Discussion with Klaus Eder on New German Cinema (2005 Berlin Film Festival)

Klaus Eder. Photo: Fipresci (the international federation of film critics).

GOETHE-INSTITUTE FILM EXPERT TOUR DISCUSSING GERMAN FILMS WITH KLAUS EDER, SECRETARY GENERAL OF FIPRESCI. Goethe-Institut, Berlin 19 Feb 2005. Topics: the 1990s generation of German cinema, its diversity, commercial hits, its new international breakthrough, the return of comedy, the wave of films on the Third Reich, the German Turkish films, the school of Berlin. - My comment: intriguing is also the recent phenomenon that many Hollywood films are by financing German films, including such current offers as The Aviator and Kinsey. There is more money than ever in Germany's film funds, but mostly it is channeled into American films. I believe this is because of the superiority of American film marketing. There is no structure of European film distribution that can compare with the Americans.

Hitch

US (c) 2005 Columbia Pictures. D: Andy Tennant. SC: Kevin Bisch. DP: Andrew Dunn. Starring Will Smith (Alex "Hitch" Hitchens), Eva Mendes (Sara Melas), Kevin James (Albert Brennaman), Amber Valletta (Allegra Cole). 113 min. A Sony release with German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Main Series Outside Competition) 19 Feb 2005. Following the publicity text: Hitch is New York's master dating counselor, who pairs off ordinary men with extraordinary women. The hard-boiled gossip columnist Sara goes undercover to reveal him. Sara, like Hitch, no longer believes in true love and has nothing but sober cynicism for romantic relationships. Ironically, it's precisely this attitude that makes them perfect for each other. Hopelessly in love, Hitch finds himself behaving in exactly the same awkward manner as his clients. - A great entry in the tradition of the matchmaker comedy. Sharp dialogue, sharp observations. Will Smith at his best. Eva Mendes has fast advanced to a role where she can display her talent as a brilliant comedienne. Probably Andy Tennant's best film. The audience, especially the women, laughed out loud all through the picture. ***½

De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté / The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005 Berlin Film Festival)

Jacques Audiard: De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté / The Beat That My Heart Skipped (FR 2004). Romain Duris as Tom.

Jacques Audiard: De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté / The Beat That My Heart Skipped (FR 2004) at the Berlinale in 2005. Romain Duris (2. from l.), Gilles Cohen (3. from l.), Linh Dan Pham (4. from l.), Aure Atika (5. from l.) and Jacques Audiard (6. from l.) on the Red Carpet in front of the Berlinale Palast, 17 Feb 2005. Photo © Berlinale 2005.

Kun sydän lakkaa lyömästä / Mitt hjärtas förlorade slag.

    FR 2004. PC: Why Not. D: Jacques Audiard. SC: Jacques Audiard, Tonino Benaquista – based on the film Fingers by James Toback. DP: Stéphane Fontaine. Starring Romain Duris (Tom), Aure Atika (Aline), Emmanuelle Devos (Chris), Linh Dan Pham (Miao-Lin). 107 min. A Celluloid Dreams release with German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Competition), 18 Feb 2005. A grungy, edgy take on James Toback's story where a brutal character from the milieu of crime establishes himself as a pianist. The fifth film as a director of Jacques Audiard, the son of the top screenwriter. I saw the first half only.

Eläville ja kuolleille

For the Living and the Dead. FI (c) 2005 Sputnik. D+SC: Kari Paljakka. DP: Pekka Uotila. ED: Timo Linnasalo. Starring Hannu-Pekka Björkman (father), Katja Kukkola (mother), Johannes Paljakka (Timo), Mari Rantasila (Leena), Tommi Korpela (Kaitsu). 95 min. Pleasant photochemical look. A Bavaria release with English subtitles. In the presence of Kari Paljakka and Johannes Paljakka. Viewed in Zoo-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Panorama Special), 18 Feb 2005. Based on a true story, this is a film of Trauerarbeit: the family is deeply shaken by the accidental death of the little son. After the film, Kari Paljakka told that the film as actually a mild version of the true story. A psychologically sound and authentic film to be recommended to professionals in psychology, clerical work, etc., and for everyone who has suffered such a loss. Blatantly uncommercial, the film avoids cheap tricks, but most likely it's a keeper as a sincere account of overcoming a traumatic experience. ***

Kong que

The Peacock. CN 2005. PC: Asian Union Film & Media. D: Gu Changwei. SC: Li Qiang. DP: Yang Shu. Starring Zhang Jingchu (sister), Feng Li (brother), Lu Yulai (younger brother), Hunag Meiying (mother). 144 min. Beautiful photochemical look. An Asian Union Film & Media release with German subtitles. In the presence of Gu Changwei and his team. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition), 18 Feb 2005. The master cinematographer of Hong gaoliang and Ju dou debuts as a film director. It's the story of a working class family in a small village 1977-1984. The younger brother is ashamed of his sister's romantic attachments and his mentally deranged brother. Deep humilitiations are suffered. The cinematography is gorgeous. **

KARL GRIEP PRESENTS BUNDESARCHIV / FILMARCHIV (HOPPEGARTEN)

Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv: Hoppegarten. Csm Standort Hoppegarten Dienstgebäude. Zwischenarchiv und Filmtechnik.

THE GOETHE INSTITUTE FILM EXPERT TOUR: BUNDESARCHIV / FILMARCHIV (HOPPEGARTEN). 18 Feb 2005. Director Karl Griep took us to a tour of the brand new Hoppegarten center where the oldest treasures - the nitrate holdings - of German cinema are kept. Hoppegarten is outside Berlin, over one hour's drive to the east from the center of Berlin. The largest part of the Bundesarchiv/Filmarchiv collections are in Koblenz and Wilmershagen. The equipment, the laboratories and the double projection cinema with full controls from the viewing room are top-of-the-game. All in all there are 980.000 cans of film in the Bundesarchiv/Filmarchiv's collections.

Solntse / The Sun (in person: Aleksandr Sokurov, Berlin Film Festival 2005)

Aleksandr Sokurov: Солнце / 太陽 / Solntse / The Sun (RU/IT/FR/CH 2005).

Aleksandr Sokurov on the Red Carpet at Berlin Film Festival, 17 Feb 2005.

Солнце / 太陽 / Solnze / Le Soleil / Die Sonne.

RU/IT/FR/CH © 2005 Nikola Film and four other companies. D+SC: Alexander Sokurov. SC: Juri Arabov. Starring Issey Ojata (Emperor Hirohito), Robert Dawson (General MacArthur), Kaori Momoi (The Empress), Shiro Sano. In Japanese and English. 110 min. Very gray digital look, in severely limited monochrome. Released by The Works, German subtitles by Marina Koreneva. In the presence of Aleksandr Sokurov and many of the actors. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival, 17 Feb 2005. 60 years have gone after the downfall of Emperor Hirohito soon after Hiroshima. In his chamber piece style (Moloch, Taurus) Sokurov explores the epochal change as the Emporer renounces his divine status. The twilight look is hard on the eye. **

Sometimes in April (in the presence of Raoul Peck, Jacques Comets, Bruno Coulais, Idris Elba and Carole Karemera)

Raoul Peck: Sometimes in April (US/RW 2004).

