Reviews by Anne-Katrin Titze

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Halston (2019)

  Review preview for Halston

  The film works wonderfully as an introduction to this important fashion designer for those who never heard of him or connected his name to Seventies minimalist style.

  From Iowa to Studio 54, this investigation into the rags-to-riches story of America's first superstar designer uncovers the cautionary tale of an artist who sold his name to Wall Street.
• 
  Her (2013)

  Review preview for Her

  It is in these details, the small objects Jonze provides us with in his film of disembodied desires, that essences become distilled.

  A lonely writer falls in love with his new all-purpose operating system, leading to romantic and existential complications.
• 
  Hitler's Hollywood (2017)

  Review preview for Hitler's Hollywood

  The ghosts return and it is important to question them in order to assemble a future that doesn't repeat the past.

  A essay film on German cinema during the era of Nazi propaganda.
• 
  Hold Me Tight (2021)

  Review preview for Hold Me Tight

  Hold Me Tight [has] the sensorial acuteness to abduct us straight to the place where, providentially or not, poignant life decisions are being forged and the creations of new realities begin when the world around seems to collapse.

  A woman leaves her family - or does she?
• 
  Holy Motors (2012)

  Review preview for Holy Motors

  Mendes more veiled than unveiled and, at times, resembling the Virgin Mary, is wonderful, confused and tender.

  From dawn to dusk, a few hours in the life of Monsieur Oscar, a shadowy character who journeys from one life to the next.
• 
  Hope (2019)

  Review preview for Hope

  Hope is structured around seemingly small jolts that suddenly illuminate the big picture.

  When Anja is diagnosed with a brain tumour, everyday life in her patchwork family implodes and her cooling relationship with her partner Tomas is faced with a new kind of reality.
• 
  Human Capital (2013)

  Review preview for Human Capital

  Paolo Virzì's study of capitalism in crisis gives the audience all it covets.

  The lives of two generations overlap as they tumble toward an ill-fated event that inextricably links them.
• 
  Human Flowers Of Flesh (2022)

  Review preview for Human Flowers Of Flesh

  Human Flowers Of Flesh is a film of spaces merging, physically in image, in thought, and of the senses.

  Ida and her crew travel across the Mediterranean’s land and seascapes, lured by the mystique of the French Foreign Legion.
• 
  The Human Voice (2020)

  Review preview for The Human Voice

  When Almodóvar has the protagonist talk about kitchen knives and their temptation, all I could think of was the brand of knife he might choose to showcase.

  Drama about a woman traumatised by the end of a relationship.
• 
  Hungry Hearts (2014)

  Review preview for Hungry Hearts

  A thriller, a deep hard stare into the nature of escape, a comedy of metaphors and an alluringly photographed glimpse into the abyss.

  New York-set drama about a young couple who tear each other apart over the care of their child.
• 
  Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)

  Review preview for Hiroshima Mon Amour

  Even after many viewings it is difficult to fully grasp the film's historical significance, storytelling innovations and stylistic brilliance.

  A French actress making an anti-war film embarks on an affair with a married man.
• 
  Hitchcock (2011)

  Review preview for Hitchcock

  Sacha Gervasi's quick-witted Hitchcock discloses assorted desires of reinvention

  A love story between influential filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho in 1959.
• 
  Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015)

  Review preview for Hitchcock/Truffaut

  Hitchcock/Truffaut has the intriguing aura of a first episode with all the questions answered easily producing 500 more to be asked.

  Filmmakers talk about the influence of Truffaut's book Cinema According To Hitchcock.
• 
  #Horror (2015)

  Review preview for #Horror

  What distinguishes #Horror from other pictures of the genre, is the sly way Subkoff balances the levels of fright - where it is fun and where it is not.

  A moment of cyberbullying turns into a night of insanity for a group of schoolgirls.
• 
  House Of Z (2016)

  Review preview for House Of Z

  The film travels from Hip-Hop to humility, from red carpets, back to Posen's studies in London.

  Portrait of designer Zac Posen.
• 
  Hyde Park On Hudson (2012)

  Review preview for Hyde Park On Hudson

  Are Bill Murray's fabulous presidential brogues what is worth remembering most, or are some of the statements about gender still valid commentary?

