"I don't want to hurt anyone, if that's what it means to be human."

Once again, and once a year, I just want to keep track of the fantastic movies I saw at the Munich Filmfest. Naturally I highly recommend you check them out as well, if you get the opportunity.

Hannah

by Andrea Pallaoro | France, Belgium, Italy | 2017
* * * * *
Hannah's life is unraveling. Since her husband has been in prison, she's had trouble dealing with reality and has had to fight for her dignity while trying to contact her estranged son. She does housework, takes acting classes, and tries to keep going. The things that motivate Hannah are eye contact, brief moments, and all the gaps that director Andrea Pallaoro skillfully leaves open. For her intimate portrayal of a woman searching for an antidote to numbness, Charlotte Rampling received the Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice International Film Festival.

Ash Is Purest White

by Zhang-Ke Jia | China, France | 2018
* * * * *
Even in the underworld, some follow a code of honor. Qiao loves the gangster Bin and intervenes in a conflict in order to save his life. For that, she spends five years in prison. After her release, she goes in search of her beloved. People change, though, as does the country in which they spend their days and nights. This is a romance and a gangster film, melodramatic with a pop touch.

Time Share

by Sebastián Hofmann | Mexico, Netherlands | 2018
* * * * *
Expectations always run high for vacations at luxury resorts. For Pedro and his family, however, things start off with a nasty surprise: their suite has been double-booked, and they may have to share it with other people who suddenly show up at their door. This is a surreal Science-Fiction satire of a consumerist nightmare in which manipulative corporations peddle a perfectly staged pseudo-religious cult of tourism.

Border

by Ali Abbasi | Denmark, Sweden | 2018
* * * * *
Tina works for the customs office, where she employs her special talent: she has a better sense of smell than any of her human colleagues. No forbidden substance, no smuggled item can get past her. One day, however, she encounters a man who exudes an aroma she has never smelled. A door is opened to a mythological world, both wonderful and foul, and Tina learns of a new life that is completely different. This film was awarded the “Prix Un Certain Regard“ at the Cannes festival in 2018.

All Good

by Eva Trobisch | Germany | 2018
* * * * *
"If you don't see any problems, you don't have any" is Janne's attitude regarding the fact that her new boss's brother-in-law has slept with her against her will. She keeps the incident under wraps and lets everything take its normal course. Her silence has consequences, though, and not just for her relationship with Piet.

Saul Bass' Comprehensive Guide to Joy Division

Joy Division songs reimagined in Saul Bass style posters — a project by Butcher Billy

Nothing will ever be the same again

I would love to write a personal review for each movie, as most of them made a strong impression on me in one way or another. But since my writing skills are zero, this post would take forever to get published and it's already a week late... But here's a list of what I saw at this year's film fest and my level of enjoyment for each film.

Loveless

by Andrey Zvyagintsev | Belgium, Germany, France, Russia | 2017
* * * * *
Zhenya and Boris are going through a vicious divorce marked by resentment, frustration and recriminations. Already embarking on new lives, each with a new partner, they are impatient to start again, to turn the page - even if it means threatening to abandon their 12-year-old son Alyosha. Until, after witnessing one of their fights, Alyosha disappears. Loveless won the jury's prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Lady Macbeth

by William Oldroyd | United Kingdom | 2016
* * * * *
England, 1856. Catherine is married to an embittered older man. Their marriage is loveless and her new family regards her as an unwanted burden. The vivacious young woman grows increasingly lonely. When her husband goes on a lengthy trip, she awakens from her lethargy and strikes up a passionate affair with a rebellious grounds worker, no longer willing to give up her newfound happiness. A gripping debut by William Oldroyd.

The Beguiled

by Sofia Coppola | USA | 2017
* * * * *
Based on the novel "The Beguiled" by Thomas Cullinan: During the American Civil War, a girls' boarding school seems to offer a safe harbor amid the ravages of war. But when a wounded soldier is found nearby and brought there to recuperate, the orderly life of the finishing school is disrupted: The girls find themselves falling for the man's charms, and jealousy and intrigue start poisoning their lives together. An erotically charged game full of twists and turns begins, claiming victims on all sides. Sophia Coppola became the first woman in over 50 years to win Best Director at Cannes for The Beguiled.

Happy End

by Michael Haneke | Germany, France, Austria | 2017
* * * * *
Georges Laurent wants to die. His daughter Anne has taken over the family firm, the former patriarch is tired of life and bickering. Director Michael Haneke, the painterly master of family guilt and alienation, draws a portrait of isolated family members, of adulterers and the blindly privileged – and of a granddaughter who is much too young to share her grandfather's wish.

Through The Wall

by Rama Burshtein | Israel | 2016
* * * * *
Michal is 32 years old. She became religious 12 years ago, and now is she getting married. A month before the wedding, while checking out the catering for the event, her groom has a change of heart and calls off the wedding. Michal feels unable to go back to ordinary life, to the usual course of courtship. She feels this is the moment to change something very basic in her personality. She decides to trust in the benevolence of the Creator, and go ahead with the wedding in one month, even though she doesn’t have a groom yet: "I have the venue, the dress, the apartment; God can easily come up with my groom".

