Bulletin from the 2008 Berlinale
Juliet Goodfriend
President, Bryn Mawr Film Institute
Berlinale Finale
Well, 6 days and 32 films later (not counting having seen one film twice), I have returned home on a flight where I caught two more flicks (Michael Clayton and Atonement), but who’s counting. What were my outstanding impressions?
Ambience and Environment
-No food or popcorn inside the theaters makes clean up and turn-over a cinch and saves calories, too! Concession food is much better in Toronto! But these theaters are cleaner, by far. Like the idea? Would never sell in America where no opportunity to eat too much is ever missed.
-Accessibility was a real problem in most venues, despite claims otherwise. But the staff were most helpful and chagrined at the situation. Even with the steps and lack of transfer seats I was, obviously, able to fill every day with films and could have seen many more had I stayed longer! Just frustrating not to be able to see some very important entries because the venues were too far away or had no access.
-Theater staff are terrific and they all seemed to be paid, not volunteers, as in Toronto.
-Projection was a bit jumbled at times, with visible black outs between reels. But the shuttle system and the number of cars and vans transporting films and personnel are impressive.
-Many good restaurants nearby, with little time to eat, and an incredible “surround” of architecture, with no time to wander.
Festival Offerings
As an Industry Accredited attendee I could see either screenings in the Official Selection sections (if I stopped by industry headquarters to get a free ticket) or the European Film Market screenings (which included some, but not all, of the official selection films and countless other films submitted for a fee and not necessarily peer reviewed). The number of program books, schedule grids, reviews, catalogues, etc. that one had to carry about and sort through was very challenging. So wrong choices were made, right choices were forgotten, and still I managed to see a lot of films---befuddled or not. The on-line system would have been a better one to use, but I did not want to carry a lap top! And with more pre-festival reading I might not have missed some good movies, but remorse about THIS is certainly a wasted emotion. I would just like to have input on a program/schedule re-design!
I was there to see new movies, so that pretty much eliminated the discussions or retrospectives, unfortunately. Many of them looked interesting. The first Cuisine and Cinema evening I went to with high hopes. It was meant to be a dinner around Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, but was more of a farce than the movie (which was shown in an inaccessible theater). All the famous chefs spoke in Italian and Spanish and were translated into German, despite the fact that the audience knew English and many spoke not a word of German! And no one, nor the menu, created a link to the movie. However, the food was good!
The Films
Here is my list with a few comments and a rating score (auf Deutsch mit translation) as follows:
*1= Schlect, nicht gut (bad)
**2= Vielleicht (maybe, interesting for one reason or another)
***3= Jawohl! (yes, we must get it)
........................................................
*1 Schlect, nicht gut—i.e. BAD
Surviving With Wolves (Vera Belmont)- a totally improbable and unbelievable holocaust child-escape-suvival movie.
Henry Poole is Here (Mark Pellington)- meant to be inspirational and comes off totally ridiculous.
Oxford Murders (Alex De La Iglesia)-Good actors acting terribly with a pretentious and wordy script. As a philosophy major I guess I should like any movie that uses Wittgenstein and numerical series to predict the next serial murder. But this flick is a philosophical farce (to be honest, I didn’t sit through it all).
Birds of America (Craig Lucas)- Yet another dysfunctional family flick—meant to be a comedy-- with unbelievable family members and a grand finale of the older brother defecating on his neighbor’s lawn…and we are meant to watch it?
Encarnacion (Anahi Berneri)-An Argentinian actress past 50 who wants to be young, but this movie won’t help her.
Fireflies in the Garden (Dennis Lee)- The dysfunctional father’s cruelty (he is an academic, of course; the current favorite career of male characters who can’t understand themselves) is not credible and who wants to see another dysfunctional family flick anyway.
Che – Despite major actors and directors this looks like an amateur’s jungle war picture, and boring at that. My rating may be off because I saw it at a bad DVD screening. But I doubt we’d want it anyway.
Boot Camp (Christian Duguay)- Perhaps this thriller would be a 1, but I suspect some audiences will like it. Not for me. The narrative pull is absent, just the weirdness remains to be seen.
..................................................................................................................
