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Locarno Film Festival · 2021

Locarno Film Festival 2021

Concorso Internationale

Programme

4 films · 4 reviews

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Cop Secret

Review preview for Cop Secret

This film is nothing if not derivative. Except, therein lies its beauty.

Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
Mismatched buddy cop spoof.

(Country: Iceland; Year: 2021; Director: Hannes Þór Halldórsson; Writer: Auðunn Blöndal, Egill Einarsson, Hannes Þór Halldórsson, Hannes Þór Halldórsson, Nína Pedersen, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson; Stars: Auðunn Blöndal, Egill Einarsson, Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, Vivian Ólafsdóttir, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Júlíana Sara Gunnarsdóttir, Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson, Gunnar Hansson, Jón Gnarr, Auðunn Blöndal, Egill Einarsson, Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, Vivian Ólafsdóttir, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson)

Full review See: Hannes Þór Halldórsson on his directorial debut Cop Secret , Auðunn Blöndal, Egill Einarsson and Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson on Cop Secret

Secret Name (La Place d'une autre)

Review preview for Secret Name

For Aurélia Georges, going back to 1914 in Secret Name is not only a pretext for a story about class emancipation, but, above all, female emancipation.

Mateusz Tarwacki · 3.5 out of 5
Nelie escapes a miserable existence by becoming a frontline nurse in 1914 and goes on to discover emancipation can come with a price.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Aurélia Georges; Writer: Maud Ameline, Aurélia Georges; Stars: Maud Wyler, Laurent Poitrenaux, Sabine Azéma, Jacques Bachelier, Amélie Belohradsky, Agnès Bourgeois, Didier Brice, Olivier Broche, Jacques Bruckmann, Gautier Del Pia, Bruno Dreyfurst, Françoise Félicité, Ilario Gallo, Sarah Gendrot-Krauss, Naton Goetz)

Full review

Soul Of A Beast

Review preview for Soul Of A Beast

Merz creates a space where emotions run riot, especially in the neon lights of night, the 4:3 aspect ratio letting each of the characters' faces fill the frame with an intensity that matches the colour scheme.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Fantasy and reality meet in the emotional world of a teenage father.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2021; Director: Lorenz Merz; Writer: Lorenz Merz; Stars: Art Bllaca, Pablo Caprez, Lolita Chammah, Anastasija Fomina, Dagny Gioulami, Tonatiuh Radzi, Ella Rumpf, Luna Wedler, Art Bllaca, Pablo Caprez, Lolita Chammah, Anastasija Fomina, Dagny Gioulami, Tonatiuh Radzi, Ella Rumpf)

Full review

Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash

Review preview for Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash

With characters coming and going continually, the film is wildly uneven in tone, sometimes broadly comic, sometimes painfully dark. In many ways this suits its efforts to address the chaotic nature of life.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
The tale of an impotent man who tries to assert his masculinity through fighting but cannot come to terms with his past.

(Country: Singapore, Germany, Indonesia; Year: 2021; Director: Edwin; Writer: Edwin, Eka Kurniawan, Eka Kurniawan; Stars: Marthino Lio, Ladya Cheryl, Reza Rahadian, Ratu Felisha, Sal Priadi, Kevin Ardillova, Kiki Narendra, Djenar Maesa Ayu, Eduward Manalu, Lukman Sardi, Ayu Laksmi, Yudi Ahmad Tajudin, Piet Pagau, Elly D. Luthan, Cecep Arif Rahman)

Full review