Sommerhäuser (The Garden)

by Sonja Maria Kröner | Germany | 2017
* * * * *
In the sweltering summer of '76, a shared family yard becomes set and setting for this grotesquely funny sitcom, as the adults bicker over selling the garden and the kids are free to explore the mysterious neighboring lot. Then they hear about a girl that has disappeared... Sonja Maria Kröner's feature debut Sommerhäuser time-warps back to the 1970s to paint an atmospheric family portrait.

La Región Selvage (The Untamed)

by Amat Escalante | Mexico | 2016
* * * * *
A meteor strikes in the mountains of Mexico. Down below in the valley, Alejandra and Ángel’s marriage is in trouble: road worker Ángel is having an affair with Alejandra’s brother Fabián, despite his macho demeanor. Then an alien creature appears, spreading lust and destruction. A mix of sci-fi and social drama, Amat Escalante’s film was shot in his home town of Guanajuato by Chilean-Danish DoP Alberto Claro, who also lensed Melancholia and Nymphomaniac for Lars von Trier.

I forgot to tell you...

Early this summer (or late spring), an original birthday gift took us for the first time to the renown Karlovy Vary International Film Fest in the Czech Republic. And this is what we saw:

The Eagle Huntress

by Otto Bell | USA | 2016
* * * * *
Thirteen-year-old Aisholpan has just one wish – to become an eagle huntress, thereby continuing the family tradition. In order to fulfill her dream she must overcome one remaining fundamental obstacle: falconry is usually the purview of men. Tinged with a touch of fairy tale, this Sundance audience favorite is set in the breathtaking mountains of Mongolia and is all the more unbelievable for being a true story.

One Week And One Day

by Asaph Polonsky | Israel | 2016
* * * * *
In contrast to dramas focusing on protagonists who succumb to an illness, here the main characters are people who must come to terms with such a tragedy – an aging couple who have lost their only son. Initially, carrying on seems impossible but humorous moments crop up at even the toughest of times, making it thinkable to take the first step toward regaining their equilibrium.

Death By Death

by Xavier Seron | Belgium, France | 2016
* * * * *
Michel is the prototype of the outsider. On top of that he’s an inveterate hypochondriac obsessed with visions of death. And why wouldn’t he be, when he’s pathologically dependent on his self-centered mother, a woman who endured cancer and will speak of nothing else. This markedly stylized work serves up a litany of wild and absurd situations with sophisticated humor.

United States Of Love

by Tomasz Wasilewski | Poland, Sweden | 2016
* * * * *
The advent of the 1990s brought fundamental social change and a wealth of new possibilities. The film’s four heroines of different ages long for fulfilment in their lives and want to be part of that change. Created by one of the most distinctive artists working in Poland, the picture is dominated by exquisitely captured moments of searing, wretched desire for love and intimacy, and also by precise lensing from Oleg Mutu. Silver Bear for Best Script at this year’s Berlinale.

Paterson

by Jim Jarmusch | USA | 2016
* * * * *
Paterson is both a bus driver and a poet. He lives with his wife in the town of Paterson, once celebrated, now forgotten. The seven days, during which Jarmusch’s poetic film follows the rhythms of the couple’s life, unfold simply through the director’s gentle humor and his observation of the minute details that make up Paterson’s internal world.

If you don't like it, you call it old - if you like it, you call it vintage

My blog, my public diary: Here is a list of movies I saw this year at the local filmfest and my level of enjoyment of each.

Closet Monster

by Stephen Dunn | Canada | 2015
* * * * *
Oscar has an enjoyable childhood – until his parents separate and he witnesses an assault on a gay fellow student. Years later, Oscar still has a hard time with his own sexuality, fleeing into his own dream worlds – falling in love with handsome Wilder at work. In his directing debut, Stephen Dunn combines dream and reality in an eclectic mix, featuring Isabella Rossellini as the voice of Oscar’s talking hamster Buffy. Premiered in Toronto, where it took Best Canadian Film.

Aquarius

by Kleber Mendonça Filho | Brazil, France | 2016
* * * * *
Clara (magnificent: Sônia Braga) has lived in the “Aquarius” for years, an upscale 1940s condo in Recife. By now, she’s the last resident: All the other apartments have been bought up by a real estate developer, only Clara refuses to leave the place where she spent her life. This is the place she survived breast cancer and the whole tumultuous history of her country. She wants to avoid being expelled from her memories of affairs, relationships and loss. But she hasn’t counted on the developers’ criminal energy and the corruption of city hall.

Tanna

by Bentley Dean & Martin Butler | Australia, Vanuatu | 2015
* * * * *
TANNA is set in the South Pacific where Wawa, a young girl from one of the last traditional tribes, falls in love with her chief’s grandson, Dain. When an intertribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, but are pursued by enemy warriors intent on killing them. They must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe, while the villagers must wrestle with preserving their traditional culture and adapting it to the increasing outside demands for and performed by the people of Yakel in Vanuatu.

