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Palm Springs International Film Festival · 2018

Palm Springs International Film Festival 2018

Awards Buzz

Programme

36 films · 21 reviews

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Amerika Square (Plateia Amerikis)

A Greek nationalist takes extreme measures to “make Athens Greek again".

(Country: Greece, UK, Germany; Year: 2016; Director: Yannis Sakaridis; Writer: Vangelis Mourikis, Yannis Sakaridis, Yannis Tsirbas; Stars: Yannis Stankoglou, Makis Papadimitriou, Vassilis Koukalani, Ksenia Dania, Sultan Amir, Rea Pediaditaki, Themis Bazaka, Errikos Litsis, Dorothea Howlader, Kostas Kourtidis, Nikkos J. Frangos, Nikos Mylonas, Petros Santovito, Alexandros Logothetis, Achilleas Kyriakidis)

Ayla: The Daughter Of War

Drama based on the true story of a Turkish soldier who takes in a five-year-old he finds stranded on a Korean War battlefield.

(Country: Turkey; Year: 2017; Director: Can Ulkay; Writer: Yigit Güralp; Stars: Çetin Tekindor, Ismail Hacioglu, Kyung-jin Lee, Kim Seol, Ali Atay, Damla Sönmez, Murat Yildirim, Taner Birsel, Cade Carradine, Kim Byoungsoon, Meral Çetinkaya, Johnny Young, Mehmet Esen, Altan Erkekli, Caner Kurtaran)

Barrage

Catherine returns to her daughter after ten years away, who’s been raised by her grandmother in the interim.

(Country: Luxembourg; Year: 2017; Director: Laura Schroeder; Writer: Marie Nimier, Laura Schroeder; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Lolita Chammah, Elsa Houben, Themis Pauwels, Luc Schiltz, Marja-Leena Junker, Charles Müller)

Birdshot

Thriller about a farm girl who unwittingly shoots an endangered eagle.

(Country: Philippines, Qatar; Year: 2016; Director: Mikhail Red; Writer: Mikhail Red, Rae Red; Stars: Mary Joy Apostol, Ku Aquino, John Arcilla, Arnold Reyes)

The Ciambra (A Ciambra)

Review preview for The Ciambra

Carpignano is interested in the margins - and the fringes of those margins.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A teenager faces choices as he comes of age.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Jonas Carpignano; Writer: Jonas Carpignano; Stars: Pio Amato, Koudous Seihon, Damiano Amato, Francesco Pio Amato, Iolanda Amato, Patrizia Amato, Rocco Amato, Susanna Amato) , Trailer

Full review

The Divine Order (Die göttliche Ordnung)

Review preview for The Divine Order

Leuenberger makes Nora's gradual awakening to gender issues feel like the sun coming out on a dreary day, brimful of unexpected warmth.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A small-town mum joins the suffrage movement in Switzerland.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2017; Director: Petra Volpe; Writer: Petra Volpe; Stars: Marie Leuenberger, Maximilian Simonischek, Rachel Braunschweig, Sibylle Brunner, Marta Zoffoli, Bettina Stucky, Noe Krejcí, Finn Sutter, Peter Freiburghaus, Therese Affolter, Ella Rumpf, Nicholas Ofczarek, Sofia Helin, Elias Arens, Mirjam Zbinden)

Full review See: Petra Volpe on The Divine Order, the #MeToo movement and the ongoing fight for equal rights

A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica)

Review preview for A Fantastic Woman

Lelio makes no bones about how he wants us to feel, to the point where it sometimes feels as though he is stating the obvious is six-foot neon letters.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A transgender woman fights for the right to grieve after the death of her partner.

(Country: Chile, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Sebastián Lelio; Writer: Sebastián Lelio, Gonzalo Maza; Stars: Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim, Amparo Noguera)

Full review

Foxtrot

Review preview for Foxtrot

Samuel Maoz steps into the rhythm of the foxtrot to give structure to the three separate chapters of his intense, reverberating film.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
A family's world is rocked when they are told about the death of their son.

