(Özgü Namal and Tansu Biçer in Berlinale Golden Bear winner "Gelbe Briefe" (Yellow Letters)) By Michael Roddy In awarding the Berlinale's top Golden Bear prize on Saturday to the Turkish-German film “Gelbe Briefe” (Yellow Letters), German director Wim Wenders said he was certain its politically potent message that even people who are privileged and well…Read more Berlinale winner “Yellow Letters” has chilling message: under authoritarian rule, it could be you
Competition
Berlinale ends as it began, in a political furore
(Director İlker Çatak accepting Berlinale's Golden Bear award for his film "Gelbe Briefe") By Michael Roddy The raucous political debate over the Israeli-Gaza conflict and the rise of authoritarianism that has roiled the Berlinale Film Festival since its opening took over the stage for the closing ceremony on Saturday night where the winning films were…Read more Berlinale ends as it began, in a political furore
Chadian “Soumsoum, nuit des astres” underscores need to respect nature
By Michael Roddy Near the beginning of the Chadian Berlinale competition film “Soumsoum, la nuit des astres” (Soumsoum, night of the stars) 17-year-old Kellou (Maïmouna Miawama) has walked from her village to an area of spectacular rock formations and a pellucid swimming pond where she has a terrifying vision of a half dozen zombie-like men…Read more Chadian “Soumsoum, nuit des astres” underscores need to respect nature
Child actor Escobar shines in Mexican Berlinale competition film “Moscas” (Flies)
(Teresita Sánchez as Olga and Benito Escobar as Cristian in Mexican film "Moscas" (Flies)) By Michael Roddy Nine-year-old Cristian (Bastian Escobar) is a force of nature, a bit of a con artist and a whiz on the console of an antiquated, Space Invaders-style arcade game called Cosmic Defenders Pro -- which plays such a big…Read more Child actor Escobar shines in Mexican Berlinale competition film “Moscas” (Flies)
Courtenay, Binoche, shine in Berlinale dementia film “Queen at Sea”
By Michael Roddy Teenaged Sara (Florence Hunt, winsome) has a question for her mother Amanda (Juliette Binoche, superb) after they walk in on octogenerian Martin (Tom Courtenay, ditto) having sex with his dementia-stricken wife, Amanda's mom Leslie (Anne Calder-Marshall, convincing) in the elderly couple's north London townhouse. How, at his age, does he perform the…Read more Courtenay, Binoche, shine in Berlinale dementia film “Queen at Sea”
Uprooting ripples down the years in Berlinale “Nina Roza”
By Michael Roddy Art expert Mihail (veteran Bulgarian stage director Galin Stoev, in fine form) works in Montreal for collector Christophe (Christian Bégin) who has become obsessed, through seeing online videos, with an eight-year-old supposed art prodigy in rural Bulgaria named Nina (twins Ekaterina and Sofia Stanina). If the girl is who she is made…Read more Uprooting ripples down the years in Berlinale “Nina Roza”
Norwegian film “Drømmer” wins Golden Bear top prize at Berlinale
Drømmer producers Yngve Sæther, Hege Hauff Hvattum with director Dag Johan Haugerud (centre) The Norwegian film "Drømmer" (Dreams (Sex Love)), directed by Dag Johan Haugerud and starring Ella Øverbye as a 17-year-old schoolgirl who turns the tables on the adults in her world by writing a book about a lesbian affair with her teacher, won…Read more Norwegian film “Drømmer” wins Golden Bear top prize at Berlinale
Do-gooder can’t stop progress, or death, in Jude’s “Kontinental ’25” at Berlinale
A homeless man, dressed in tattered clothes and shouting out swear words at random, packs trash into a carryall as he lurches along the leaf-strewn paths of a forlorn amusement park, whose chief attraction is clunky, animatronic dinosaurs. When he leaves the park and walks into the city of Cluj, in northwestern Romania, he passes…Read more Do-gooder can’t stop progress, or death, in Jude’s “Kontinental ’25” at Berlinale
Teens turn tables on adults in Berlinale competition films
Marielle (Laeni Geiseler) can overhear her parents in "What Marielle Knows" Two teenaged schoolgirls turn family dynamics on their head, one of them by developing telepathy that allows her to read her parents' minds, wherever they are, the other by writing a book about a lesbian affair she's had with her French teacher, in two…Read more Teens turn tables on adults in Berlinale competition films
Lorenz Hart bio-pic “Blue Moon” captures falling star of a great American lyricist
American actor Ethan Hawke gives a powerful but disturbing performance as the alcoholic lyricist Lorenz Hart in director Richard Linklater's Berlinale competition entry “Blue Moon”, named for one of Hart's songs with his longtime collaborator Richard Rodgers, played by Irish actor Andrew Scott. Alternately witty, solicitous, hectoring and maddening in his barroom banter, Hawke chews…Read more Lorenz Hart bio-pic “Blue Moon” captures falling star of a great American lyricist
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