Reviews by Anne-Katrin Titze

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Fatherland (2026)

  Review preview for Fatherland

  The way Zischler and Hüller play their relationship is so wonderfully real and subtle and appropriately opaque for all us non-Mann family members, that it at times brought tears to my eyes.

  Drama focusing on Thomas Mann's post-war life, as he and his daughter embark on a road-trip across Germany.
• 
  A Man Of His Time (2026)

  Review preview for A Man Of His Time

  There exists no safe ground when you are part of a regime that uses fear and threats as casual tools.

  Historical drama set against a backdrop of Vichy France as a man strives to help France's renewal.
• 
  La Gioia (2025)

  Review preview for La Gioia

  This is a movie layered with meaning. A lipstick smudge turns into stigmata, a kiss can make you float and strangle you at the same time.

  Gioia is a high school teacher who has never known love beyond the suffocating grip of her parents, with whom she still lives. Her life shifts when she encounters Alessio, a student who uses his body as a means to get a few hundred euros to help his struggling mother.
• 
  Duse (2025)

  Review preview for Duse

  Duse is as much about the rise of fascism as it is about the decision making of an artist at a precarious time in her life.

  Eleonora Duse’s legendary career seems over, but in the ferocious times between the Great War and the rise of fascism, the Divina feels a call stronger than any resignation and returns to where her life began: on stage.
• 
  Late Fame (2025)

  Review preview for Late Fame

  Burch and Jones clearly enjoy updating rich kid Myers and his literary salon pals to the present without ever falling into clownish cliché.

  Ed Saxberger, a forgotten New York poet, works in the post office. After an eager and flattering young admirer appears on his doorstep, Saxberger is beckoned into a coterie of twentysomething admirers who anoint him as a rediscovered genius.
• 
  Sound Of Falling (2025)

  Review preview for Sound Of Falling

  The lives mirror each other, build on each other, contradict each other, haunt each other.

  Four girls, Alma, Erika, Angelika, and Lenka, each spend their youth on the same farm in northern Germany. As the home evolves over a century, echoes of the past linger in its walls. Though separated by time, their lives begin to mirror each other.
• 
  Mirrors No.3 (2025)

  Review preview for Mirrors No.3

  As is true of many a tale, not all motivations are on the table right away, and finding rescue and respite with strangers can only last a mere while.

  On a weekend trip to the countryside, Laura miraculously survives a car crash. Physically unhurt but deeply shaken, she is taken in by a local woman who witnessed the accident and now cares for Laura with motherly devotion. When her husband and adult son also give up their initial resistance to Laura's presence, the four of them slowly build up some family-like routine. But soon they can no longer ignore their past...
• 
  Below The Clouds (2025)

  Review preview for Below The Clouds

  Rosi expertly paints a picture of a community with all its widely varied facets.

  Documenting Vesuvius, featuring traces of history, the excavation of time, the remains of everyday life.
• 
  The Secret Agent (2025)

  Review preview for The Secret Agent

  Marcelo is at home in the fine tradition of flicks where the fact that they are an agent is mainly a secret to them.

  Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son but soon realises that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.
• 
  Weightless (2024)

  Review preview for Weightless

  Like the protagonist we are swept up by a wave of questions about aviation and identity and the unbearable heaviness of memory.

  A grief-stricken amnesiac tries to regain his memory.
• 
  Dead Language (2025)

  Review preview for Dead Language

  Both words of the title loom large together and apart and are sprinkled into the smallest verbal and non-verbal exchanges.

  A chance encounter leads Aya to pick up a stranger at the airport. When he disappears, he leaves behind a gnawing hunger - one which perhaps only a complete stranger could fulfill.
• 
  What Marielle Knows (2025)

  Review preview for What Marielle Knows

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

  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.
• 
  The Assistant (2025)

  Review preview for The Assistant

  Like a palimpsest, layers of history shine through the sunlight on the garden and lurk in the shadows of the parlour.

  An engineer and inventor's live-in assistant finds himself trapped in a world that doesn't know what to do with him.
• 
  Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story (2024)

  Review preview for Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story

  An overflowing life is presented to us through archival interviews and film clips, and most revealingly through on-camera insights from O’Brien herself.

  A portrayal of Irish writer Edna O'Brien's writing, loves, stardom, and unconventional life.
• 
  Thom Browne: The Man Who Tailors Dreams (2024)

  Review preview for Thom Browne: The Man Who Tailors Dreams

  “I always have been a dreamer” the designer says, as we get a glimpse into his tie closet while he buttons his vest.

  A definitive portrait of pioneering American fashion designer Thom Browne, whose visionary reinvention of the tailored grey suit revolutionised fashion by challenging established notions of how men and women are expected to dress.
• 
  The Friend (2024)

  Review preview for The Friend

  A very New York film.