US/RW © 2004 Home Box Office. D+SC: Raoul Peck. DP: Eric Guichard. LOC: Rwanda, Paris, Washington. Starring Idris Elba (Augustin Muganza), Debra Winger (Secretary Bushnell), Pamela Nomvete (Martine), Carole Karemera (Jeanne). In Kinyarwanda and English. 139 min. Digital post look. A HBO release, German subtitles by Thomas Schröter. In the presence of Raoul Peck, Jacques Comets (ED), Bruno Coulais (M) and the actors Idris Elba and Carole Karemera. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) 17 Feb 2005. The Rwanda 1994 genocide as seen from the viewpoint of a Hutu soldier married to a Tutsi woman. The story has similarities with Hotel Rwanda. There was a standing ovation after the film. ***

MEETING DIETER KOSSLICK, DIRECTOR OF BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

Two years before, in 2003: the Festival Director Dieter Kosslick with Nicole Kidman and Harvey Weinstein. Then with The Hours, back in 2005 with Sydney Pollack's The Interpreter.

THE GOETHE INSTITUTE FILM EXPERT TOUR MEETS DIETER KOSSLICK, DIRECTOR OF THE BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL. Golden Bear Lounge, Grand Hyatt Berlin, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz, 17 Feb 2005. Between kissing Anjelica Huston and Nicole Kidman, Mr. Kosslick found time for our touring group. He has reigned for four years. What is new? 1. The special German section. 2. The Talent Campus. 3. The stronger section for children and the young (14+). 4. World cinema. 5. Co-Production Market. 6. Selling Democracy section. What are the trends in world cinema now? 1. Low budget films. 2. Authenticity. 3. Personal cinema. 4. Political cinema. Exploring the trouble in communication, loss of identity, attempts to communicate through sex, in a world of globalization.

Les Mots bleus / Words in Blue

Alain Corneau: Les Mots bleus / Words in Blue (FR 2004). Camille Gauthier as Anna, 6, who refuses to speak.

The team of Les Mots bleus: Sergi Lopez, Camille Gauthier, Alain Corneau, Berlin Film Festival, 16 Feb, 2005. Photo: Berlin Film Festival.

Worte in Blau / Siniset sanat

    FR © 2004 Les Mots Bleus / France 3 Cinéma. D: Alain Corneau – based on the novel Leur histoire by Dominique Mainard. DP: Yves Angelo – HD Cam + 35 mm. M: Christophe, Jean-Michel Jarre. Starring Sylvie Testud (Clara), Sergi Lopez (Vincent), Camille Gauthier (Anna), Mar Sodupe (Muriel). 114 min. Ugly digital look. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) 17 Feb 2005. Released by ARP, German subtitles. The six-year old Anna refuses to speak. Her mother Clara has never learned to read or write. The contact with the teacher Vincent turns their world around. **½

...

Berlin Film Festival 2005: "Six-year-old Anna refuses to speak. Her mother, Clara, never wanted to read or write. Lonely and isolated from the rest of the world, Anna looks on as her mother stuffs something into her pockets or sews things into the seam of her sleeve – little notes on which Clara has had their address written down, or the titles of books her little daughter likes to read, or recipes for her favourite cake, or verses from lullabies. Because you never know, they could lose each other forever. Armed with only these notes as provision, Anna sets off for a school for deaf-mute children. Here, she meets a teacher named Vincent who takes it upon himself to try and banish the family curse for good."

"“I will tell you words in blue, the words my eyes speak so true.” The celestial sounds of Jean-Michel and Christophe helped to transport director Alain Corneau into the world of his film, LES MOTS BLEU. Based on Dominique Mainard’s novel, “Leur histoire”, the film tells the story of a lack of communication that evolves into a love story. “It was particularly exciting to place her between the two actors – Sylvie Testud and Sergi Lopez. She is carried along by events, she is the only real adult in this story and her maturity is expressed solely by her gaze, which adds to the magic of cinema.”"

Tian bian yi duo yun

The Wayward Cloud. FR/TW/CN 2004. PC: Arena Films. D+SC: Tsai Ming-Liang. DP: Song Wen-Chong. Starring Lee Kang-Sheng (Hsiao-Kang), Chen Shiang-Chyi (Shiang-Chyi). 112 min. German subtitles. In the presence of Tsai Ming-Liang and members of the team. Viewed at the Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition), 16 Feb 2005. Another ideosynchratic contribution from Tsai Ming-Liang, who brought us Rebel of the Neon Gods, Vive l'amour, and The River. A Chinese salad whose ingredients include views of urban solitude, puerile sex jokes with watermelons and pornography, realistic scenes of a city suffering from water shortage, kitsch songs and lowbrow farce. **

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Berlinale 2005 In the presence of Wes Anderson, Cate Blanchett, and Anjelica Huston)

Wes Anderson: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (US 2005) with Bill Murray as Steve Zissou.

Steve Zissoun vedenalainen maailma / The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Swedish title).
    US © 2005 Touchstone Pictures.
    D: Wes Anderson. SC: Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach. DP: Robert Yeoman. Music: David Bowie songs performed as bossa nova versions by Seu Jorge.
    C: Bill Murray (Steve Zissou), Owen Wilson (Ned Plimpton), Cate Blanchett (Jane Winslett-Richardson), Anjelica Huston (Eleanor Zissou), Willem Dafoe (Klaus Daimler), Jeff Goldblum (Alistair Hennessey), Michael Gambon (Oseary Drakoulias).
    118 min.
    A Buena Vista release with German subtitles.
    In the presence of Wes Anderson, Cate Blanchett, and Anjelica Huston.
    Viewed in Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition). 16 Jan 2005.

AA: Another highly original offer from Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums). The retro-futuristic adventure follows the Team Tissou in their hunt for a vicious shark. Brimming with audacious detail and invention. ***

Sorstalanság / Fateless (2005 Berlin Film Festival, in person: Lajos Koltai, Imre Kertész, Marcell Nagy, Gyula Pados)

Lajos Koltai: Sorstalanság / Fateless (HU/GB/DE 2005) starring Marcell Nagy (Gyuri Köves).

Novel and film script author Imre Kertész, actor Marcel Nagy and director Lajos Koltai at the Photo Call before the film's press conference, 15 Feb, 2005 for Sorstalanság / Fateless (HU/GB/DE 2005).

Roman eines Schicksallosen / Ikuisesti merkitty / Fateless – ikuisesti merkitty.
    HU/GB/DE 2005. PC: EuroArts / Magic Media / Renegade Films.
    D: Lajos Koltai. SC: Imre Kertész based on his novel. DP: Gyula Pados. M: Ennio Morricone. Song: "In einer mondhellen Nacht". Starring Marcell Nagy (Gyuri Köves).
    136 min.
    Digital, intentionally dirty, quasi-monochrome look.
    With German subtitles.
    In person: Lajos Koltai, Imre Kertész, Marcell Nagy, Gyula Pados and members of the team.
    Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) 15 Feb 2005.

