★☆☆☆☆ There are a mountain of problems with Declan Donnellan and Nick Omerod’s adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s novel Bel Ami, which stars Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas. A combination of weak screenplay, dreadful direction and poor performances add up to what is undoubtedly one Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Nikolaj Arcel’s lavish historical drama A Royal Affair (En Kongelig Affære, 2012), starring Mads Mikkelsen, Berlinale Silver Bear winner Mikkel Følsgaard and Swedish star Alicia Vikander, is a fine example of an incredibly well-made and enjoyable costume drama that perfectly balances romance and politics against the backdrop of 18th Continue Reading
★★★★★ Avalon (2011), directed by Axel Petersén, maintains Swedish cinema’s reputation for outstanding films with a captivating thriller starring Swedish comedian and buddy of Mick Jagger, Johannes Brost. Set in the wealthy town of Båstad on the Swedish coastline, the story follows club promoter Janne (Brost), a man who has Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ American activist and author Stephen Elliott puts down his pen to make his directorial debut with US drama About Cherry (2012), starring James Franco, Ashley Hinshaw, Dev Patel and Heather Graham. The story reveals an unglamourous account of the porn industry in San Francisco, wrapped up in the sometimes Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ An unique twist on the body-swap sub genre, Kimura Shoko’s debut film The End of Puberty (Koi ni itaru yamai, 2011) is a kooky comedy about a young girl and her biology teacher, who inexplicably find that they’ve exchanged sexual organs during intercourse – only in Japan could you Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Having proven an insurmountable task for masters of the medium in the past (perhaps notably Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker), Life in a Day (2011) director Kevin Macdonald brings the life of the late reggae icon Bob Marley to the screen in new documentary Marley (2012), which premiered at Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Setting up base camp in the Panorama programme at this year’s 62nd Berlinale, Cao Hamburger’s Xingu (2012) is an extremely engrossing, well-executed and well-meaning dramatisation of the formation of Brazil’s enormous Xingu National Park (referred to as ‘Belgium in the film due to its immense size), one of the Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ One of the competition entries for the coveted Golden Bear at this year’s 62nd Berlinale (yet ultimately receiving no awards), Matthias Glasner’s Mercy (Gnade, 2012) comes complete with a solid concept, but unfortunately suffers in its long-winded execution. A morality tale of sorts, the film follows an ex-pat German Continue Reading
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 Continue Reading
Earlier on this evening, the 62nd Berlin Film Festival announced its final award winners following yet another hugely successful festival programme, which now reaches its finale. This year’s handpicked Special Jury consisted of British director Mike Leigh (President), filmmaker and photographer Anton Corbijn, Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, actress Charlotte Gainsbourg Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ 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 Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ 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 Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Surely one of the frontrunners for this year’s coveted Berlinale Golden Bear award, Kim Nguyen’s War Witch (Rebelle, 2012) is a harrowing exploration of life as one of Africa’s child soldiers, following Komona (Rachel Mwanza), a young girl who is kidnapped from her village by a group of rebel Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ Rosa von Praunheim’s documentary King of Comics (König des Comics, 2012) explores the life and work of Ralf König, one of Germany’s most celebrated comic book writers and artists – best known for his work The Most Desired Man, which was adapted into a film in 1995. Fearless of Continue Reading
★★★★☆ 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 Continue Reading