(Country: Israel, France, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Samuel Maoz; Writer: Samuel Maoz; Stars: Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonatan Shiray, Karin Ugowski, Yehuda Almagor, Shira Haas, Dekel Adin, Shaul Amir, Gefen Barkai)

Full review See: Samuel Maoz in conversation on numbers, colours, coincidence, chaos, and Foxtrot , Samuel Maoz and Lior Ashkenazi in conversation on Foxtrot , Lior Ashkenazi in conversation on Foxtrot feature

First They Killed My Father

Review preview for First They Killed My Father

One of the most important cinematic perspectives on the genocide to be made for international audiences.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung recounts the horrors she suffered as a child under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.

(Country: Cambodia, US; Year: 2017; Director: Angelina Jolie; Writer: Loung Ung, Angelina Jolie; Stars: Sareum Srey Moch, Phoeung Kompheak, Sveng Socheata, Mun Kimhak)

Full review

Félicité

Review preview for Félicité

The film’s most gripping aspect is the delicacy with which it handles its extraordinary emotional depth

Evelin Toth · 3.5 out of 5
Story of a singer who finds herself in desperate circumstances after her son has an accident.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Alain Gomis; Writer: Alain Gomis, Olivier Loustau, Delphine Zingg; Stars: Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka, Nadine Ndebo, Elbas Manuana, Diplome Amekindra, Célestin Mokono, François Kasonga, Prince Mbasi, Ferdinand Minga, Aziza Kengumbe, José Lusala, Plaisir Mumbula, Nathan Mulumba, Claudine Lumbu)

Full review

Guilty Men (Pariente)

A trucker is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend but after becoming a witness to a crime, he finds himself in a heap of trouble.

(Year: 2016; Director: Iván Gaona; Writer: Iván Gaona; Stars: René Diaz Calderón, Willington Gordillo, Leidy Herrera, Alfonso López, Heriberto Palacio)

Her Love Boils Bathwater (Yu wo wakasuhodo no atsui ai)

A mother diagnosed with cancer starts to plan for her loved ones after she is gone.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2016; Director: Ryôta Nakano; Writer: Ryôta Nakano; Stars: Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Aoi Itô, Yukiko Shinohara, Tarô Suruga, Tôri Matsuzaka, Joe Odagiri, Nanoka Matsubara, Shuhei Eto, Kagetora Miura, Sôtarô Tanaka, Lily, Hiroshi Suzuki)

Hochelaga, Land Of Souls (Hochelaga, Terre des Âmes)

Review preview for Hochelaga, Land Of Souls

Although it is technically beautifully realised and features an impressively varied and supportive score from Terry and Gyan Riley, not all of Girard’s connections fully work.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
An interconnected series of encounters between Native peoples and European settlers in and around modern-day Montreal.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2017; Director: François Girard; Writer: François Girard; Stars: Samian, Raoul Max Trujillo, Vincent Perez, Siân Phillips, Sébastien Ricard, Emmanuel Schwartz, Linus Roache, Gilles Renaud, Caroline Dhavernas, Paul Doucet, Tony Nardi, Wahiakeron Gilbert, Tanaya Beatty, Naiade Aoun, David La Haye)

Full review

Ice Mother (Baba z ladu)

Hana lives alone in a big villa with only weekly visits from her two belligerent sons and their families to look forward to. While on a stroll with her grandson one day, she rescues Brona, an elderly ice swimmer with a hen for a best friend, from drowning. This encounter invigorates Hana, introducing her to a new hobby and unexpected romance.

(Country: France, Czech Republic, Slovakia; Year: 2017; Director: Bohdan Sláma; Writer: Bohdan Sláma; Stars: Václav Neuzil, Alena Mihulová, Tatiana Vilhelmová, Petra Spalková, Zuzana Krónerová, Pavel Nový, Daniel Vízek, Marie Ludvíková, Marek Daniel, Lubos Veselý)

The Insult (L'insulte)

Review preview for The Insult

Ziad Doueiri's latest film shows how the embers of history can stay warm for a long time, easily flaring up under the right circumstances - even those that seem innocuous.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A spat between Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee leads to division between their two communities.