An ambitious film based on the novel by Imre Kertész the Nobel Prize winner. The first two hours are a solid account of Holocaust in Hungary and in three concentration camps (Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald, Zeitz). The final half hour is the most exceptional: the story of the returned survivor. We are made to understand that the same thing could happen all over again. Although the screening went on well past midnight the compelling film kept me totally focused. Marcell Nagy is exceptional, even more moving than Adrian Brody in The Pianist. One of the great Holocaust films. ***½

Gespenster / Ghosts (2005 world premiere at Berlin Film Festival, in person: Christian Petzold, Julia Hummer, Sabine Timoteo, Aurélien Recoing)

Christian Petzold: Gespenster / Ghosts (DE/FR 2005).

Die Schauspieler Aurélien Recoing, Sabine Timoteo and Julia Hummer und der Regisseur Christian Petzold auf dem Roten Teppich vor der Premiere von Gespenster. Andreas Teich © Berlinale 2005.

DE / FR © 2005 Schramm / BR / ARTE. D: Christian Petzold. SC: Christian Petzold, Harun Farocki. DP: Hans Fromm. Starring Julia Hummer (Nina), Sabine Timoteo (Toni), Marianne Basler (Francoise). 85 min. Photochemical look. A Bavaria release with English subtitles. In the presence of Christian Petzold and team, including the main actresses. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (competition), 15 Feb 2005. The director tells that he found an inspiration reading Grimms Märchen to his daughter and finding "Das Totenhemdchen" which he did not know before. It's the story of a mother who grieves her dead daughter so that she cannot enter heaven. She returns to the mother in her burial shirt all soiled by the earth of the grave. First as the mother lets go of her grief can the daughter be free. This linked in the director's mind to the phantom images on display in French and Belgian post offices: digitally processed images of lost children as they might look years after they have disappeared. Petzold brings together a profoundly disturbed mother who lost her daughter years ago and two familyless teenage girls wandering around Potsdamer Platz. I watched this one distractedly, but maybe it's ***

Kakushi ken - oni no tsume / The Hidden Blade (2005 Berlinale) in person: Yoji Yamada

Yoji Yamada: 隠し剣　鬼の爪 / Kakushi ken - oni no tsume / The Hidden Blade (JP 2004). Masatoshi Nagase (Munezo Katagiri).

Takeo Hisamatsu and Yoji Yamada, producer and director of competition entry  隠し剣　鬼の爪 / Kakushi ken - oni no tsume / The Hidden Blade at the press conference preceding the premiere. 15 Feb 2005. Photo: Berlinale 2005: Kakushi ken - oni no tsume.

隠し剣　鬼の爪 / La Servante et le samouraï / Das verborgene Schwert / Скрытый клинок.

JP 2004. PC: The Hidden Blade Film Partners / Shochiku. D: Yoji Yamada. Based on short stories by Shuhei Fujisawa. DP: Mutsuo Naganuma. Starring Masatoshi Nagase (Munezo Katagiri), Takako Matsu (Kie), Hidetaka Yoshioka (Samon Shimada). 132 min. A Shochiku release with German subtitles. In person: Yoji Yamada. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (competition) 15 Feb 2005. A Shochiku 110 years jubileum contribution. The second samurai film by Yoji Yamada, again based on stories by Shuhei Fujisawa. It takes place during the turmoil of the samurai classes on the verge of the modernization of Japan in the mid-19th century. It's more a study of society and manners than a martial arts picture. Yoji Yamada displays again his sense of humour and understanding of human relationships. I viewed this one distractedly, maybe ***

THREE EXHIBITIONS AT FILMMUSEUM BERLIN (February 2005)

Exhibition Bewegte Räume – Production Design + Film 10.2. – 19.6.2005.

The Goethe Institute's Film Expert Tour visited three exhibitions at Filmmuseum Berlin, hosted by Dr. Rolf Giesen, 15 Feb 2005.

1. THE FILMMUSEUM BERLIN PERMANENT EXHIBITION covers the history of German cinema from Skladanowsky to the present day, with special emphases on the Marlene Dietrich collection, part of which is also on display at the KaDeWe department store and the Paul Kohner collection (Paul Weisz had reportedly just paid a visit).

2. ARTIFICIAL WORLDS is a wonderful introduction to special effects and fantasy film, with an emphasis on Ray Harryhausen.

3. THE PRODUCTION DESIGN & FILM exhibition is linked with the Retrospective of the Berlinale. Bewegte Räume is the German title. Five aspects are covered: Interiors, Transit, Power, Stage, and Labyrinth. Among the Berlinale guests is Sir Kenneth Adam, whose work is presented both here and in the Kubrick exhibition.

...

OFFICIAL INTRODUCTION:

Parallel zur Retrospektive der Internationalen Filmfestspiele Berlin 2005 präsentiert das Filmmuseum Berlin die Sonderausstellung „Bewegte Räume. Production Design + Film". Die Ausstellung widmet sich der Arbeit der Production Designenden, der Szenenbildner*innen und Filmarchitekt*innen. Im Zusammenspiel mit Kamera und Regie erschafft die Ausstattung Bildräume, beeinflusst die Dramaturgie und bestimmt die filmische Atmosphäre. Dies wird anhand von fünf Raumsituationen verdeutlicht: Labyrinthe, Privaträume, Transiträume, Machträume und Bühnen.

Jede Raumsituation präsentiert Filmbeispiele, Entwürfe und Modelle. Ein interaktives Modell der „Villa Arpel" aus Jacques Tatis Mon oncle (1956–58) veranschaulicht „Privaträume". Das Haus wird hier auf komödiantische Weise zum Mit- und Gegenspieler und parodiert zugleich das moderne Wohnen. „Transiträume" hingegen funktionieren als eine Art Schleuse, als Zwischenstation für Menschen auf der Durchreise oder auf der Flucht. Für Steven Spielbergs Film The Terminal (2003/04) wurde im Studio ein kompletter Flughafenterminal realisiert, eines der größten Sets aller Zeiten.

Die Ausstellung stützt sich auf Material aus den Beständen der Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, vor allem des Set Design-Archivs. Die Entwürfe prominenter Filmarchitekt*innen wie Hermann Warm, Erich Kettelhut, Franz Schroedter und Robert Herlth bilden den Grundstock dieser bedeutenden Sammlung zur deutschen Filmarchitektur.

Internationale Leihgaben aus Museen, Archiven und Privatsammlungen illustrierten unterschiedliche künstlerische und handwerkliche Ansätze und deren Umsetzung – als Studiobau, on-location-Dreh oder Computeranimation. Aufgrund der engen Kooperation mit dem Deutschen Filmmuseum in Frankfurt werden einige Szenenbild-Entwürfe und Dokumente zu stilbildenden Filmen von Stanley Kubrick erstmals präsentiert.

Neben der umfangreichen Filmreihe der Retrospektive beschäftigt sich auch der Talent Campus der Berlinale mit dem Thema „Production Design".

DEUTSCHE FILM- UND FERNSEHAKADEMIE (DFFB)

Reinhard Hauff. Photo: Filmfest München.

