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. ***