Varda by Agnès – Berlinale 2019 Review Josefine Algieri February 16, 2019 Reviews Agnès Varda has in recent years become something of an internet phenomenon. Newly discovered by a younger generation, she has not only reached the status of a beloved icon, but also everyone's favourite...
Ringside – Berlinale 2019 Review Carmen Paddock February 16, 2019 Reviews Sports documentaries have been done to death, but when a compelling, relatable tale of athletic redemption meets an expert storytelling team, the result is a surefire hit. Ringside – following two teenage...
One Thousand Ropes – Berlinale 2019 Review Carmen Paddock February 16, 2019 Reviews Similar to last year’s exceptional Waru, One Thousand Ropes deals with the intergenerational trauma of domestic abuse in New Zealand’s most disadvantaged groups without glossing over facts or showing...
Photograph – Berlinale 2019 Review Josefine Algieri February 14, 2019 Reviews Ritesh Batra excels at slow-burn romance and proves this once again in Photograph. Returning to his native Mumbai after several English-language projects, his latest film draws on the foundation of his 2013...
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch – Berlinale 2019 Review Carmen Paddock February 14, 2019 Reviews This Canadian documentary stems from work that began in 2009, when world environment experts began investigating whether the Earth had left the Holocene epoch and entered the Anthropocene, where humans shaped...
Flesh Out – Berlinale 2019 Review Stephanie Watts February 13, 2019 Reviews “He said I’m not fat,” says Verida to her horrified friend in Flesh Out. The man who has insulted her so much is her fiancé, for whom the young Verida is trying to gain as much weight as possible...
Dafne – Berlinale 2019 Review Carmen Paddock February 13, 2019 Reviews For a film set in motion by a death, Dafne bursts with life. The titular heroine (Carolina Raspanti) suddenly loses her mother in the film’s opening minutes – the accident is never fully explained, but...
Farewell to the Night – Berlinale 2019 Review Josefine Algieri February 13, 2019 Reviews The recruitment of white Europeans to the cause of ISIS is a topic which keeps coming up in films. Prolific French director André Téchiné is the latest to add to this list with his newest film, Farewell to...
And Your Bird Can Sing – Berlinale 2019 review Rhys Handley February 13, 2019 Reviews When a film opens with its lead announcing in voiceover that the summer will never end, the beast of cliche rears its deadly horns. Sho Miyake’s decision to have wayward slacker Boku (Tasuku Emoto) declare...
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – Berlinale 2019 review Rhys Handley February 12, 2019 Reviews Chiwetel Ejiofor’s acting career features many projects in which he explores African stories and identities across both the continent and the diaspora. Often, he does so under white and western directors,...
Hormigas – Berlinale 2019 Review Josefine Algieri February 12, 2019 Reviews Hormigas – or El despertar de las hormigas (The Awakening of the Ants) – is a quietly emancipatory film from Costa Rican writer-director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, following the daily existence of her...
The Shadow Play – Berlinale 2019 review Rhys Handley February 12, 2019 Reviews With a young teen’s understanding of sex, corruption and public administration, The Shadow Play is a captivating display of bold, shambolic filmmaking. Lou Ye’s conspiracy thriller tangles its wicked web...
A Tale of Three Sisters – Berlinale 2019 Review Carmen Paddock February 12, 2019 Reviews Sometimes, a film entrances so entirely that its plot matters little. This is the case with Turkish drama A Tale of Three Sisters (Kız Kardeşler), which follows its three headstrong heroines as each return...
Ghost Town Anthology – Berlinale 2019 Review Josefine Algieri February 12, 2019 Reviews Cold winds sweep the icy Canadian landscape in Denis Côté's newest film. Ghost Town Anthology borrows its title from the name given to abandoned rural small towns: as people – in particular the younger...
Kameni Govornici – Berlinale 2019 Review Carmen Paddock February 12, 2019 Reviews Documentaries are meant to show facts objectively, but when the narrative style loses personal accounts in its passivity viewer engagement is tested, if not abandoned entirely. Kameni Govornici (The Stone...