The Goethe-Institute's Film Expert Tour included a visit to Professor Reinhard Hauff, Director of the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie (DFFB), a world-class institute, 15 Feb 2005. There are 150 students from all over the world at DFFB, which was established 38 years ago. Many German directors in the Berlinale programme are DFFB alumni. There are seven film schools in Germany for the moment. Germany's biggest film library, the former DFFB library, with 80.000 volumes, is in the house, now managed by Filmmuseum Berlin.

Tickets (2005 Berlinale premiere in the presence of Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, and Filippo Trojano)

Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach: Tickets (IT/GB 2005).

IT/GB © 2005 Fandango and two other companies. D: Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach. DP: Fabio Olmi, Mahmoud Kalari, Chris Menges. Starring Carlo Delle Piane (Professor), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (PR Woman), Filippo Trojano (Filippo). 115 min. In Italian. Attractive photochemical look. Released thru The Works with German subtitles. In the presence of Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, and Filippo Trojano. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (main series, out of competition), 14 Feb 2005. The train goes from Central Europe to Rome. The three directors tell three small stories: about an old professor dreaming about love, a young guy tending to a general's widow, and three Scotsmen who meet an Albanian refugee family on their way to a football match in Rome. ***

Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars / The Last Mitterrand (2005 Berlin Film Festival, in person: Robert Guédiguian and team)

Robert Guédiguian: Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars / The Last Mitterrand (FR 2004). Michel Bouquet (Francois Mitterrand), Jalil Lespert (Antoine Moreau). 

Robert Guédiguian at the Berlin Film Festival, 14 Feb 2005.

FR © 2004 Film Oblige and two other companies. D: Robert Guédiguian. SC: Gilles Taurand, Georges-Marc Benamou - based on Benamou's book Le dernier Mitterrand. DP: Renato Berta. Starring Michel Bouquet (Francois Mitterrand), Jalil Lespert (Antoine Moreau). 116 min. Pleasing photochemical look. Released by Pathé with German subtitles. In the presence of Robert Guédiguian and his team. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (competition) 14 Feb 2005. A fictional account of a young journalist's series of encounters with the long-term President Mitterrand who knows his days are numbered. It's an essay in self-awareness and self-deception, political and private. Magisterial interpretation by Michel Bouquet as the ageing President.

***

Paradise Now (2005 Berlin Film Festival, in person: Hany Abu-Assad)

Hany Abu-Assad: /الجنة الآن/ Paradise Now (NL/DE/FR 2005). 

Paradise Now team at Berlin Film Festival, 2005. Amer Hlehel, Ali Suliman, Hany Abu-Assad, Ashraf Barhoum, Kais Nashef. Photo: Berlin Film Festival.

/الجنة الآن/

NL/DE/FR © 2005 Augustus Film / four other companies. D: Hany Abu-Assad. SC: Hany Abu-Assad, Bero Beyer, Pierre Hodgson. DP: Antoine Heberlé. LOC: Palestina. Starring Kais Nashef (Said), Ali Suliman (Khaled), Lubna Azafal (Suha). Less than the 90 min announced. Pleasing photochemical look. In Arabic. Released by Celluloid Dreams, German subtitles. In the presence of Hany Abu-Assad and 13 members of the cast and the team. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (competition) 14 Feb 2005. Rana's Wedding attracted attention to Hany Abu-Assad's talent which this film confirms. It's the tale of two suicide bombers in Tel Aviv and how their plan goes awry. ***½

NEW GERMAN FILMS RECOMMENDED

During the Berlin Film Festival the following new German films have been recommended:
Willenbrock (Andreas Dresen)
Alles auf Zucker! (Dani Levy)
Netto (Robert Thalheim)
One Day in Europe (Hannes Stöhr)
Napola (Dennis Gansel)
Der Untergang (Oliver Hirschbiegel)
Sophie Scholl - die letzten Tage (Marc Rothemund)
Weltverbesserungsmassnahmen (Jörn Hintzer, Jakob Hüfner)
(T)raumschiff Surprise: Periode 1 (Michael Bully Herbig)
Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei (Hans Weingartner)
Gespenster (Christian Petzold)
Stadt als Beute (Irene von Alberti, Miriam Dehne, Esther Gronenborn)
Happy End (Sebastian Strasser) 30 min
Blackout (Maximilian Erlenwein) 30 min
Was lebst du? (Bettina Braun)
Verschwende deine Jugend.doc (Jürgen Teipel, Sigrid Harder)
Katze im Sack (Florian Schwarz)
Aus der Tiefe des Raumes (Gil Mehmert)
NB. Huge sums from German film production funds are channeled to big productions that are by copyright German but that we think as Hollywood films (The Aviator, Bourne Supremacy, Coffee and Cigarettes, Kinsey...).

STANLEY KUBRICK EXHIBITION (2005 Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin)

Stanley Kubrick: The Shining (GB/US 1980). A sheet of Jack Torrance's work-in-progress was available as a memento for patrons of the Stanley Kubrick exhibition.

Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, visited on 14 Feb 2005. The wonderful exhibition is a reminder about how each of Kubrick's films was special. Besides materials to the finished films there are displays of his great unfinished projects: NAPOLEON and WARTIME LIES. Also Kubrick's Wunderkind career as a photographer in the 1940s and in the 1950s is presented. The fact that the Kubrick family (Jan Harlan, Christiane Kubrick, etc.) is behind it provides a personal touch to it all. ****

In Good Company (2005 Berlinale in the presence of Paul Weitz, Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, etc.)

Paul Weitz: In Good Company (US 2004), above l to r: Dennis Quaid (Dan Foreman) and Topher Grace (Carter Duryea) and below: Scarlett Johansson (Alex Foreman).

Hyvässä seurassa / I gott sällskap.

    US © 2004 Universal. P: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz. D+SC: Paul Weitz. DP: Remi Adefarasin. M: a nice selection of tracks by Steely Dan, Peter Gabriel, etc. Starring Dennis Quaid (Dan Foreman), Topher Grace (Carter Duryea), Scarlett Johansson (Alex Foreman). Released thru Focus, German subtitles by Frank Sahlberger. In the presence of Paul Weitz, Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, etc. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (competition), 13 Feb 2005. The story of a 50+ advertising executive and his family and his company is told with such wit, insight and observation that Paul Weitz, who made About a Boy, as a director does indeed find himself in good company, namely in that of Billy Wilder. The satire of the business world and the dialogue are sharp, and Paul Weitz seems also to have a good grip on the theme of the sentimental education. I look forward to revisiting this film and more from Paul Weitz. ***½

Sophie Scholl – die letzten Tage / Sophie Scholl – the Final Days

Marc Rothemund: Sophie Scholl – die letzten Tage /  Sophie Scholl – the Final Days (DE 2005) starring Julia Jentsch (Sophie Scholl).

Sophie Scholl – viimeiset päivät / Sophie Scholl – den sanna historien.
     DE © 2005 Goldkind / Broth. D: Marc Rothemund. SC: Fred Breinersdorfer. CA: Martin Langer. Starring Julia Jentsch (Sophie Scholl), Fabian Heinrichs (Hans Scholl), Alexander Held (Robert Mohr), Florian Stetter (Christoph Probst).
    Released thru Bavaria
    English subtitles by Gerhard Lehmann.
    In the presence of Marc Rothemund, Julia Jentsch and ca 20 members of the team.
    Viewed at the Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) 13 Feb 2005.

