyzaveta Loza, Svitlana Popova, Mykola Shpak)

What Does that Nature Say to You (Geu jayeoni nege mworago hani)

A young poet drops his girlfriend off at her parents’ house and is amazed by its size. He bumps into her father, meets her mother and sister, and they all end up spending a long day together; fuelled by conversation, food and libations.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2025; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Kwon Hae-hyo, Ha Seong-guk, Yunhee Cho, Mi-so Park, Kang Soyi)

What Marielle Knows (Was Marielle Weiß)

Review preview for What Marielle Knows

The intriguing concept plays out from initial parental disbelief and denial to unexpected changes in behaviour and attitudes.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 3.5 out of 5
Julia and Tobias discover that their daughter Marielle has suddenly developed telepathic abilities and can see and hear everything they do. This leads to situations ranging from the awkward to the absurd as uncomfortable truths are revealed.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Frédéric Hambalek; Writer: Frédéric Hambalek; Stars: Julia Jentsch, Felix Kramer, Laeni Geiseler, Moritz von Treuenfels, Mehmet Atesci, Sissy Höfferer)

Full review See: Frédéric Hambalek on What Marielle Knows (Was Marielle Weiß)

Yunan

On a remote island, Munir seeks solitude to contemplate a final act, only to find unexpected solace in the quiet presence of Valeska, whose compassion reignites his fading will to live.

(Country: Germany, Canada, Italy, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia; Year: 2025; Director: Ameer Fakher Eldin; Writer: Ameer Fakher Eldin; Stars: Sibel Kekilli, Tom Wlaschiha, Hanna Schygulla, Ali Suliman, Georges Khabbaz, Laura Sophia Landauer, Sophie Strupix)