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Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival · 2013

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2013

Panorama

Films that have been winning critical acclaim at other festivals this year.

Programme

40 films · 14 reviews

Jump to a film

Bastards (Les Salauds)

Review preview for Bastards

The precision of Claire Denis' perplexities, the ardent blows that fire at the heart and the head, are unequaled in her film Bastards (Les Salauds).

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
A vengeful man sets out to find out about the businessman who caused his family's ruin.

(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Claire Denis; Writer: Jean-Pol Fargeau, Claire Denis; Stars: Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni, Julie Bataille, Michel Subor, Lola Créton, Alex Descas, Grégoire Colin, Florence Loiret Caille)

Full review See: Interview with Vincent Lindon about his career , Claire Denis in conversation on Bastards

The Berlin File

Review preview for The Berlin File

While the tension ratchets up, there are rockets, redemption, reams of secrets.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
As a North Korean spy suspects he has been set up, a South Korean spy uncovers a conspiracy.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2013; Director: Ryoo Seung-wan; Stars: Ha Jung-woo, Han Suk-kyu, Gianna Jun, Ryoo Seung-bum)

Full review

Big Bad Wolves

Review preview for Big Bad Wolves

Definitely one of this year’s most accomplished thrillers.

David Graham · 4 out of 5
Two vigilantes kidnap a suspected child-killer.

(Country: Israel; Year: 2013; Director: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado; Writer: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado; Stars: Lior Ashkenazi, Tzahi Grad, Rotem Keinan, Doval'e Glickman)

Full review

Black Diamonds

A documentary about impoverished African children who dream of changing thei luck by becoming football stars.

(Country: Spain, Portugal; Year: 2013; Director: Miguel Alcantud; Writer: Miguel Alcantud)

A Castle In Italy (Un Château En Italie)

Review preview for A Castle In Italy

Everyone is allowed to over-act, not least herself, who runs the gamut of wet-eyed self-pity to hysteria.

Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
A family are forced to sell their Italian home.

(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; Writer: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Noémie Lvovsky, Noémie Lvovsky, Agnès de Sacy; Stars: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Louis Garrel, Filippo Timi, Marisa Borini, Xavier Beauvois, Céline Sallette, Andre Wilms, Marie Riviere, Gerard Falce, Pippo Delbono, Silvio Orlando, Omar Sharif)

Full review

Child's Pose (Pozitia Copilului)

Review preview for Child's Pose

In some ways she may be a monster, but Netzer and co-writer Radulescu find a path for Cornelia that steers clear of outright condemnation. Her tragic devotion to her son is so absolute that she retains our pity.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
An upper class woman loses all sight of morality as she strives to save her son from a prison sentence for knocking down an killing a child.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2013; Director: Calin Peter Netzer; Writer: Razvan Radulescu, Calin Peter Netzer; Stars: Luminita Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Florin Zamfirescu)

Full review See: San Sebastian diary: Child's Pose, Le Week-End, Gravity and Hanif Kureishi

Class Enemy (Razredni sovraznik)

Review preview for Class Enemy

Rok Biček's film shows that the drive to go against the grain can have as much to do with running with the pack as with embracing individuality.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A teacher finds his class start to turn on him after tragedy strikes the school.

(Country: Slovenia; Year: 2013; Director: Rok Bicek; Writer: Rok Bicek, Nejc Gazvoda, Janez Lapajne; Stars: Igor Samobor, Natasa Barbara Grancer, Tjaa Zeleznik, Masa Derganc, Voranc Boh, Dasa Cupevski)

Full review

The Congress (Le congrès)

An ageing actress gets more than she bargains for when she accepts one last job.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Ari Folman; Writer: Ari Folman, Stanislaw Lem; Stars: Robin Wright, Paul Giamatti, Harvey Keitel, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Frances Fisher, Danny Huston, Sami Gayle, Michael Landes, Michael Stahl-David, Don McManus, Christopher B. Duncan, Cooper Thornton, Ed Corbin, Kevin Thompson, Matthew Wolf)

The Enemy Within (O Ehthros Mou)

A hapless hero is forced to confront his intellectual stance after his home is invaded.