After Percy Adlon's Fünf letzte Tage (1982) and Paul Verhoeven's Die Weisse Rose (also 1982) already the third remarkable film on the subject. In Munich in spring 1943 members of the Weisse Rose secret network start spreading anti-Nazi propaganda. They are captured and condemned to death at the Volksgerichtshof. Great story in the Jeanne d'Arc tradition. Sober but strong. Julia Jentsch stands out in the title role. ***

U-Carmen eKhayelitsha

ZA 2004. PC: Spier Films. D: Mark Dornford-May. Based on the opera Carmen, music by Bizet, libretto by Meilhac & Halévy, based on the tale by Mérimée. DP: Giulio Biccari. Starring Pauline Malefane (Carmen), Andile Tshoni (Jongikhaya). In Xhosa with German subtitles. In the presence of the director, the stars and members of the team. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) 13 Feb 2005. Following the model of Carmen Jones this is another all-black Carmen, this time set in South Africa. The songs sound great also in Xhosa. Carmen and the others are very Rubensian in contrast to the cinema's Carmen tradition. The talented singers perform in their own voices (Carmen Jones was dubbed) very well. The film interpretation does achieve the tragic power of the tale. **

Les Temps qui changent / Changing Times

André Téchiné: Les Temps qui changent / Changing Times (FR 2004) Catherine Deneuve (Cécile), Gérard Depardieu (Antoine). "Can a first love turn into a last love?"

Les Temps qui changent at Berlin Film Festival. "Two of French film's great personalities: Catherine Deneuve and André Téchiné relaxing before the premiere". 12 Feb 2005. Photo: Berlin Film Festival.

Red Carpet: Les Temps qui changent. Dieter Kosslick accompanies André Téchiné, Catherine Deneuve, Paolo Branco and Richard Lormand to the premiere in Berlinale Palast. 12 Feb 2005. Photo: Berlin Film Festival.

FR © 2004 Gemini Films / France 2 Cinéma. D: André Téchiné. SC: Téchiné, Laurent Guyot, Pascal Bonitzer. DP: Julien Hirsch. Songs by Angélique Kidjo: "Tumba", "Okanbale", "Les petits riens". Starring Catherine Deneuve (Cécile), Gérard Depardieu (Antoine), Gilbert Melki (Nathan), Lubna Azabal (Nadia / Aicha). 98 min. Ugly digital look. Released thru Gemini, German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Competition), 13 Feb 2005. After an absence of 30 years Gérard Depardieu revisits his teenage love Catherine Deneuve. The location is Tangiers, the actors are excellent, the storytelling not compelling, the ugly digital look distracting. I had a hard time trying to focus. Téchiné is not at his best this time.

...

BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2005

"Antoine arrives in Tangiers from Europe. He is on an assignment to supervise the setting up of an audiovisual centre, his task being to expedite the process. However, Antoine is secretly hoping that he will find Cécile here. His quietly obsessive love for her has endured for more than thirty years.

Cécile has forgotten Antoine. She emigrated to north Africa and has since endured the trials and tribulations of marital routine with Nathan, a doctor of Moroccan-Jewish extraction who is her junior in age. The couple have a son, Samy, who lives in Paris and comes to visit them during the holidays.

The film takes place towards the end of the summer. Samy arrives at his parents’ house, bringing with him his partner, Nadia, and her child, whose father is unknown. Samy and Nadia are a chaste couple. Arming themselves, they protect each other from all manner of adversities in order to live out their various passions. Nadia has to learn to let go of her twin sister Aicha – and as a result finds herself embroiled in a bitter struggle against her inner demons. Samy has to learn to bring his affection for Bilal into accord with his tenderness for Nadia.

Theirs is a little holiday world in which Cécile finds it impossible to find a balance. Experiencing nothing but restlessness and self-doubt, the familiar has become quite alien to her. Lonely, wealthy and unmolested by life’s storms, Antoine appears like a ghost from the past expressing his desire for a pure, unshakable ideal of love. Does being cloistered inside his gentle obsession make him invincible? What is this all about? It’s nothing but a dream, counters Cécile, the realist. But, who knows, perhaps this dream will, unwittingly, become reality."

Provincia meccanica / Smalltown, Italy

Stefano Mordini: Provincia meccanica / Smalltown, Italy (IT 2004) with Stefano Accorsi (Marco Battaglia) and Valentina Cervi (Silvia Battaglia).

IT 2004. PC: Medusa Film. D: Stefano Mordini. SC: Silvia Barbiera, Stefano Mordini. DP: Italo Petriccione. Starring Stefano Accorsi (Marco Battaglia), Valentina Cervi (Silvia Battaglia). 107 min. Poor visual look. German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Competition), 13 Feb 2005. An entry in the minimalist school of new Italian cinema, the story of an unconventional family. I saw 30 minutes.

One Day in Europe (in the presence of Hannes Stöhr and his team)

Hannes Stöhr: One Day in Europe (DE/ES 2005). The day of the Champions League final between Galatasaray and Deportivo la Coruña stops life in four European cities, adding to the problems of tourists in trouble, who are already struggling with the language barrier.

DE/ES 2005. PC: Moneypenny Filmproduktion. D+SC: Hannes Stöhr. DP: Florian Hoffmeister.

    MOSCOW starring Megan Gay (Kate), Ludmila Tsvetkova (Elena). 

    ISTANBUL starring Florian Lukas (Rokko), Erdal Yildiz (Celal). 

    SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA starring Peter Scherer (Gabor), Miguel de Lira (Sargento Barreira).

    BERLIN starring Rachida Brakni (Rachide), Boris Arquier (Claude). 

    100 min. Digital look. In seven languages. Released by Beta Cinema 1 / Beta Film, German subtitles. In the presence of the film-making team. 

    Viewed at Berlinale Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) main screening, 12 Feb 2005. 

AA: Tales of four cities during the Champions' League football game. The pretext is much like Jim Jarmusch (Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes), but Hannes Stöhr has a humoristic approach all his own. As it was close to midnight and this was the fifth film of the day, I had difficulty focusing, but this might be a film worth revisiting.

Brasileirinho / The Sound of Rio: Brasileirinho (2005 Berlin, in person: Mika Kaurismäki and team)

Mika Kaurismäki: Brasileirinho (BR/FI/CH 2005). A musical journey through the Choro.