**2.= Vielleicht (maybe, interesting for one reason or another)
Aparacidos (Paco Cabezas)-Horror story, with some potential for those into this genre.
The Bird Can’t Fly (Threes Anna)- Haunting, improbable tale of despair set in a South African town being swallowed by sand. The ostriches survive another dysfunctional family! One of those films to remember, especially visually, but too odd to be a hit.
Max Minsky and Me (Anna Justice)- A film that will do well with Jewish audiences, especially children, because of its theme: a charming young girl’s conflict between studying for bat mitzvah or learning basketball to get near her crush—the Prince of Luxemburg, believe it or not).. But the search for “roots” as the true meaning of bat mitzvah is a bit too literal (i.e. she finds truth in a cave filled with tree roots). On second thought, maybe this is just right for a children’s audience.
Where in the World is Osama bin Laden? (Morgan Spurlock)- Amusing and somewhat inventive.
50 Dead Men Walking (Kari Skogland)- Sir Ben Kingsley as a hirsute, Irish detective…and very convincing at that. But only 35 minutes of the film were shown (promotional screening).
Quid Pro Quo (Carlos Brooks)- Take the concept of a group of New Yorkers who are wheelchair user wannabes and add to it a mystery with excellent acting, and you may have a winner. Or not. But it sure got my attention and is definitely not a movie I have ever “seen before” (as so many movies seem to be).
Piano Solo - (Riccardo Milani)The tormented life of a genius born to a father who is remote and uncaring (so what else is new) and spiritually orphaned when his mother dies in a car accident.
Mermaid (Anna Melikyan)- Charming inventions in this Russian film about a child with magical powers whose desires are constantly thwarted. May or may not work, but it has the advantage of being different. Maybe this should be a “3”?
The Merry Widow (Isabelle Mergault)-A comedy with promise, about an unlikely affair between the wife of a plastic surgeon who makes a fortune “youthenizing” women and a ruddy sailor readying his boat to go to Hong Kong. When her husband dies, she has another set of problems: her “supportive” family. Set on the coast of France, I did laugh a lot.
20 Seconds of Joy - (Jens Hoffman)A documentary about BASE jumping and the psychology of one who does it. Worth it to see the dizzying jumps and overcome one’s vicarious terror. But best as part of an extreme sports movie festival.
Wonderful Town (Aditya Assarat)- A very slow and deliberately paced movie from Thailand—a pace that contrasts with the sudden and lingering damage of the Tsunami.
Hidden Faces (Handan Ipecki)-From Turkey comes this constantly shifting, tense, and demanding movie about tribal honor assassinations. If this doesn’t stir up fears of fundamentalist Muslims I don’t know what will. Set in Turkey, the conflict between secular and religious characters is highlighted in a gripping film that uses the filmer-being-filmed perspectives to accentuate the differences in perspectives.
Drifting Flowers (Piao Lang Qing Chun) -A Taiwan/Mandarin film about gender identity across three character pairs in different generations.
No Bikini - A charming short about a young girl challenging gender stereotypes.
Ballerina - (Bertrand Normand)A French film, lovingly made about the training and professional development of 5 ballerinas in the Kirov Ballet Company. A dance lover’s full immersion.
Citizen Havel (Pavel Kouteky, Miroslav Janek)- An extremely intimate documentary detailing his political life, this film reveals Havel as a true leader: filled with great words to inspire (he is a playwright after all), with devoted attention to details to ensure the “play goes on as written”, and with humility to worry also about his dandruff showing.
..................................................................
***3=Jawohl! (yes, we should get it)
The Lemon Tree (Eran Ricklis)- An Israeli film that challenges the tensions created when a Minister of Defense moves to a house next to a Palestinian woman’s lemon grove. Believably painful.
The Wave ( Dennis Gansel)-A “remake” of a USA television short based on a true story, this new German film about a German high school teacher’s experiment to demonstrate the ease by which a tyrant can gain control, is masterfully constructed and was fascinating to watch with a German audience (for whom it was intended).
Transsiberian (Brad Anderson)- A great Ben Kingsley role: the sometimes kind, sometimes evil Russian detective. There is just enough tension and suspicion in every character to keep you riveted to the movie. And the party after the premiere was fab-u-lous!
