Patrick Gamble
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Berlin 2012: Berlinale roundup
This year’s 62nd Berlinale (like most film festivals) was a bit of a mixed bag, containing some exceptional examples of provocative world cinema and, as to be expected, numerous film’s which failed to entertain in the slightest – some far too pretentious, others just downright poor.Of the many highlights, three films stood out from the…
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Berlin 2012: ‘Headshot’ review
★★☆☆☆ A story of corruption, deceit and exploring the true definition of justice, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Headshot (2011) is a Thai film noir with an enticing twist – its central protagonist Tul (played by Jayanama Nopachoi) is a hitman, who after miraculously surviving a gunshot to the head, finds himself seeing everything upside down – literally.When…
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Berlin 2012: ‘Iron Sky’ review
★★☆☆☆ Easily one of the most anticipated films at this year’s Berlinale (for right or for wrong) was Timo Vuorensola’s Iron Sky (2012), with tickets for this ‘Nazi’s from the Moon’ sci-fi parody selling out within a couple of minutes. Such a ludicrous premise was never going to result in a prize-winning film, yet Iron…
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Berlin 2012: ‘Just the Wind’ review
★★★★☆ Benedek Fliegauf’s hard-hitting Hungarian drama Just the Wind (Csak a szél, 2011) is a chilling story of a Romany community living amongst an atmosphere of fear and paranoia, that will certainly find itself fighting amongst the best of the Berlinale for its prestigious Golden Bear award.A recent spate of murders has left the Hungarian…
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Berlin 2012: ‘Rent-a-Cat’ review
★★★★☆ Tonally a million miles away from the dark subject matter of most of this year’s Berlinale lineup, Naoko Ogigami’s Rent-a-Cat (Rentaneko, 2011) is a delightfully twee story of self discovery which successfully blends elements of Amélie (2001) with the sweet sentiment of Studio Ghibli.Sayoko is a young girl who attracts cats. Maybe it’s down…
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Film Review: ‘Position Among the Stars’
★★★★☆ Over a decade in the making, Position Among the Stars (2010) is the final instalment of Dutch director Leonard Retel Helmrich’s trilogy of documentaries following the lives of the Sjamsuddin family. Acting as a portal into the lives of just one of many improvised families currently living amongst the fragile shanty towns of Jakarta,…
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Berlin 2012: ‘Tabu’ review
★★★★★ Miguel Gomes’ third feature Tabu (2012) is an impassioned love story which draws its influences from the early romantic era of 1930’s Hollywood filmmaking. Aurora (played by Laura Soveral in her old age and Ana Moreira during her younger years), an elderly Portuguese women with an eccentric personality and a destructive taste for the…
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Berlin 2012: ‘Home for the Weekend’ review
★★★☆☆ Home for the Weekend (Was Bleibt, 2012) is an astute and compassionate domestic drama which oozes the sort of effortless naturalism filmmakers rarely capture. Directed by Hans-Christian Schmidt and starring Lars Eidinger, Corinna Harfouch and Sebastian Zimmler, this touching tale of one family’s failed efforts to deal with the sickness of its matriarchal figurehead…
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Berlin 2012: ‘As Luck Would Have It’ review
★★★☆☆ From acclaimed surrealist director Álex de la Iglesia and starring Salma Hayek, As Luck Would Have (La Chispa de la Vida, 2011) it is a satirical comedy that aims to expose our society’s cultural dependency on the output of the sensationalist media industry, fuelled by a mixture of human misery and morbid fascination with…
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Berlin 2012: ‘Friends after 3.11’ review
★☆☆☆☆ In March 2011, Japan was struck by a catastrophic earthquake, with the devastating tsunami that followed causing a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power station that sent ripples of discontent throughout the country. Director Iwai Shunji’s Friends after 3.11 (2011) is a deeply personal documentary which uses the statements of some of his closest…