Brasileirinho: Grandes Encontros de Choro

    BR/FI/CH © 2005 Marco Forster Productions / Marianna Films / Studio Uno. D: Mika Kaurismäki. M: Brazilian Choro music. Featuring Marcello Goncalves, Zé Paul Becker, Elza Soares. 90 min. Digital look. In Portuguese with German subtitles. In the presence of Mika Kaurismäki and eight other filmmakers / artists. Viewed at Delphi, Berlin Film Festival, 12 Feb 2005. A continuation to Moro do Brasil, this musical journey focuses on the Choro music tradition, older than the Samba. The first film was a panorama of the many kinds of popular music of Brazil; this one is more focused on one current. The music is great, the atmosphere infectuous. There was a discussion with the film-makers after the show hosted by Christoph Terhechte. ***

Hotel Rwanda

GB/ZA/US/IT (c) 2004 Kigali Films. D: Terry George. SC: Keir Pearson, Terry George. DP: Robert Fraisse. Starring Don Cheadle (Paul Rusesabagina), Sophie Okonedo (Tatiana), Joaquin Phoenix (Jack), Nick Nolte (Colonel Oliver). 121 min. In English. Released by Lions Gate Films, German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (competition), 12 Feb 2005. Digital look. Epic story of the 1994 Rwanda genocide centers at the hotel Mille Collines. The Belgian Hutu Paul Rusesabagina, married to the Tutsi Tatiana, fights for his operation and for the safety of his people in the middle of the unspeakable bloodbath. A dignified effort to help understand the harrowing goings-on where almost a million people lost their lives in a hundred days. ***

Asylum

David Mackenzie: Asylum (US/IE 2004) with Marton Csokas (Edgar Stark), Natasha Richardson (Stella) and Ian McKellen (Peter Cleave).

Vangitut. US/IE 2004. PC: Seven Arts Pictures. D: David Mackenzie. SC: Patrick Marber – based on the novel by Patrick McGrath. DP: Giles Nuttgens. Starring Natasha Richardson (Stella), Ian McKellen (Peter Cleave), Marton Csokas (Edgar Stark), Hugh Bonneville (Max Raphael), Joss Ackland (Mr. Straffen). 93 min. Distributed by Seven Arts / Sony Pictures, German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) 12 Feb 2005. Patrick Marber is the sharpest writer of dialogue of the moment: as in Closer, he provides excellent lines for top actors, and there is a strong audience reaction to his wit. After Young Adam, David Mackenzie again confirms his talent in creating a strong atmosphere. Both men seem to be inspired by sexual obsessions and strange passions. The film is compelling until midpoint. The tale of degradation through love is powerful but leaves me asking about the point. ***

Thumbsucker (2005 Berlin Film Festival)

Mike Mills: Thumbsucker (US 2004). Lou Taylor Pucci (Justin Cobb).

Thumbsucker team at Berlin Film Festival. Keanu Reeves, Tilda Swinton, Mike Mills, Lou Taylor Pucci.

US 2004. PC: This Is That. D+SC: Mike Mills – based on the novel by Walter Kim. DP: Joaquin Baca-Asay. Starring Lou Taylor Pucci (Justin Cobb), Tilda Swinton (Audrey Cobb), Vincent D'Onofrio (Mike Cobb), Keanu Reeves (Dr. Perry Lyman), Vince Vaughn (Mr. Geary). 94 min. Heavy digital look. With German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival Competition, 12 Feb 2005. The 17-year-old Justin is still a thumbsucker: this is the starting-point of an original American growing-up story: painful, funny, with great dialogue, good actors. ***

Man to Man

FR/GB/ZA (c) 2005 Vertigo Productions / Skyline (Man to Man) / France 2 Cinéma / France 3 Cinéma / Boréales / The Imaginarium. D: Régis Wargnier. SC: Michel Fessler, Frédéric Fougea. DP: Laurent Dailland. Starring Kristin Scott Thomas (Elena van den Ende), Joseph Fiennes (Jamie Dodd), Lomama Boseki (Toko), Cécile Bayiha (Likola). 122 min. Digitally processed look (obvious loss of detail and definition in long shots of the jungle etc.). A Wild Bunch release. Original in English, with German subtitles by Heinz Schwarzinger. In the simultaneous video presence of Régis Wargnier, Kristin Scott Thomas, Joseph Fiennes, Lomama Boseki, Cécile Bayiha, etc. Viewed in CinemaxX 3, Berlin, 10 Feb 2005 (the parallel opening of the Berlin Film Festival). The story of a Central Africa jungle trader (Kristin Scott Thomas) and three Edinburgh scientists who believe they have found the missing link in 1870. The humanity of the two pygmies vs. the bigotry of the white ones. A fascinating story, soberly told, with good actors. ***

BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2005

Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) 10-20 Feb, 2005. I arrive as a guest of the "Information Tour for Film Experts" by Auswärtiges Amt / Goethe-Institut. Starting from the arrival at the airport everything is being taken care of. Hotel Angleterre by Checkpoint Charlie is within a 15 minute walking distance from the Festival center.
The touring group of 22 is global, with:
Gary Maddox (The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia)
Antonio Mazon Robau (Cinemateca de Cuba)
Christos Mitsis (director of The International Film Festival of Athens, Greece)
Blagoja Kunovski (The International Film Camera Festival, Skopje, Macedonia)
Ludmila Nemyria (The Ukraine Film Foundation)
Teboho Moseling Mahlatsi (film-maker, South Africa)
Mary-Beatrix Mugishagwe (tv and film producer, Daressalaam, Tanzania)
Youssef Sherif Rizkalla (director of the Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt)
Saleh Al-Suhaimi (film producer, Riad, Saudi Arabia)
Chalida Uabumrungjit (Thai Film Foundation), Bangkok, Thailand
Aviva Meiron (Cinematheque Jerusalem) Israel
Nicolas Deocampo (director, festival director) Manila, the Philippines
Ibrahim Moumni (Al Hayat) Beirut, Libanon
Bartosz Zurawiecki (Film monthly magazine) Warsaw, Poland
Misrobiddin Nugmanov (tv producer) Duschanbe, Tadzhikistan
David Melo Torres (film counsellor, Ministry of Culture) Bogota, Columbia
Futoshi Koga (Asahi Shimbun, film festival organizer) Tokyo, Japan
Ruoyu Yang (Radio and TV Team Shechuan) Chengdu, China
Alfredo Barría (film festival director, counselor of the ministry of culture, professor of film history) Valparaiso, Chile
Ricardo Bedoya (film critic and historian, co-organizer of the South American Film Festival) Lima, Peru
Mark Jenkins (journalist) Washington, D.C., USA
Our expert guides are Miriam Dagan, Anna Held, Luciana Sollero, and Hamza Chourabi.
We are invited to the Thursday evening opening gala, featuring Man to Man directed by Régis Wargnier.
On Friday 11 Feb we are given a special Information Tour Berlin by bus, hosted by the city planning expert Mr. Ares Kalandides. I have lived in West Berlin (Zehlendorf, Charlottenburg, Dahlem) for three years 20 years ago, and I was a Berlinale regular during the era of the great retrospectives (Babelsberg, Pommer, Special Effects, Colour, Scope) and before the film festivals boomed in Finland (we have film festivals every month now). Berlin has changed totally since: the wall came down, Berlin became the capital of Germany, and for years the largest construction site of the world. Now most of the re-building has been accomplished. The Tour offered an impressive view. We started at the Checkpoint Charlie, where a part of the Wall has been reconstructed in a new site. We toured through Friedrichshain, witnessed the impressive renovation of Karl-Marx-Allee, saw Prenzlauer Berg, drove thru the Jewish area around the Synagogue and the Charité hospital area, went past the giant Lehrter Bahnhof construction site, to be the hugest railway station in Europe, saw the new German government buildings and witnessed the finishing stage of the Holocaust memorial next to the Weimar-era Reichstaghaus. Of West Berlin we visited the tour of Staatsbibliothek, Nationalgalerie, Wittenbergplatz, KaDeWe, Kurfürstendamm, Bahnhof Zoo, and the Embassy Area. We drove through the Sony Center / Marlene-Dietrich-Platz media area, saw the Museum Island and witnessed the nothingness of Berlin Alexanderplatz, so central until the downfall of the Third Reich and so devastated since. We took a walk to the attractive Hackescher Hinterhöfe near the Goethe-Institut. All in all, it was a two-hour sighting of top architects from all over the world. Berlin with its huge area and many parks, forests and lakes is not a crowded metropolis. The big majority rent their apartments, there are not relatively many private cars, the BVG public transport system is excellent, and after the wall, brown coal is no longer used as fuel, as a result of which the air is cleaner and there are no longer smog alarms.