(Country: Greece; Year: 2013; Director: Yorgos Tsemperopoulos; Writer: Giannis Tsiros; Stars: Manolis Mavromatakis, Maria Zorba, Giorgos Gallos, Antonis Karistinos, Thanasis Papageorgiou, Ariadni Kavalierou, Ilias Moulas, Vesela Kazakova, Tudor Chirila)

The Future (Il Futuro)

The elder of two siblings who have lost their parents, enters the mansion of a retired Mr Universe looking for a future.

(Country: Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain ; Year: 2013; Director: Alicia Scherson; Writer: Alicia Scherson; Stars: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta)

The Geographer Drank His Globe Away (Geograf globus propil)

Tragicomic tale of a hapless schoolteacher.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2013; Director: Aleksandr Veledinskiy; Writer: Rauf Kubayev, Valeriy Todorovskiy, Aleksandr Veledinskiy, based on the novel by Aleksei Ivanov; Stars: Anfisa Chernykh, Ilya Ilinyh, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Eugenia Khirivskaya, Evgeniya Kregzhde, Maksim Lagashkin, Mikhail Leontiev, Elena Lyadova, Andrei Prytkov, Aleksandr Robak, Anna Sinyakina, Agrippina Steklova, Anna Ukolova, Victor Uzun, Anastasiya Zolotko)

Honey (Miele)

Review preview for Honey

Although other films have dealt with the subject of euthanasia none so far has looked at the emotional difficulties of the perpetrator.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A woman devoted to promoting euthanasia encounters a man with an invisible malaise.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2013; Director: Valeria Golino; Writer: Valeria Golino, based on the book by Angela Del Fabbro.; Stars: Jasmine Trinca, Carlo Cecchi, Libero De Rienzo)

Full review See: Jasmine Trinca talks about Honey (Miele) , Interview with Valeria Golino about Honey (Miele)

In Bloom

Two young women come of age in the troubled time following Georgian independence.

(Country: Georgia, Germany, France; Year: 2013; Director: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß; Stars: Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria)

Jealousy (la jalousie)

Review preview for Jealousy

Jealousy is a carefully constructed film with plenty of family ties for the director.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
Autobiographical cinema from director Philippe Garrel, in which his son Louis and Anna Mouglalis star as actors and lovers trying to reconcile their professional and personal lives.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Philippe Garrel; Writer: Marc Cholodenko, Caroline Deruas-Garrel, Philippe Garrel, Arlette Langmann; Stars: Louis Garrel, Anna Mouglalis, Emanuela Ponzano, Arthur Igual)

Full review

Just A Sigh

Review preview for Just A Sigh

A movie that lets you be the judge of inappropriate behaviors and risks worth taking.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
An actress meets a stranger on a train and conceives of a different life.

(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Jérôme Bonnell; Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Emmanuelle Devos, Judith Rémy, Roland David, Sébastien Pouderoux, Jean-Charles Clichet, Eddie Chignara)

Full review

Love Eternal (L'éternel retour)

An intensely moving film about love, jealousy and malice, captivating in its lyrical charm, yet haunting in its assessment of the worst in human nature.

(Year: 1943; Director: Jean Delannoy; Writer: Jean Cocteau; Stars: Madeleine Sologne, Jean Marais, Jean Murat, Junie Astor, Roland Toutain, Jane Marken, Jean d'Yd, Piéral, Alexandre Rignault, Yvonne de Bray, Robert Sidonac, Sandra Venturini)

Love Is The Perfect Crime (L'amour est un crime parfait)

A professor forms a realtionship with one of his student's mothers after her daughter disappears

(Year: 2013; Director: Arnaud Larrieu, Jean-Marie Larrieu; Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Maïwenn, Karin Viard)

Marina

Drama about a young immigrant coming to terms with his new life in Belgium

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2013; Director: Stijn Coninx; Writer: Rik D'Hiet; Stars: Matteo Simoni, Cristiaan Campagna, Luigi Lo Cascio, Donatella Finocchiaro, Evelien Bosmans, Warre Borgmans, Marte Bosmans, Jelle Florizoone, Vincent Grass, Federica Marinò, Maité Redal, Chris van den Durpel)

Michael Kohlhaas

A horse dealer leads an uprising in 16th century France.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Arnaud des Pallières; Writer: Christelle Berthevas, Arnaud des Pallières, Heinrich von Kleist; Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Mélusine Mayance, Delphine Chuillot, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, Denis Lavant, Roxane Duran, Paul Bartel, David Bennent, Swann Arlaud, Sergi López, Amira Casar, Jacques Nolot, Christian Chaussex, Nicolas Capelle)

My Dog Killer (Môj Pes Killer)

Review preview for My Dog Killer

The film doesn’t seem to have much to say about racism, and even less about its potential links to family, class and gender – all of which hang in the background, threatening to force the filmmakers to make a more serious and challenging film.