(Country: US, France, Belgium, Lebanon, Cyprus; Year: 2017; Director: Ziad Doueiri; Writer: Ziad Doueiri, Joelle Touma; Stars: Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Diamand Bou Abboud, Rita Hayek, Talal Jurdi, Christine Choueiri, Julia Kassar, Rifaat Torbey, Carlos Chahine)

Full review

A Letter To The President (Namai ba rahis gomhor)

The head of a crime squad faces the death squad after accidentally killing her abusive husband and writes to the president for help.

(Country: Afghanistan; Year: 2017; Director: Roya Sadat; Writer: Aziz Deldar; Stars: Leena Alam, Aziz Deldar, Mamnoun Maqsoudi, Zareen Nory, Mahmoud Aryoubi, Asad-Ullah Tajzai, Abdullah Ibrahem Khel, Sofor Ahan Khel, Abdul Azim Rubaty, Qadir Aryaie, Saeed Meeran Farhad, Nasima Jalal, Sultana Gety Afshar, Farzana Nawabi, Arsalan Deildar)

The Line (Čiara)

Adam Krajňák is head of the family and also boss of a gang of criminals smuggling cigarettes across the Slovak-Ukrainian border. The failure of one of the transports triggers an avalanche of consequences that compels him to question his own boundaries, none of which he had planned on crossing until now.

(Country: Slovak Republic, Ukraine; Year: 2017; Director: Peter Bebjak)

Loveless

Review preview for Loveless

Though the filmmaking is good, the bleakness of the message is unremitting.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A couple go looking for their young son after he disappears during one of their bitter rows.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev; Writer: Oleg Negin; Stars: Maryana Spivak, Alexei Rozin)

Full review

The Miner (Rudar, Górnik)

The reopening of a mine leads a Bosnian miner to discover evidence of war crimes.

(Country: Croatia, Slovenia; Year: 2017; Director: Hanna Antonina Wojcik Slak; Writer: Hanna Antonina Wojcik Slak; Stars: Boris Cavazza, Jure Henigman, Leon Lucev, Tin Marn, Marina Redzepovic)

Men Don't Cry (Muškarci Ne Plaču)

Review preview for Men Don't Cry

There are a lot of characters, but they gradually flow together to build a fractured patchwork of what it means to be a veteran of messy conflict on any side.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
When, less than two decades since the war ended in Yugoslavia, a diverse group of veterans gathers at a remote mountain hotel to undergo days of therapy, it’s hard to expect absolute harmony.

(Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Alen Drljević; Writer: Alen Drljevic, Zoran Solomun; Stars: Boris Isakovic, Leon Lucev, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic, Sebastian Cavazza, Ermin Bravo, Boris Ler, Ivo Gregurevic, Primoz Petkovsek, Nermin Karacic, Mirko Zecevic-Tadic, Izudin Bajrovic, Jasna Djuricic, Miralem Zupcevic, Hfz. Elmir Masic, Affan Zisko)

Full review

Newton

Review preview for Newton

Even though Newton is a stickler, there's an appealing purity to his views and he remains likeable almost despite himself.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A young bureaucrat named Newton is sent to the jungle to monitor an election there. But Maoist blockades, forced police protection and indifferent voters make defending democracy no easy task.

(Country: India; Year: 2017; Director: Amit Masurkar; Writer: Amit Masurkar, Mayank Tewari; Stars: Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathy, Anjali Patil, Raghuvir Yadav, Mukesh Prajapati)

Full review

On Body And Soul (Teströl és lélekröl)

Review preview for On Body And Soul

There is a fragility and brittleness to this but also an underlying warm sweetness that might just melt your heart.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A slaughterhouse becomes an unlikely setting for romance.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2017; Director: Ildikó Enyedi; Writer: Ildikó Enyedi; Stars: Morcsányi Géza, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider, Ervin Nagy, Tamás Jordán, Zsuzsa Járó, Réka Tenki, Júlia Nyakó, Itala Békés, Pál Mácsai, Annamária Fodor, Márton Patkós, Gusztáv Molnár, István Dankó, Vivien Rujder)

Full review

Pop Aye

Review preview for Pop Aye

Like all good road trips, the destination may be a the top of the protagonist's mind but the film says a lot more about his past and present than his future.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A disenchanted architect goes on a road trip with an elephant.

