Brief notes on 20 films in Berlin
By Alex Deleon
Hail Caesar -- opener -- hilarious. Great press conference to open festival.
Midnight Special -- am press -- encounters of the Fourth kind meets Village of the damned. Stylish sci-fi.
Man who Fell to Earth -- Tribute to David Bowie --not as good as I remembered it to be years ago ... Confused plotting -- lame side actors.
Die Russen Kommen -- DDR masterpiece, banned at the time in East Germany. Best film of the week.
Sunday, Delphi, AND-Ek GHES -- "one nice day", Gypsy Home movie --
Backed by unknown german director --
"While the women are Sleeping", Wayne Wang's Japanese movie with Beat Takeshi (who didnt come but called in a video greeting)
Monday: ALONE IN BERLIN, Emma and Neesan plus Bruhl. Ridiculous to deliver such a German story in English -- weak.
Hee --(Fire) Momoi Kaori -- Japanese one woman show-- too many closeups and bad music bur bravura perf.
ROUTE TO ISTANBUL, A belgian mother and her Jihadist runaway daughter --
Tuesday AM Press
GENIUS -- pressconf, Scribners Publisher Perkins adopts Thomas Wolfe as a son -- Jude Law with southern accent is a bit over the top ..
THE ROAD BACK -- with Andy Devine! As German infantryman. Original 1937 sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front -Highly restored UCLA back story
Wednesday -- FIVE FILMS
Morning press -- Zero Days, Gibney, cyber warfare documentary
BAKUSHU (Late Summer, 1951 --long, Setsuko Hara, restful.
FABULOUS BAKER BOYS at Zeughaus, terrible bore, No Chem between Jeff Bridges and Michele Pfeiffer-- set in Seattle, Ballhaus cinematography --
BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA -- Coppola '92, nightmarish vampire film. w. Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder, plus Anthony Hopkins-- walkout!
Thursday:
MILES AHEAD, Press Con w. Cheadle, Michele Levieux arrives, The Miles Davis story from a highly personal slant.
Fifteen minute ovation for film at public screening at Fredrichstadt Palast
AM. ZJEDNOCZONE STANY MILOSCI. POLISH. OZU ... 3 sisters frustrated in love -- (The United Sates if Love, is the whimsical English translation.
The Tenth Man (el Rey del Once): Study of Jewish community of Buenos Aires has nothing new to say and chief Protagonist is most unappealing.
SAINT AMOUR, noon. Depardieu Bullshit, agricultural fair with bull as bulky As depardieu -- ridiculous, pointless, stupid sex.
Saturday, LANTOURI!!! -- Amazing new film from Iran about ethics of Lex Talonis, new style transitions beteeen scenes, highly innovative.Very powerful.
LUNCH at Ashoka
Evening show at distant International cinema:
INDIGNATION, Philip Roth story set in early fifties. -very good campus romance with heavy Jewish overtones. Worth the trip out to Marx Allee in east Berlin. Totally captures atmosphere of the time, the Macarthy era.
All new faces, very refreshing. hero is obviously alter ego of Yoing Roth.
Sunday.
Five more films on tap....
The italian docu on Immigrants on Lampedusa. Won the golden bear. Given the current politics in Getmany, it was a foregone conclusion.