Michael Pattison · 2.5 out of 5
A troubled teenager with violent friends discovers a secret about his absent mother than makes him contemplate a cruel act.

(Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic; Year: 2013; Director: Mira Fornay; Writer: Mira Fornay; Stars: Adam Mihál, Marián Kuruc, Libor Filo, Irena Bendová)

Full review

My Sweet Pepper Land

A Kurdish war hero turned police chief runs into trouble in his posting in the lawless borderlands.

(Country: France, Germany, Iraq; Year: 2013; Director: Hiner Saleem; Writer: Hiner Saleem, Antoine Lacomblez; Stars: Korkmaz Arslan, Golshifteh Farahani, Suat Usta)

National Security (Namyeong-dong 1985)

Review preview for National Security

Each of the performances adds to the whole but it's Won-sang Park who carries the film on his increasingly damaged shoulders.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A pro-democracy activist faces off against his torturers, determined not to reveal his secrets.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2012; Director: Chung Ji-young; Writer: Chung Sang-Hyup, Lee Dae-il, Kim Geun-tae, Kang Min-hee; Stars: Park Won-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Myung Kye-nam)

Full review

Nobody's Daughter Haewon (Nugu-ui Ttal-do Anin Haewon)

Review preview for Nobody's Daughter Haewon

This apparently meandering, unfocused story conceals an acutely observed portrait of a society in flux.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
With her mother about to emigrate and her affair gone stale, Haewon faces a challenging future.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2013; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Writer: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Jeong Eun-Chae, Lee Sun-kyun, Ye Ji-won, Yoo Joon-sang)

Full review

The Notebook (A nagy füzet)

Twins try to cope after they are left with their alcoholic gran in wartime Hungary.

(Country: Germany, France, Hungary, Austria; Year: 2013; Director: János Szász; Writer: Tom Abrams, Agota Kristof, András Szekér, János Szász; Stars: András Gyémánt, László Gyémánt, Gyöngyvér Bognár, Piroska Molnár, András Réthelyi, Ulrich Thomsen, Orsolya Tóth, János Derzsi, Péter Andorai, Miklós Székely B., Krisztián Kovács, Ákos Köszegi, Ulrich Matthes, Gyula Kovács, Diána Kiss)

October November (Oktober November)

A woman returns to the town that her sister has never left, sparking conflict.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2013; Director: Götz Spielmann; Writer: Götz Spielmann; Stars: Sebastian Koch, Andreas Ressl, Peter Simonischek, Ursula Strauss, Nora von Waldstätten, Johannes Zeiler)

Omar

Three childhood friends and a young woman find their relaonships destroyed by the pressures of the Palestinian struggle.

(Year: 2013; Director: Hany Abu-Assad; Stars: Waleed Zuaiter, Adam Bakri, Samer Bisharat, Eyad Hourani, Leem Lubany)

On The Job

A hitman thriller.

(Country: Phillipines; Year: 2013; Director: Erik Matti; Writer: Erik Matti; Stars: Joel Torre, Gerald Anderson, Piolo Pascual)

Parviz

Parviz is a man in his fifties who has lived his entire life in his father's home and has never held a job. His quiet routine suddenly comes apart the day his father decides to remarry and tells him to move out.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2012; Writer: Majid Barzegar)

The Passion of Michelangelo (La pasión de Michelangelo)

Political drama set during the Pinochet years.

(Country: Chile, France, Argentina; Year: 2013; Director: Esteban Larraín; Stars: Sebastián Ayala, Claudia Celedón, Patricio Contreras, Roberto Farías, Catalina Saavedra, Alejandro Sieveking)

The Past (Le Passé)

Review preview for The Past

Farhadi peels away the layers with simplicity, revealing the complicated and detailed emotions which lurk very close to the surface.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A couple meeting to finalise their divorce find themselves in difficult emotional terrain.