Blood Of My Blood

by Marco Bellocchio | France, Italy, Switzerland | 2015
* * * * *
A monastery in Norther Italian town of Bobbio (where director Marco Bellocchio was born) at the time of the inquisition: A soldier comes to find out why his twin brother took his life. It seems he had relations with a nun they claim is possessed by the devil. The present day: A Russian oligarch wants to buy the property of the monastery to build a luxury hotel on. But he doesn’t realize the present owner is a vampire… Marco Bellocchio’s latest film is a surreal, hypnotic and unique combination of music and imagery, which won the FIPRESCI Award at Venice last year.

Another time

Designer and illustrator Peter Stults reimagines modern cinema for a different era in his series of "what if" movie posters.

Mrs. Robinson

Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft in The Graduate (1967), directed by Mike Nichols.

Anderson Mikkelson

Mads Mikkelson and Gillian Anderson in Hannibal.

And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent...

As promised (to myself) I'm back posting more regularly and trying to overcome my writing insecurity. Last weekend the 33rd edition of the Munich Film Fest ended and here is what I got to see. (Click on the pictures to watch the respective trailers.)

Theeb

by Naji Abu Nowar | Jordan, Katar, UAE, UK | 2014
* * * * *
During the Q&A with the director, he explained that the film takes place during the Arab revolution, when the borders were defined which basically originated the conflicts we have until today in the Middle East. Those same borders also extinguished the nomad way of life of the Bedouin tribes. For the acting in this film the director recruited in most part actual descendants of the last Bedouin tribe in Jordan, freeing them from unemployment and extreme poverty. Being this the director's intended message, the film itself fails to support this awareness in a more obvious manner. It's rather detached from all this and focuses on its own narrative and related values.

Mænd og Høns (Men and Chicken)

by Anders Thomas Jensen | Denmark, Germany | 2014
* * * * *
Although this pitch-black comedy unfolded in a very entertaining and creative way, lastly it was too easy to digest and not too challenging (a similar issue I had while watching this director's previous film Adam's Apples). Nonetheless, it was funny, absurd, political incorrect and filled with insinuated repugnancy. Also: Mads Mikkelsen.

La Tête Haute (Standing Tall)

by Emmanuelle Bercot | France | 2014
* * * * *
This was picked as the opening film in Cannes, since not so many female directors have received this privilege in the past. It's a stirring drama about social welfare and the judicial system that supports delinquent youth. The performances were fantastic, considering it was the debut for some of the actors, most notably by newcomer Rod Paradot with his violent outbreaks on screen. Also: Catherine Deneuve.

The Overnight

by Patrick Brice | USA | 2015
* * * * *
Let's do some namedropping here as well: Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black), Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) and Jason Schwartzman (I don't really have to explain where you have seen this guy, do I?) in a clever and tightly constructed sexual comedy. A lot more could be said and analysed here, but fortunately there are already professionals to do this kind of thing, so read this nice review here instead. I just found that the humour in this film managed to remain fresh and never tiring.

As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 1, O Inquieto
(Arabian Nights, Volume 1, The Restless One)

by Miguel Gomes | Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland | 2015
* * * * *
Arabian Nights is an ambitious opus by Portuguese director Miguel Gomes, divided into three films/chapters. This is not a literal adaptation of "The Arabian Nights", it merely adopts its structure and main character Scheherazade as the storyteller. The tales are based on actual events that happened in Portugal after a socially unjust government implemented the harsh austerity measures imposed by the infamous Troika. In a mix of fiction and documentary, these movies make a poetic diagnosis of the current political and social situation in the country. It's an eccentric collage of metaphors and fables that traverse the real and the surreal.

As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 2, O Desolado
(Arabian Nights, Volume 2, The Desolate One)

by Miguel Gomes | Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland | 2015
* * * * *
The second volume was certainly my favourite as it contained two of the most striking and gripping stories: The Tears of the Judge and The Owners of Dixie. From the film: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that a distressed Judge will cry instead of giving out her sentence on a night when all three moons are aligned. A runaway murderer will wander through the land for over forty days and will teletransport himself to escape the Guard while dreaming of prostitutes and partridges. A wounded cow will reminisce about a thousand-year-old olive tree while saying what she must say, which will sound none less than sad! The residents of a tower block in the suburbs will save parrots and piss inside lifts while surrounded by dead people and ghosts; including in fact a dog that…”. And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.

As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 3, O Encantado
(Arabian Nights, Volume 3, The Enchanted One)

by Miguel Gomes | Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland | 2015
* * * * *
I chose to make a crazy experiment and spend a whole hot day of summer in the cinema watching the three films, so at this point it was getting a bit tiring. Specially since this last chapter had a longer and slightly exhausting tale about men teaching birds to sing. But altogether it was a worthy journey and it pleases me to see Portuguese cinema still going strong. (Plus, the film Cavalo Dinheiro (Horse Money) by Pedro Costa won this year's award for best international film.)