(Country: Thailand, Singapore; Year: 2017; Director: Kirsten Tan; Writer: Kirsten Tan; Stars: Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Penpak Sirikul, Yukontorn Sukkijja, Chaiwat Khumdee)

Full review

Racer And The Jailbird (Le Fidèle)

Review preview for Racer And The Jailbird

As entertaining as the above is with its two charismatic leads, it is not an especially novel path for a 'crime couple' thriller to take, and it is in the last act that Racer kind of goes off the rails.

Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
In the Belgian underworld, a secret threatens a couple's romance.

(Country: Belgium, Netherlands, France; Year: 2017; Director: Michaël R Roskam; Writer: Thomas Bidegain, Noé Debré, Michaël R. Roskam; Stars: Matthias Schoenaerts, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Kerem Can, Sam Louwyck, Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Igor van Dessel, Stefaan Degand, Corentin Lobet, Gaël Maleux, Guray Nalbant, Dimitry Loubry, Charley Pasteleurs)

Full review

The Space Between

An aspiring designer and Italian ex-chef are thrown together by circumstance.

(Country: Italy, Australia; Year: 2016; Director: Ruth Borgobello; Writer: Ruth Borgobello, Mario Mucciarelli; Stars: Flavio Parenti, Maeve Dermody, Lino Guanciale, Fulvio Falzarano, Giancarlo Previati, Marco Leonardi, Patricia Mason, Elettra Dallimore Mallaby, Alberto Torquati, Antonietta Bello)

Summer 1993

Review preview for Summer 1993

The film wears its story lightly. Even when Simón is dealing with heavier themes her focus is on Frida and her emotions.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A young girl struggles to adapt to her new life in the countryside after the death of her mum.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Carla Simón; Writer: Carla Simón; Stars: Laia Artigas, Paula Blanco, Etna Campillo, Bruna Cusí, Jordi Figueras, Dolores Fortis, Titón Frauca, Cristina Matas, Berta Pipó, Quimet Pla, Fermí Reixach, Paula Robles, Isabel Rocatti, Montse Sanz, Tere Solà)

Full review

A Taxi Driver

Review preview for A Taxi Driver

Song is superb in the central role, taking his character through an emotional arc that would be a challenge for any actor, but never less than convincing.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A taxi driver burdened by debt agrees to take a journalist to a city under quarantine, without really understanding what he's getting into.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2017; Director: Jang Hoon; Writer: Jang Hoon; Stars: Kang-ho Song, Thomas Kretschmann, Hae-jin Yoo, Jun-yeol Ryu, Hyuk-kwon Park, Gwi-hwa Choi, Daniel Joey Albright)

Full review

Tempestad

Review preview for Tempestad

The use of abstract visuals, however, not only forces us to focus more intently on what is being said in the section about Miriam but also encourages us to become attuned to the 'everyday' life we are seeing.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A road trip reveals the stories of two women facing up to the methods used by powerful cartels to control individuals, while state authorities turn a blind eye.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2016; Director: Tatiana Huezo)

Full review

Tom Of Finland

Review preview for Tom Of Finland

Although much of Laaksonen's work was hardcore, Karukoski doesn't seek to 'shock' audiences with outrageousness, instead gracefully zoning in on the man and his life to celebrate his both his bravery and his art.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Portrait of the Finnish artist famous for his homoerotic work.