  The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.
• 
  Il Buco (2021)

  Review preview for Il Buco

  The group of speleologists in Il Buco are housed in the storage room of a church, a sublime decision by the filmmakers that gives Berta ample opportunity to visually connect the scientists of the early Sixties with the splendour of Renaissance paintings.

  Drama based on the true adventures of a group of young speleologists who in 1961 descended into a hole in the mountains of Calabria to explore what was then the third-deepest known cave on Earth.
• 
  In The House (2012)

  Review preview for In The House

  Ozon loves to let his audience's perceptions clash.

  Fiction and reality become blurred between a teacher and student.
• 
  The Irishman (2019)

  Review preview for The Irishman

  Scorsese shoots at what is truly important in life and does so, miraculously, by putting the spotlight on organised crime

  Story of the union official with mob ties, Frank Sheeran, and the part he claims to have played in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.
• 
  Ismael's Ghosts: Director's Cut (2017)

  Review preview for Ismael's Ghosts: Director's Cut

  How does Ismael have the derring-do to believe that all these women are there, like a bouquet, for him to choose from? He is an artist, of course, who creates his own reality.

  A filmmaker's life is sent into a tailspin by the return of a former lover just as he is about to embark on the shoot of a new film.
• 
  I Want to Talk About Duras (2021)

  Review preview for I Want to Talk About Duras

  Swann Arlaud as Yann Andréa and Emmanuelle Devos as Michèle Manceaux give tremendous performances that circle around discoveries of deep personal truths.

  Portrait of the complex romantic relationship between epochal experimental novelist and filmmaker Marguerite Duras and her much younger, homosexual partner, Yann Andréa.
• 
  Ingrid Caven: Music And Voice (2012)

  Review preview for Ingrid Caven: Music And Voice

  She gives you that little bit too much that you don't want to see and hear. From Ave Maria to Polaroid Cocaine to a Shanghai encore, Ingrid Caven tells us stories as if we were little.

  The actress captured in concert.
• 
  Into The Woods (2014)

  Review preview for Into The Woods

  In the woods, we are firmly placed in the shoes of the children and slowly start to understand the adults through their songs.

  The musical story of a childless couple persuaded by a witch to steal special items from classic fairy tales.
• 
  Iris (2014)

  Review preview for Iris

  What emerges as so extraordinary about the way Iris presents herself, and what makes her so beloved by many people in the fashion industry, is the total freedom of reference she enjoys in anyone.

  Portrait of fashion and interior-design expert Iris Apfel.
• 
  Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? (2013)

  Review preview for Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?

  You should be puzzled.

  Hand drawn animation illustrating a series of interviews with philosopher Noam Chomsky.
• 
  I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

  Review preview for I Am Not Your Negro

  The full use of what film can do is eye-opening - the juxtapositions jolt awareness of what is important and remains necessary.

  Essay film based on James Baldwin's writing about the story of race in modern America.
• 
  Jane (2017)

  Review preview for Jane

  Morgen infuses new life into Jane Goodall's groundbreaking wildlife study that took place over half a century ago.

  Documentary about primatologist Jane Goodall.
• 
  Jappeloup (2013)

  Review preview for Jappeloup

  Even viewers who have never cared much about show jumping, should be drawn in by how the movie deals with decision making, risk taking, self doubt, and family obligations

  The story of a man's faith in a horse that could jump.
• 
  Jealousy (2013)

  Review preview for Jealousy

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

  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.
• 
  James Baldwin: From Another Place (1973)

  Review preview for James Baldwin: From Another Place

  When he walks the streets of Istanbul, people stare at him and at the camera filming him. What, we wonder, are they seeing?

  James Baldwin muses on race, the American fascination with sexuality and the generosity of the Turks.
• 
  Jane By Charlotte (2021)

  Review preview for Jane By Charlotte

  The closer and more personal this documentary gets, the more it opens up to the largest of issues.

  The director's portrait of her mother.
• 
  Jeannette: The Childhood Of Joan Of Arc (2017)

  Review preview for Jeannette: The Childhood Of Joan Of Arc

  Eternal greatness encounters sacrifice and the film dares to musically tackle questions of complicity in evil. Péguy's socialism, patriotism, and Catholicism mix well with the eager young actors. This is unlike any film you have ever seen.

