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| Berlinale Palats, Marlene Dietrich Platz, Berlin |
In addition to the films in Competition at the Berlinale, there are a number of other Festival categories: Panorama, Generation, Forum and specials (see the Berlinale website here for a summary of the categories and films: https://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/sektionen_sonderveranstaltungen/ueberblick/index.html
There is a great atmosphere - though freezing! - I'm delighted to see an exciting lineup of films, including a lot of Hispanic movies which I will, as usual, be prioritising, as well as trying to catch as many of the Festival films (competition and special categories) as possible. So far I have seen the following (with my star ranking - out of 5 where five is best and additional stars reserved for truly exceptional films!):
Django **** Dir. Etienne Comar, France 2017. In Competition. Partial biopic of gypsy jazz musician Reinhart as he flees France to avoid Nazi pressure to perform in Germany. Fab music and seductive period feel. Really enjoyed this one! See Hollywood Reporter review here
Politics, instructions manual/Política, manual de instrucciones **** Dir. Fernando León de Aranoa, Spain 2016 Panorama section. A fascinating insight into the establishment of the Podemos political party which developed out of the Indignados protest movement and wider Movimiento 15M (15 May Movement) in reaction to the banking crisis and neoliberalism. The film is based on unique footage gathered as the director had unique access to the centre of the campaign and its leaders as it developed unprecedented support and became a significant new force in the Spanish political panorama previously dominated by two main parties (PP and PSOE) since the 1980s. See Hollywood Reporter review here See trailer here
Rescue under Fire/En zona hostil **** Dir. Adolfo Martínez, Spain 2017. Gripping war genre movie based on real events as Spanish forces in Afghanistan attempt the rescue of a damaged medical helicopter and marooned contingent of soldiers and medics surrounded by hostile Taliban troops. Good to see a strong cast led by Adriadna Gil (Pan's Labyrinth; Belle Epoque) promoting positive female roles in a typically male-dominated genre and a film which also tackles head on assumptions about ethnicity and the need to separate ethnicity and political/idelogical allegiances. Trailer at: http://screenanarchy.com/2017/02/zona-hostil-rescue-under-fire-trailer-spanish-military-heroes-in-afghanistan.html.
The Nobodies/Los nadie *** Dir. Colombia 2016 A black and white perspective on the life of street life in Medellín. The focus is on the intersecting lives of a small group of youngsters variously scratching an income as street performance and tattoo artists, some attending or aspiring to attend university and dreaming of adventure or at least escape from the limitations of their world. See trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rpE0N3h7_A and Hollywood Reporter review at http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/nobodies-los-nadie-film-review-933322.
Django **** Dir. Etienne Comar, France 2017. In Competition. Partial biopic of gypsy jazz musician Reinhart as he flees France to avoid Nazi pressure to perform in Germany. Fab music and seductive period feel. Really enjoyed this one! See Hollywood Reporter review here
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| Berlin ale Festival Service Centre |
Politics, instructions manual/Política, manual de instrucciones **** Dir. Fernando León de Aranoa, Spain 2016 Panorama section. A fascinating insight into the establishment of the Podemos political party which developed out of the Indignados protest movement and wider Movimiento 15M (15 May Movement) in reaction to the banking crisis and neoliberalism. The film is based on unique footage gathered as the director had unique access to the centre of the campaign and its leaders as it developed unprecedented support and became a significant new force in the Spanish political panorama previously dominated by two main parties (PP and PSOE) since the 1980s. See Hollywood Reporter review here See trailer here
Rescue under Fire/En zona hostil **** Dir. Adolfo Martínez, Spain 2017. Gripping war genre movie based on real events as Spanish forces in Afghanistan attempt the rescue of a damaged medical helicopter and marooned contingent of soldiers and medics surrounded by hostile Taliban troops. Good to see a strong cast led by Adriadna Gil (Pan's Labyrinth; Belle Epoque) promoting positive female roles in a typically male-dominated genre and a film which also tackles head on assumptions about ethnicity and the need to separate ethnicity and political/idelogical allegiances. Trailer at: http://screenanarchy.com/2017/02/zona-hostil-rescue-under-fire-trailer-spanish-military-heroes-in-afghanistan.html.
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| Sony Centre and CineStar cinema festival venue |
The Nobodies/Los nadie *** Dir. Colombia 2016 A black and white perspective on the life of street life in Medellín. The focus is on the intersecting lives of a small group of youngsters variously scratching an income as street performance and tattoo artists, some attending or aspiring to attend university and dreaming of adventure or at least escape from the limitations of their world. See trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rpE0N3h7_A and Hollywood Reporter review at http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/nobodies-los-nadie-film-review-933322.
El mar la mar * Dir. J.P. Sniadecki, Joshua Bonnet, USA 2017 Arthouse documentary shot on film, focusing on the Sonora desert between Mexico and US, a treacherous terrain which many desperate groups and individuals seek to cross each year, many dying in the extreme daytime heat and nighttime cold. An interesting, though not readily engaging film which takes an episodic approach to collagen snippets of the experience - panoramas, close-ups on aspects of the terrain, etc. and occasional testimonies from survivors of the experience (sometimes cast against a blank black screen). Can't help feeling more accessible and direct statement on the desperation the film asks us to piece together might be more effective - particularly in the current US political climate..... See Hollywood Reporter review here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/el-mar-la-mar-review-974725.
Inside *, a Spanish thriller which started off quite promisingly gripping but progressively moved into the absurd as the pregnant protagonist, losing her partner in a car crash and going it alone in an isolated location outside Chicago, grapples with a strange knock at the door in the middle of the night..... (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5170810/)
Carrion/Carroña NO stars! Mexico 2016 Dir. Sebastián Hiriart. Sadly trots out a range of uncomfortable racial and gender stereotypes as tensions build between a young couple on an island escape. (https://vimeo.com/161145969). Disappointing........
Discovering Berlin
Also managed to fit in a little time for a little tourism over the last couple of days - walking along the 70-odd metres of the Berlin wall which have been preserved as a monument to the those who lost their lives attempting to cross from East to West and a reminder of Germany's commitment to a unified nation.
Checkpoint Charlie where Soviet and US tanks faced one another at the height of Cold War tensions in 1960 is now a big tourist attraction where visitors queue to have their photo taken with the mock 'guards' at the reconstructed border point - I resisted that temptation!
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| Checkpoint Charlie, Friedrichstrasse, Berlin |
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| Holocaust Memorial, Berlin |
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| Berlin Wall, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin (history and memorial of lives lost) |