Vägar ut ur lådan

Irti laatikoista / Ways Out of the Box. FI (c) 2005 Astrid-Film. P+D+SC: Ywe Jalander. Featuring Reima Pietilä and Raili Pietilä. 58 min. Original in Digital Betacam. Original in Swedish, with Finnish subtitles. Introduced by Ywe Jalander. Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 9 Feb 2005. An exciting documentary on the visionary architects Reima Pietilä and Raili Pietilä. Many of their great projects are explored, including the Suvikumpu Project, the Dipoli, the Kaleva Church, the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi, the Metso Library, and the President's Mäntyniemi Residence. There are several insightful interviews. ***

Haapa ja bambu / Aspen and Bamboo (in person: Ywe Jalander)

Ywe Jalander: Haapa ja bambu / Aspen and Bamboo (FI 1997). Fujiwo Ishimoto: Marimekko Fabric Ruoko blue.

Aspen och bambun. FI © 1997 Astrid-Film. P+D+SC: Ywe Jalander. M: Paroni Paakkunainen. Featuring Fujiwo Ishimoto. 54 min. Betacam SP. Introduced by Ywe Jalander. Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 9 Feb 2005. Beautiful documentary on the Japan-born designer Fujiwo Ishimoto who settled in Finland as a young man and became a top artist for Marimekko and Iittala. There is a spiritual undercurrent between Japan and Finland. How design is inspired by nature. ***

Film concert Lazybones with Tuukka Terho (guitar) and Severi Salminen (violin)

Lazybones. Buck Jones (Steve "Lazybones" Tuttle).

US © 1925 Fox. D: Frank Borzage. SC: Frances Marion. DP: George Schneiderman. Starring Buck Jones (Steve "Lazybones" Tuttle), Madge Bellamy (Kit as a young woman), ZaSu Pitts (Ruth Fanning).
     MoMA print. 6395 ft /22 fps/ 78 min.
     Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 8 Feb 2005, with music by Tuukka Terho (guitar) and Severi Salminen (violin).

Borzage's second masterpiece invites comparison to Russian classics like Chekhov and Goncharov in its sense of the missed opportunities of life. Lazybones is the Oblomov of America: the world goes by, life goes by, and he is mostly content to fall asleep in a big tree by the riverside. Even WWI he experiences as a somnambulistic hero-by-accident. Having taking into his custody an abandoned baby he loses his girlfriend, and a generation later, as the baby is a young woman, he realizes that love has passed him by. Lazybones is a mirror to the question "what is life all about", what have all the others accomplished? This time I felt there is maybe a bit too much caricature, but there are several subtly humoristic scenes, including the laconic ending. ****

THE JUSSI GALA

THE JUSSI AWARDS FOR THE BEST FINNISH FILMS OF 2004
Best picture: Koirankynnen leikkaaja
Best director: Markku Pölönen (Koirankynnen leikkaaja)
Female lead: Outi Mäenpää (Kukkia ja sidontaa)
Male lead: Peter Franzén (Koirankynnen leikkaaja)
Female supporting role: Minttu Mustakallio (Lapsia ja aikuisia)
Male supporting role: Kari Väänänen (Juoksuhaudantie)
Screenplay: Markku Pölönen (Koirankynnen leikkaaja)
Cinematography: Kari Sohlberg (Koirankynnen leikkaaja)
Production design: Jussi Halonen, Samuli Halla, Petri Neuvonen (Pelikaanimies)
Costumes: Elina Kolehmainen (Keisarikunta)
Music: Sanna Salmenkallio (Melancholian 3 huonetta)
Sound design: Paul Jyrälä (Pelikaanimies)
Editing: Kimmo Taavila (Vares)
Documentary: Melancholian 3 huonetta / Pirjo Honkasalo
Popular favourite: Keisarikunta

The Jussi Gala took place at Studio 51, Helsinki, Sunday 6 Feb 2005. The Jussi Awards were given for the 60th time.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Brad Silberling: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (US 2004). Jim Carrey (Count Olaf), Kara Hoffman and Shelby Hoffman (Sunny Baudelaire), Emily Browning (Violet Baudelaire), Liam Aiken (Klaus Baudelaire).

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Lemony Snicketin surkeiden sattumusten sarja / Lemony Snicket's berättelse om syskonen Baudelaires olycksaliga liv. 

    US © 2004 Kumar Mor CCS. Released thru Paramount / DreamWorks. P: Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parks. 

     D: Brad Silberling. SC: Robert Gordon – based on the books by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and the Wide Window. SC: Emmanuel Lubezki. PD: Rick Heinrichs. Special FX: Michael Lantieri. Visual FX: Stefen Fangmeier / Industrial Light and Magic. AN: beginning: Littlest Elf; end credits: Axiom Design. M: Thomas Newman. 

    Starring Jim Carrey (Count Olaf), Emily Browning (Violet Baudelaire), Liam Aiken (Klaus Baudelaire), Kara Hoffman and Shelby Hoffman (Sunny Baudelaire), Timothy Spall (Mr. Poe), Meryl Streep (Aunt Josephine), Jude Law (Lemony Snicket [voice]). 

    Family film / fairytale. 

    Released by Buena Vista Finland; Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Marko Hartama / Nina Ekholm. 

    Viewed at Kinopalatsi 10, Helsinki, 5 Feb 2005. 

An ambitious and wonderfully bizarre fairytale film. I'm not familiar with the books, thus incapable of comparison, but here there is a consistency of tone and an abundance of visual invention. Certainly to be revisited. Sophisticated digital look. ****

Shall We Dance? (2004)

Peter Chelson: Shall We Dance? (US 2004). At a Chicago dance studio, Paulina (Jennifer Lopez) inspires John Clark (Richard Gere) to dance.

Saanko luvan? / Får jag lov? 

