Berlinale

It is really excited that university organized a trip to one of the world’s leading film festival, The Berlin International Film Festival. For watching more films, I went to Berlin before the school trip on 11thFeb. I’ve bought a student accreditation, the first thing I did is picking up my accreditation badge. Expect badge, they gave me a bag with berlinale’s bear logo and some program schedule books, looks really nice. Then I went the ticket counter. Stuff told me that student ticket is limited and I only could collect ticket for today screening and tomorrow, but all the ticket for today were sold out. So I collected available tickets for tomorrow. The first day was quite relax because you’ll see I watched average four films per day in the rest of time in berlin! In this blog you can see my short reviews of films I watched.

FILM REVIEWS

Midnight Special

This is the first film I watched at Berlinale. The screening played at Friedrichstadt-Palast, a really huge theater. Maybe I except too much of this famous film festival, I felt a bit upset because the film is not very impressed me. But music is really good.

Inhebbek Hedi

Hedi is the first film of director Mohamed Ben Attia. Darenne brother are producers. May be that is one of the reasons that this film did a good job. But overall, I felt a bit bored when I watched Hedi, I know what will happened next.

Já, Olga Hepnarová

This film is based on a true story a girl who lack of love became antisocial personality disorder. The black and white image captures a sensitive feeling of actress Michalina Olszanka. Director started career on documentary, there is not much movement of lens we can see. On the otherwise, this technique makes atmosphere lonely and more depressing.

Things to come

A French comedy drama, making me relax. I enjoyed this screening. You don’t need to tell how much the film good is, but you’ll like it.

Fei Cui Zhi Cheng

After 10mins, I decided gave up watching this boring documentary. Anyway I made it until the end and I asked director why he used deep yellow color through the whole film. He said it’s assorted for the context and made it dramatic. But for me, it looks like covered a poor quality filter.

While the woman are sleeping

I want to read the novel that the film adapted from. Director attempted to gave audience a open mind but not works well. Rhythm of film seems a bit confusing. The chief actor said he was confused as well when he acted. Softcore pornography did very well. When director did Q&A, he was honest that the main reason he made this film was Beat Takeshi would like to join the film.

Sense and Sensibility

A tribute to Alan Rickman. High level produced. Emma Thompson came and told some interesting story between Alan and her. RIP

Little Man

Brooklyn style/Opening title is stylish/Nice soundtrack/Talented young actors/Really enjoyed it although it is not like director said focused on relations between father and son

Chang Jiang Tu (Crosscurrent)

It’s one of the best films I’ve seen at Berlinale. Mark Lee Ping-Bing who made amazing like The Assassin (2015) and In the Mood (2000) for Love took the role as cinematographer. Like the hit film The Assassin, Crosscurrent shoot on film as well and it cost 80,000 feet of film. Mark said it might become the last film movie in China. Crosscurrent is a poem.

Tomcat

The aesthetic of director showed well in the movie. The death of cat is the key in the film. Before that everything went well but it seems a bit mass of editing tempo after the death. After the screening I had a talk with director. I asked my doubt and he said it might look better in the dvd version that they were going to publish.

Those are some of my reviews. In general, I am really excited to get involved in such incredible film festival. Although I had to get up at 6am every morning to collect my tickets that made me exhausted.

But I got chance talk to those great directors, even like Wim Wenders! Each film hold a Q&A after screening. It offered a great chance talking to directors. I even had exchanged my contact information with a Chinese director Yichun Wang who made a really great film called What’s in the Darkness?. I also met people like producer and journalist from China and exchanged contact information, in which may helps in China film industry. Hope I could take a part in the festival in the future!