  Musical about the French heroine.
• 
  Julia (2021)

  Review preview for Julia

  Julia is a film about food and about the change in attitude towards cooking one woman could spark.

  Documentary portrait of the influential TV chef.
• 
  Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017)

  Review preview for Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

  It is always wonderful when a film about a writer you admire produces sentences - be it in dialogue, commentary or excerpts you overlooked or forgot from the published texts - that are so poignant in the here and now and feel brand new.

  A documentary portrait of the filmmaker's aunt.
• 
  Journey Through French Cinema (2016)

  Review preview for Journey Through French Cinema

  This film is not an encyclopedia entry but a living, breathing adventure ride into French cinema through the eyes and ears of the filmmaker.

  A personal look at French cinema, the films, directors and composers.
• 
  Joy (2015)

  Review preview for Joy

  As wild as it seems at times, the film is deeply grounded in an emotional truth for each of the protagonists.

  Story of the woman who invented the Miracle Mop.
• 
  Just A Sigh (2013)

  Review preview for Just A Sigh

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

  An actress meets a stranger on a train and conceives of a different life.
• 
  KEDi (2016)

  Review preview for KEDi

  Torun, who spent much of her childhood in the city, lets us get supremely close to seven exquisitely different felines.

  A documentary following seven different cats through the streets of Istanbul.
• 
  Keep The Change (2017)

  Review preview for Keep The Change

  Keep The Change tells an intricate love story, featuring people we rarely get to see on the big screen

  The unlikely love story of two people who meet in a support group.
• 
  Keyhole (2011)

  Review preview for Keyhole

  To enjoy this kind of adventure, you have to get lost in Guy Maddin's house, because he has made a ghost of a film - 'but a ghost isn't nothing.'

  A criminal undertakes a surreal and supernatural journey through his own house.
• 
  The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq (2014)

  Review preview for The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq

  The rules of the funny games of fiction and documentary do not apply here - as long as the addictions are taken care of, anything goes.

  The story of what might have happened when author Michel Houellebecq disappeared during a promotional tour.
• 
  The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness (2013)

  Review preview for The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness

  The mood is that of an office in which at any moment, anything is possible, a little bit like in the films created here.

  Documentary about famed animation Studio Ghibli.
• 
  The Kid With A Bike (2011)

  Review preview for The Kid With A Bike

  In a world where everyone seems so lost, The Kid With A Bike will help you find your humanity again.

  A young boy searches for his father and his bike.
• 
  Koch (2012)

  Review preview for Koch

  Barsky's documentary, like his subject, does not shy away from controversy.

  The life and career of the former mayor of New York City.
• 
  A Lady In Paris (2012)

  Review preview for A Lady In Paris

  It's a slender film. A bit pale, like the light at the Baltic Sea, or a piece of ham that's been left on the plate too long.

  A woman leaves Estonia to look after an elderly Estonian woman... but finds her services are less than welcome.
• 
  Landfill Harmonic (2015)

  Review preview for Landfill Harmonic

  The creative spirit displayed by the young, adventurous musicians in the Landfill Harmonic is a joy to behold.

  Garbage from a landfill is used to create instruments for the local children, who form the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, Paraguay, which turns their lives around.
• 
  The Last Impresario (2013)

  Review preview for The Last Impresario

  Otto's sensitively structured portrait of an engaging Peter Pan draws us irresistibly into his world.

  The story of producer and social butterfly Michael White.
• 
  The Last Of The Unjust (2013)

  Review preview for The Last Of The Unjust

  The film with all its large time leaps gives the impression not of something alien, long dead, but very pertinent to the now.

  Benjamin Murmelstein addresses his unique relationship to Adolf Eichmann and his role as the last Jewish elder of Theresienstadt.
• 
  Like Father, Like Son (2013)

  Review preview for Like Father, Like Son

  Shuttling back and forth between the families, Like Father, Like Son scrutinises words, deeds, allegiances.

  When he discovers his baby boy was accidentally swapped with another at birth, whom he has raised and loved, a wealthy businessman must decide which one he truly feels is his son.
• 
  Like Someone In Love (2012)

  Review preview for Like Someone In Love

  A sublime lesson in emotional manipulation through cinematic traditions.

  A drama centered on the relationship of a young woman and old man in Tokyo.