Elegy (Isabel Coixet)- As I wrote before, this is a rave performance by Ben Kingsley and also by Penelope Cruz. It is so authentic as to be embarrassing! His character, a scholar who knows all about art and nothing about himself, faces old age with the same desires he’s always had but less confidence. The movie’s ending is less than it should be, given its wonderful, tight, structure and script. It is a very satisfying flick, to say the very least.
Green Porno-Isabella Rosselini has created three one minute movies intended for the telephone screen—small and sexy insects she portrays with great charm and agility!
With Gilbert and George (Julian Kohl)-This documentary, 18 years in the making, studies the unusual life work of the two-men-working-as-one artist: Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore. Theirs is a fascinating journey through the art world and the film is perfect for art-lovers and psychologists alike. From being human sculptures to photo-montagists, Gilbert and George hope to bring art to all people, not just the intelligentsia. And this filmmaker makes them as accessible to us as they hope their art is to the world.
A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (Chris Waitt)-It’s a funny romp of a self-discovery documentary, and it draws a bit on Borat, but makes fun of the filmmaker, not his, in this case, willing and informed subjects.
Full Battle Rattle (Tony Gerber, Jesse Moss)- Here is a movie about the Iraq war that focuses on the training sites in the Mojave Desert where Iraqi Americans role-play with soldiers about to be deployed. It is a movie that stirs discussion and with more editing would be well worth showing. The training earnest training exercises are probably for naught, as the scenarios degenerate into chaos and then the soldiers go off to Iraq where they experience the same.
Among the many films I could not get to see, Trip To Asia-Quest For Harmony (Thomas Grube) was one we should get—sight unseen. It deals with the Berlin Philharmonic’s trip to Asia with Sir Simon Rattle. And after our Philadelphia Orchestra’s, Music From The Inside Out, we know we have the audience for it, for sure.
...........................................
Tuesday, February 12 –
My third day and 27th film at the 2008 Berlinale brings an observation: at this festival, instead of being in awe of the immensely productive film industry—an art that I have thought is so productive in terms of quality—I am struck by the rarity of good films.
Intrigued by the premise of a film about the subculture of (believe it or not) paraplegic “wannabes”, I went to the screening of Quid Pro Quo. As the “Real McCoy,” I was interested to see what writer/director Carlos Brooks could do with the subject matter. The plot quickly turns into a mystery, and one never learns if the characters are indeed handicapped.
The main character, an NPR reporter, was partially paralyzed in a childhood accident that killed his parents. He and his girlfriend are shown to have an earlier “relationship”. It is an unusual premise that caught my eye for obvious reasons.
Lemon Tree, an Israeli film about the Palestinian problem that focuses on the “threat” posed by a grove of lemon trees, is a film I think BMFI audiences would enjoy.
Mermaid is a very charming film about a young girl with magical powers. While the film would probably not do well at BMFI, it is imaginative and combines super-human powers and animation with reality.
“Green Porno” is a series of three one-minute films written and produced by the absolutely lovely Isabella Rossellini (who was sitting about 2 yards from me) to be shown on the small screen (very small screens—iPods and telephones). In “Green Porno (Dragonfly)”, “Green Porno (Firefly)”, and “Green Porno (Spider)”, Rossellini is the title character, discussing the sex life of the relative insects. The series was developed in collaboration with Sundance.
20 Seconds of Joy should be titled “20 Seconds of Fear”. It is about BASE jumping, the sport where you free fall and then pull a parachute. The film covers 5 years in the life of Norwegian BASE jumper Karina Hollekim, and is amazing, moving, and terrifying.
Citizen Havel, a 2-hour documentary revealing former Czech President Vaclav Havel's private moments and backroom dealings, lacked context and connection. It does provide a charming and insightful look at his attention to detail, as the documentary covers 20 years of his life in politics.
Much of the movie shows him directing his conferences and speeches in much the controlled and deliberate way one would expect of a playwright. He loses his wife of 45 years and finds new love and a second marriage in the course of the film. One could not write a summary of his political career as a result of seeing this film, but one does learn what he is like as a person.