(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Asghar Farhadi; Writer: Asghar Farhadi; Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Sabrina Ouazani)

Full review

The Patience Stone (Syngué Sabour)

An Afghan woman tending to her comatose husband gradually finds the means to confound the patriarchal society around her and assert her own voice.

(Country: France, Afghanistan, Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Atiq Rahimi; Writer: Atiq Rahimi, Jean-Claude Carrière; Stars: Golshifteh Farahani, Hamidreza Javdan, Massi Mrowat)

A Place In Heaven (Makom Be Gan Eden)

A much decorated general once made a crucial mistake: with typical arrogance he exchanged his place in heaven for a plate of food. The central theme – a father-son relationship – is played out over the course of four decades of turbulent history in the State of Israel.

(Country: Israel; Year: 2013; Director: Joseph Madmony)

The Priest's Children (Svećenikova Djeca)

Review preview for The Priest's Children

Extremely engaging and frequently side-splittingly funny

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A young priest is appalled at the very low birthrate in his new community. When the confession of a local tobacconist reveals the reason why, he opts for a rather unusual method for rectifying the situation.

(Country: Croatia, Serbia; Year: 2012; Director: Vinko Brešan; Writer: Mate Matisic ; Stars: Kresimir Mikic, Niksa Butijer, Marija Skaricic)

Full review

Rosie

A writer and his sister face tricky choices as their mother's health declines.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2013; Director: Marcel Gisler; Writer: Marcel Gisler, Rudolf Nadler; Stars: Sibylle Brunner, Judith Hofmann, Louis Krähenbühl, Fabian Krüger, Sebastian Ledesma, Anna-Katharina Müller)

Violette

Biopic about feminist icon Violette Leduc.

(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Martin Provost; Writer: Martin Provost; Stars: Emmanuelle Devos, Sandrine Kiberlain, Olivier Gourmet, Frans Boyer, Audrey Quoturi)

Wajma (An Afghan Love Story)

A young man in Kabul seduces a girl. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he questions having taken her virginity. Then her father arrives, and a timeless, archaic violence erupts – possibly leading to a crime, and even a sacrifice.

(Country: Afghanistan; Year: 2013; Director: Barmak Akram; Writer: Barmak Akram; Stars: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Abdulsatar, Haji Gul, Breshna Bahar)

We Are So Young ( Somos Tão Jovens)

During the last years of Brazil’s dictatorship, teenage Renato achieves his dream of becoming a rock star, forming Brazil’s first punk rock band.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2013; Director: Antonio Carlos da Fontoura; Writer: Victor Atherino, Marcos Bernstein; Stars: Thiago Mendonça, Laila Zaid, Bruno Torres, Daniel Passi, Sandra Corveloni, Marcos Breda, Bianca Comparato, Conrado Godoy, Nicolau Villa-Lobos, Sérgio Dalcin, Olívia Torres, Ibsen Perucci, Nathália Limaverde, André de Carvalho, Kotoe Karasawa)

When I Saw You (Lamma Shoftak)

A boy from a refugee camp goes in search of his father and makes friends with PLO fighters.

(Country: Palestinian Territories, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Greece; Year: 2012; Director: Annemarie Jacir; Stars: Mahmoud Asfa, Saleh Bakri, Ruba Blal, Firas Taybeh, Ali Elayan)

Wounded (La Herida)

Though good at her job, Ana has problems relating in her personal life. She doesn't know it, but she suffers from a condition known by psychiatrists as Borderline Personality Disorder. The situation pushes her to outbreaks of self-destructive behaviour, alcohol abuse and self-harm. Ana is incapable of getting what she wants most: to be happy.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2013; Director: Fernando Franco; Writer: Fernando Franco, Enric Rufas; Stars: Andrés Gertrúdix, Marian Álvarez, Manolo Solo, Luis Callejo, Ramón Barea, Rosana Pastor, Ramón Agirre, Nagore Aramburu)

Youth

Two men trying to be good sons and save their families from ruin become violent kidnappers.

(Country: Israel, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Tom Shoval; Stars: Eitan Cunio, David Cunio, Moshe Ivgy, Gita Amely, Shirili Deshe)