film festivals

Meet your maker at “Anymart”, the Japanese little shop of horrors that wowed Berlinale

(Sometani Shota as clerk Sakai in Japanese horror/social commentary film "Anymart") By Michael Roddy There is something not quite right in the Anymart convenience store, located in a nondescript neighbourhood in Japan and staffed by young uniformed employees who are, if nothing else, excessively agreeable and accommodating. It turns out their every move and interaction…Read more Meet your maker at “Anymart”, the Japanese little shop of horrors that wowed Berlinale

Berlinale winner “Yellow Letters” has chilling message: under authoritarian rule, it could be you

(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

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

Hüller superb as 17th-century woman passing as man in “Rose”

By Michael Roddy Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”, "Toni Erdmann") gives a textbook performance of subtlety and craft as the titular character in the Berlinale competition film “Rose”, based on the true story of a woman who dressed and passed as a man not in the modern-day metrosexual world, but in the strictly gendered…Read more Hüller superb as 17th-century woman passing as man in “Rose”

A lethal “Succession”-style family in Berlinale’s “Rosebush Pruning”

By Michael Roddy In the Berlinale competition film “Rosebush Pruning”, by Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz (The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão), the first member we meet of a stinking rich and utterly loathesome American family, who've transplanted themselves to obscene levels of luxury in Spain, is son Edward (Callum Turner). He is on a busy…Read more A lethal “Succession”-style family in Berlinale’s “Rosebush Pruning”

Dark rock-star celebrity worship film “Lurker” channels “Ripley”

Archie Madekwe and Théodore Pellerin in Alex Russell's "LurkerThe celebrity-worship culture of the Los Angeles rock scene runs up against the desperation of an insinuating outsider who will do anything to gain admission to a star's inner circle in “Lurker”, a dark but sometimes comic Sundance hit that had its international premiere at the Berlinale…Read more Dark rock-star celebrity worship film “Lurker” channels “Ripley”

Diop’s “Dahomey” about looted African art takes Berlinale gold

Senegalese-French director Mati Diop on the red carpet at Berlinale Senegalese-French director Mati Diop's film “Dahomey” about African treasures looted by French colonial forces and returned to the West African country of Benin after 130 years, won the top Golden Bear prize for best film at the 74th Berlinale festival on Saturday. “We can either…Read more Diop’s “Dahomey” about looted African art takes Berlinale gold

“La Cocina” looks at illegal immigrants through a kitchen lens

Rooney Mara as Julia and Raúl Briones as Pedro in "La Cocina" Once in a while a film comes along that is so audacious and outrageous it takes your breath away. One such was the 2014 Argentine film “Wild Tales”, a series of vignettes in one of which two male drivers fight to their deaths…Read more “La Cocina” looks at illegal immigrants through a kitchen lens

Classical music in the spotlight at Berlinale

The orphanage orchestra that plays a pop tune for the Pope in "Gloria" Classical music is often thought to have little place in today's arts and culture scene, but filmmakers at the Berlinale can't seem to get enough of it. Three films at this year's festival have classical music as central plot elements, and two…Read more Classical music in the spotlight at Berlinale