(Country: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, US; Year: 2017; Director: Dome Karukoski; Writer: Noam Andrews, Aleksi Bardy, Aleksi Bardy, Aleksi Bardy, Mark Alton Brown, Dome Karukoski, Susanna Luoto, Kauko Röyhkä, Mia Ylönen; Stars: Pekka Strang, Lauri Tilkanen, Jessica Grabowsky, Jakob Oftebro, Werner Daehn, Jimmy Shaw, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Seumas F. Sargent, Jan Böhme, Kari Hietalahti, Taisto Oksanen, Georg Kroneis, Niklas Hogner, Siim Maaten, Roy Saaristo)

Full review See: Dome Karukoski on biopic Tom Of Finland

The Train Of Salt And Sugar

In 1989, Mozambique is a country ruined by civil war. The train that connects Nampula to Malawi is the only hope for people willing to risk their lives to exchange a few bags of salt for sugar.

(Country: Mozambique; Year: 2016; Director: Licinio Azevedo; Writer: Licinio Azevedo, Teresa Pereira; Stars: Melanie Rafael de Vales, Thiago Justino, Mário Mabjaia, Matamba Joaquim, Sabina Fonseca, António Nipita, Vítor Raposo, Horácio Guiamba, Absalão Narduela, Hermelinda Simela, Tonecas Xavier, Mário Valente, Absalão Maciel, Abdil Juma, Celeste Baloi)

Under The Tree

Review preview for Under The Tree

The tone is deliberately odd blending the naturalism of the day-to-day emotions of relationships and grief, with the altogether more heightened tensions of a revenge thriller, while still keeping a cheeky eye on the absurdity of a mooning garden gnome.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A spat between neighbours over a garden tree spirals out of control.

(Country: Iceland; Year: 2017; Director: Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson; Writer: Huldar Breiðfjörð, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson; Stars: Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson, Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Selma Björnsdóttir, Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir)

Full review

Woodpeckers

Julián finds love and a reason for living in the last place imaginable: the Dominican Republic’s Najayo Prison. His romance with fellow prisoner Yanelly must develop through sign language and without the knowledge of dozens of guards.

(Country: Dominican Republic; Year: 2017; Director: José María Cabral; Writer: José María Cabral; Stars: Ramón Emilio Candelario, Jean Jean, Mario Nunez, Judith Rodriguez Perez)

Wajib

Review preview for Wajib

Annemarie Jacir's characters may not leave the city of Nazareth as they take a circular road trip in Wajib but the emotional distance they travel is considerable.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A father and his son come together to deliver wedding invitations.

(Country: Occupied Palestinian Territory; Year: 2017; Director: Annemarie Jacir; Writer: Annemarie Jacir; Stars: Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik)

Full review See: Annemarie Jacir talks about working Mohammad and Salem Bakri on Wajib

The Wound

Review preview for The Wound

Trengove strikes a good balance between showing the cultural importance, even though on the wane, of old-fashioned masculinity and personal drama between Xolani and Kwanda, slowly ratcheting up the tension to breaking point.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Sexual repression and coming of age prove a dangerous mix for a small community.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2017; Director: John Trengove; Writer: John Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana, Malusi Bengu; Stars: Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini)

Full review See: John Trengove interview about The Wound

Yeva (Eve)

A female murder suspect flees her Armenian village with her daughter.

(Country: Armenia, Iran; Year: 2017; Director: Anahid Abad; Writer: Anahit Abad, Amir Arabi; Stars: Narine Grigoryan, Shant Hovhannisyan, Marjan Avetisyan, Rozi Avetisyan, Sergey Tovmasyan, Vrezh Qasuni, Tigran Davtyan, Nanor Petrosyan, Evelina Adamyan, Marat Davtyan, Vrej Kassouny)

You Disappear

A teacher's world is rocked when her headmaster husband is caught embezelling.

(Country: Denmark, Sweden; Year: 2017; Director: Peter Schønau Fog; Writer: Peter Schønau Fog, Christian Jungersen, Bo Hr. Hansen; Stars: Trine Dyrholm, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Michael Nyqvist, Meike Bahnsen, Teis Bayer, Sophia Birkow, Laura Bro, Michael Brostrup, Terese Damsholt, Regitze Estrup, Abel Folk, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Sofie Gällerspång, Morten Hauch-Fausbøll, Merete Hegner)