  When an author dies, his best friend is left to deal with his literary legacy, his three former wives and a dog who isn't supposed to be allowed in her Manhattan apartment.
• 
  The Room Next Door (2024)

  Review preview for The Room Next Door

  Almodóvar goes all out with the delights fashion has to offer, bright colours, the joy of transformation - because it is never too late for sartorial metamorphosis.

  When Ingrid finds out that her old friend Martha is seriously ill, they reunite and embark on a journey of discoveries.
• 
  The Brutalist (2024)

  Review preview for The Brutalist

  A past shines through another layer of the past into a silver screen present that is both familiar and brand-new.

  When visionary architect László Tóth flees post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild his legacy and witness the birth of modern America, his life is changed forever by a wealthy client.
• 
  Modernism, Inc. : The Eliot Noyes Design Story (2023)

  Review preview for Modernism, Inc. : The Eliot Noyes Design Story

  Filled with information and inspiration that elegantly carries over from the last century into this one.

  A documentary exploring the life and work of influential mid-century architect and designer, Eliot Noyes, who is best remembered as the man behind IBM's landmark design program in the 1950s and 1960s.
• 
  Coup! (2023)

  Review preview for Coup!

  How it feels to take credit for something you haven’t done is one of the questions Coup! invites us to contemplate.

  Sheltering from the 1918 Spanish Flu at their seaside estate, a progressive journalist and his socialite wife take in a mysterious grifter as a private cook... and soon find themselves facing mutiny.
• 
  Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger (2024)

  Review preview for Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger

  Hinton’s documentary visually points to all the complicated, often triangular entanglements.

  Documentary about the acclaimed directors, their work and its legacy.
• 
  Sisi & I (2023)

  Review preview for Sisi & I

  Sisi & I weaves a tapestry of finely observed moments with the sparkling duo of Wolff and Hüller at the top of their game.

  In this wild reinterpretation of the “Sisi” myth, the focus is on Austrian Empress Elisabeth’s close friendship with her last lady-in-waiting, Irma Countess von Sztáray, who falls in love with the charismatic Sisi and is captivated by her modern ideas.
• 
  The Devil's Bath (2024)

  Review preview for The Devil's Bath

  Martin Gschlacht’s glorious and smart cinematography adds clarity here while sprinkling doubt over there.

  A woman struggles with her life, leading her to take desperate measures in 18th Century Austria.
• 
  Mi Fanno Male I Capelli (2023)

  Review preview for Mi Fanno Male I Capelli

  A bravura performance.

  The film is freely inspired by the great actress Monica Vitti, but it is in no way a biopic. It is the story of a woman named Monica, who loses her memory and regains meaning in her life.
• 
  Perfect Days (2023)

  Review preview for Perfect Days

  The 4:3 format, preferred by Yasujirō Ozu, is the perfect frame for paying attention to the small mysteries that are often overlooked.

  The story of an urban renewal project which involves the creation of 17 public toilets in key locations in the Japanese capital.
• 
  Glory To The Heroes (2023)

  Review preview for Glory To The Heroes

  L'Ukraine Au Cœur drives the message home about the long-lasting damage done to all, including the youngest, who had forgotten what the sky looked like or how to play.

  A documentary about the war in Ukraine.
• 
  Maestro (2023)

  Review preview for Maestro

  Maestro is a starry affair on all fronts.

  Biopic of Leonard and Felicia Bernstein.
• 
  The Zone Of Interest (2023)

  Review preview for The Zone Of Interest

  There are no shortcuts in this film, no conventions and nothing careless.

  The daily lives of the Höss family outside the walls of Auschwitz.
• 
  Pictures Of Ghosts (2023)

  Review preview for Pictures Of Ghosts

  These are the nooks and crannies where the ghosts still hang out, whistling in the dark, eager to haunt anew a crowd.

  A portrait of the city of Recife, re-envisioned in its 20th Century glory through the remains of the cinema palaces which were central to its busy social milieu.
• 
  Priscilla (2023)

  Review preview for Priscilla

  Coppola paints pictures of mid-century Americana and the codes and moral shortcomings that go with it.

  A Priscilla Presley biopic based on her memoir Elvis And Me.
• 
  The Beast (2023)

  Review preview for The Beast

  The Beast explores what Henry James diagnosed so devastatingly. The chill of egotism and the feverish dance around the void are so desperately relevant today that it leaves one breathless.

  In the near future a woman decides to purify her DNA in a machine that takes her into her past lives. Then she meets Louis and feels a powerful connection, as if she had always known him.
• 
  May December (2023)

  Review preview for May December

  The balance held between creepiness and fascination, sheer fun and lingering disturbance is held throughout.