With Gilbert & George is a documentary that has been a remarkable 18 years in the making. Gilbert Prousch and George Passmore, better known as Gilbert & George, are performance artists who have worked almost exclusively as a pair. The two regard themselves as living sculptures. They are most extraordinary, and theirs is the only retrospective of a living artist (remember, they think of themselves as one) ever produced at the Tate Modern. The film is provocative but mesmerizing.
Monday, February 11-
There could not be a better year for BMFI to honor Sir Ben Kingsley, as he is featured in four new movies at the 2008 Berlinale Film Festival.
No performance of his, or of any other actor I’ve seen at this festival, compares with his in Elegy. Directed by Isabel Coixets in the film adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Roth’s short novel, The Dying Animal, Kingsley’s performance is authentic and personal. One feels almost embarrassed, as if one is hearing him and not an actor playing a role.
I saw the film twice—at the press premiere and again at the red carpet premiere—and both viewings were equally riveting.
Sir Ben plays a public intellectual who can explain any work of art to anyone, but can’t explain himself to his old loves or his new one, played by Penelope Cruz (what a fuss they made over Penelope Cruz on the red carpet, as well as Sir Ben and his lovely new bride!)
Sir Ben truly gives the performance of a lifetime, rivaling his Oscar-winning turn in Gandhi. Elegy is about aging, and how aging confronts a “star”—in this case an academic star. His performance is still and quiet and very believable. It is a movie we must have at BMFI.
The previous day I thought his performances as a Russian cop in Transsiberian and an Irishman in 50 Dead Men Walking were also extraordinary. And there is fun to be had here, too. Sir Ben sent me an invitation to the Transsiberian afterparty which took place in an igloo one entered after donning a (borrowed) fur coat to sip vodka from glasses of ice.
If Toronto 2007, to this observer, was a pageant of “blood on the floor,” Berlinale 2008 is an exhibition of “dripping mascara.” There is very little violence and a great deal of sentiment.
Friday, February 8 -
Here I am with a kezboard that thinks a y is a z, but that should be the worst problem one has at the Berlinale, the largest film festival in Europe. So far it is a bit of a disappointment, since many films here were alreadz at the Toronto International Film Festival. But todaz, (remember the z is reallz a y) I saw 8 films, of which a few are worth reporting.
I have seen two of the FOUR films at the festival featuring Sir Ben Kingslez (or Kingsley if zou excuse mz tzping-- there are a lot of y’s in English compared to German!!!) As many of you know, Ben Kingsley is our guest of honor for our upcoming Gala on March 8. He is in Transsiberian, which premiered to great reviews at Sundance. Tonight that film had me glued to my seat in a full house (of course there was no wheelchair access to the seats so I saw it from the entryway--a lot of y’s . . . I am getting the hang of this kezboard. . . oops!). It is a film where enough tension and suspicion are raised to make zou suspect everyone and to sigh with relief when the expected does not occur, only to have the unexpected promptlz scare you again.
The other film with our honoree is called 50 Dead Men Walking, and all that was shown was a 35 minute version for those of us in the industry section of this festival. Well Sir Ben wears an excellent toupee in this film, the first in which I’ve seen him with hair, and is just as compelling as he can be. In Transsiberian he is and sounds authenticallz Russian. In 50 Dead Men he is an Irishman, and needs subtitles, so good is his accent! He is a policeman-detective in both. And not necessarilz on the side of the law. Tomorrow I hope to catch the gala premiere of Elegy, also starring Kingsley.
Only one and one half days into this festival and have so far seen ten films. Aside from Sir Ben's films, those that had a lasting impression are Dead Birds Don’t Fly with Barbara Hershey, a haunting, weird film of loss set in a town disappearing under sand storms in South Africa....verz interesting. The other worth noting is The Wave; especially haunting seeing this German film in Berlin with a German audience. It shows the ease with which a democracy, namely Germans, could become a dictatorship...via a high school project gone awry. Very good flick. And also noteworthz, the charming Max Minsky and Me, in which a young Jewish girl in Berlin learns the value of roots through learning basketball,
believe it or not.
Juliet Goodfriend
JGoodfriend@BrynMawrFilm.org