    US © 2004 Miramax. D: Peter Chelsom. SC: Audrey Wells - based on the 1996 film by Masayuki Suo. DP: John de Borman. M: many styles of dance music. LOC: Winnipeg, Chicago.
    Starring Richard Gere (John Clark), Jennifer Lopez (Paulina), Susan Sarandon (Beverly Clark), Stanley Tucci (Link). 108 min.
    Released by Buena Vista Finland, Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Tarja Dibaja / Janne Staffans.
    Viewed in Tennispalatsi 11, Helsinki, 4 Feb 2005.

The 1996 Masayuki Suo film Shall We Dansu? was a wonderful celebration of dance and an interesting study of Japanese everyday life. The story of the middle-age salaryman who finds new vitality in dance was humoristic and sounded authentic. I remember thinking that it should be remade in Finland by Markku Pölönen. Now there is this American adaptation which takes the same story outlines and fills them with American detail. This is more a study on characters and relationships, and there is actually little great dancing in the film. Astaire and Charisse in The Band Wagon are glimpsed through a window on monitors. Still this perhaps calculatedly audience-pleasing film makes it point on the joy of dance, the actors are good, and the characters likeable. A good date movie. ***

Closer

Mike Nichols: Closer (US 2004). L to r: Clive Owen (Larry), Natalie Portman (Alice), Julia Roberts (Anna), Jude Law (Dan).

Iholla / Closer [title in Sweden] / Closer, entre adultes consentants / Hautnah. 

    US © 2004 Columbia. D: Mike Nichols. SC: Patrick Marber – based on his play. DP: Stephen Goldblatt. M: Mozart: Così fan tutte; Rossini: La Cenerentola. LOC: London. Starring Natalie Portman (Alice), Jude Law (Dan), Julia Roberts (Anna), Clive Owen (Larry). 106 min. Released by CTSN, Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Timo Porri / Janne Staffans. Viewed at Bristol, Helsinki, 4 Feb 2005 (date of Finnish premiere). Brilliant dialogue, brilliant actors, brilliant scenes. However, it starts to drag, get sour. In the end I found myself not caring about the characters. There's a lot to savour. Nichols, Marber and the actors in great form. To be recommended as modern film drama and a satire on modern life. ***

...

NB. 28 March 2026. I have not revisited Closer. It lingers in mind as brilliantly written and executed but also as a film with a daring surface and an icy undercurrent. Beyond the cool and stylish veneer, a sense of loss, solitude and emptiness.

Humoresque

Humoreski. US (c) 1920 International Film Service. PC: Cosmopolitan. P: W.R. Hearst, released thru Famous Players-Lasky / Paramount-Artcraft / Adolph Zukor. D: Frank Borzage. SC: Frances Marion - based on a story by Fannie Hurst. DP: Gilbert Warrenton. M: Hugo Riesenfeld, including Humoresque by Dvorák, Fritz Kreisler played the violin in the premiere. Starring Gaston Glass (Leon Kantor), Alma Rubens (Gina Berg = Minnie Ginsberg), Vera Gordon (Mama Kantor), Dore Davidson (Abraham Kantor). 5631 ft /20 fps/ 76 min. Beautiful toned print restored by UCLA, brief preserved scenes on the verge of decomposition. Viewed at the musicians' rehearsal screening at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 4 Feb 2005. Borzage's first masterpiece revisited, has lost none of its power. There is a special visual intensity, both in the glowing faces of the actors and the glimpses of Jewish life in New York. Borzage had already discovered the close-up as an art form. The faces of the old-timers seem to be inscribed with ancient history. This film started the great 1920s Jewish cycle in American cinema, another culmination of which was The Jazz Singer, a story which has many parallels with this one: the mother's love; the Kol Nidre / the mortal music. ****

Ba mùa / Three Seasons

Tony Bui: Ba mùa / Three Seasons (VN/US 1998). Nguyen Ngoc Hiep (Kien An). 

Kolme vuodenaikaa / Tre årstider. 

    VN / US 1998. PC: October Films / Quan Giai Phong / Open City Films. 

    D+SC: Tony Bui. DP: Lisa Rinzler. 

    Starring Don Duong (Hai), Nguyen Ngoc Hiep (Kien An), Zoë Bui (Lan), Harvey Keitel (James Hager). 

    A Kamras release. In Vietnamese and English with Finnish / Swedish subtitles. Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 3 Feb 2005. 

An impressive debut feature by Tony Bui, the first American film shot in Vietnam since the war. The film covers four stories in Shanghai. The atmosphere is wonderful, there is an intensive feeling of heat, of lived life. The colour cinematography is sensually, vibrantly photochemical. Worth revisiting (I saw the first 30 minutes only).

History Is Made at Night (1937)

History Is Made at Night. Charles Boyer (Paul Dumond), Jean Arthur (Irene Vail).

Kuin varas yöllä / Som en tjuv i natten / ...und ewig siegt die Liebe. US © 1937 United Artists. P: Walter Wanger. D: Frank Borzage. SC: Gene Towne, Graham Baker, additional dialogue by Vincent Lawrence, David Hertz. DP: David Abel. Starring Charles Boyer (Paul Dumond), Jean Arthur (Irene Vail), Leo Carrillo (Cesare), Colin Clive (Bruce Vail). 98 min.
    Good definition of light in an original language print with text frames in German only without sound.
    Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 3 Feb 2005.

Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur shine in a luminous romantic thriller with sparkling dialogue. Another example of how the Lubitsch touch and the Borzage touch came close in the 1930s, with much deeper feeling with Borzage. ****

Niskavuori taistelee / Niskavuori Fights

Edvin Laine: Niskavuori taistelee / Niskavuori Fights (FI 1957). The final image of the Niskavuori saga: beyond the rainswept window, the portrait of Loviisa, the grand old lady of Niskavuori (Elsa Turakainen). My screenshot from Elonet: Niskavuori taistelee.

Niskavuoris kamp. FI 1957. PC: Suomen Filmiteollisuus. D: Edvin Laine. SC: Juha Nevalainen - based on the play by Hella Wuolijoki Entäs nyt Niskavuori (1953). DP: Osmo Harkimo. PD: Aarre Koivisto (1920-2005). M: Heikki Aaltoila. Starring Elsa Turakainen (Loviisa, the old lady of Niskavuori), Mirjam Novero (Ilona, the young lady of Niskavuori), Tauno Palo (Juhani Mattila/Juhani Niskavuori Jr.), Martti Katajisto (Paavo, the son of Ilona). 96 min. Swedish subtitles. Beautiful, clean print viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 2 Feb 2005. The final play of the Niskavuori epic ends in 1945. Aarne, the lord of the house, falls in the war. Juhani, the illegitimate son, appears decades after his mother had left the house where she served as a maid. Loviisa, the old lady, is losing her strength, and the house is about to fall apart as all her surviving children want to sell it, but there is a future in Juhani Jr., Ilona, and Paavo. Laine and Nevalainen softened the bitter politics of the play, yet they turned out a marvellous epic film. Again several sequences are purely visual and have a documentary quality recording the hard work of the people of the home front. "I have often built on injustice. I won't take it with me", are among Loviisa's last words. The final camera movement from outside the Niskavuori manor on a rainy night stops at Loviisa's eyes looking at us from her portrait on the wall. Maybe ****