  20 years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
• 
  The Boy And The Heron (2023)

  Review preview for The Boy And The Heron

  The hand-drawn beauty of the images always connects to ideas, something grander that we have yet to find out about.

  A teenager, haunted by his mother’s tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, who bears a striking resemblance to his mum. His strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who dubs him the “long-awaited one.”
• 
  Remembering Every Night (2022)

  Review preview for Remembering Every Night

  Memories connect and even if they are not ours, they can make us understand something urgently human.

  Drama involving the quiet pursuits of several women over a single afternoon.
• 
  Simone: Woman Of The Century (2022)

  Review preview for Simone: Woman Of The Century

  This challengingly structured moving picture connects past with present not in linear form but in fragments of story that come in waves.

  An intimate and epic portrait of an extraordinary woman who eminently challenged and transformed her era defending a humanist message still keenly relevant today.
• 
  Barbie (2023)

  Review preview for Barbie

  We all at some point in early childhood learn the difference between inanimate objects and sentient beings, but in some secret corner, doubt may linger on.

  Barbie suffers a crisis which leads her to question her world and her existence.
• 
  Afire (2023)

  Review preview for Afire

  Petzold’s most literary film to date.

  Tensions and desire bloom among five people at a holiday home by the Baltic Sea.
• 
  Desperate Souls, Dark City And The Legend Of Midnight Cowboy (2022)

  Review preview for Desperate Souls, Dark City And The Legend Of Midnight Cowboy

  Evocative, wide-ranging, and evermore timely.

  A look at the behind-the-scenes odyssey to get Midnight Cowboy produced, as well as the tumultuous era in which the movie was released and embraced.
• 
  All To Play For (2023)

  Review preview for All To Play For

  All To Play For questions much and wagers on love and sunshine.

  A mum battles to get her child back after an injury while she was out sees him taken into care.
• 
  Marguerite's Theorem (2023)

  Review preview for Marguerite's Theorem

  Something’s gotta give, so much is clear.

  The life of a maths genius shifts after she makes a mistake.
• 
  T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets (2022)

  Review preview for T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets

  He speaks of “sea bells”, in The Dry Salvages, bells we don’t hear. But we discern gulls instead.

  In the shadow of the Second World War, performance of a poem is a searching examination of who and what we are. A journey into the imagination, bound by experience, memory and time.
• 
  Pacifiction (2022)

  Review preview for Pacifiction

  The languid mood contrasts with the most dangerous topics.

  On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, the High Commissioner of the Republic and French government navigates the high end "establishment" as well as shady venues as a rumour abounds about the sighting of a submarine whose presence could herald the return of French nuclear testing.
• 
  The Blue Caftan (2022)

  Review preview for The Blue Caftan

  Covert glances and dauntless gestures between the three protagonists, that keep us guessing about who knows what, weave a web as diaphanous as the stitching on fine cloth.

  Halim and Mina own a small family tailor shop that specializes in sewing ceremonial caftans. Since traditional hand-crafted work is time-consuming, Halim decides to hire an assistant, Youssef. The presence of the attractive young man arouses long-suppressed feelings in Halim, something that does not go unnoticed by his wife Mina.
• 
  The Son (2022)

  Review preview for The Son

  This is a film of boundaries and barriers and attempts to overcome them.

  Peter's busy life with new wife Beth and their baby is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate comes to him with concerns about their teenage son, Nicholas.
• 
  The Quiet Girl (2022)

  Review preview for The Quiet Girl

  The shift in silences between two people in various scenes and the stark contrast in emotion is thrilling.

  A neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with foster parents for the summer.
• 
  Peter Von Kant (2022)

  Review preview for Peter Von Kant

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

  The life of famous film director Peter von Kant is turned upside down when he meets the handsome young Amir.
• 
  Tár (2022)

  Review preview for Tár

  Phantom chimes at night produce an atmosphere that could tumble into horror movie territory, but the real damage is done during the day.

  Set in the international world of classical music, this film centres on Lydia Tár. widely considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra.
• 
  Scarlet (2022)

  Review preview for Scarlet

  There are astounding moments of audio visual density that make Scarlet so wonderful a film - especially because we are bestowed with a generosity in spirit and utter lack of prejudice.

  A wood craftsman returns from the First World War and unites with his infant daughter, who one day will receive a premonition from the local sorceress saying that scarlet sails shall take her away.
• 
  White Noise (2022)

  Review preview for White Noise

  Baumbach shoots his disaster scenes, evacuations, and poisonous cloud rife with contradictions. The purple sky of doom is beautiful and strangely soothing.

  An Eighties American family attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts of everyday life while grappling with the universal mysteries of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world.
• 
  Corsage (2022)

  Review preview for Corsage

  Vicky Krieps...is in excellent form and up to the task of presenting to us the icon in all her idiosyncrasies.

  A period drama about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi.