The Film Experience

Murtada here to talk Berlinale which runs February 11th through the 21st. The Berlin Film Festival just announced titles for its Panorama section. These are possibly movies we will be talking about all through 2016, as we are still talking about 45 Years which made its debut there all the way back in February.

Gerwig and Hawke in Maggie's Plan

Among the titles is TIFF and NYFF entry Maggie’s Plan from director writer Rebecca Miller and starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Julianne Moore. Gerwig has admitted during a Q&A at NYFF that she based her character’s look on Miller’s style. That got us fantasizing that the movie is a roman a clef about how Miller married Daniel Day Lewis soon after he was involved with Isabelle Adjani. After all Moore is playing a sorta crazy European.

Another interesting title is John Michael McDonagh’s War on Everyone with Michael Pena, Alexander Skarsgard and Theo James. All you fans of The Guard should be excited. Other titles include films from Ghana, Morocco and of course France. The full list is here.

Firth and Law in Genius

But more importantly who does Meryl get to judge as president of the jury?

First is Michael Grandage’s Genius which stars the man who presented her with that 3rd Oscar and her co-star from The Hours. Genius tells the true story of the relationship between famous American novelist Thomas Wolfe (played by Jude Law) and iconic editor Max Perkins (Colin Firth). Nicole Kidman is playing Aline Bernstein a costume designer who was in a romantic relationship with Wolfe. Other literary greats depicted in the film are Ernest Hemingway (Dominic West ) and F Scott Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce).

Previously thought to be premiering at SXSW, Jeff Nichols' Midnight Special will now premiere first at Berlin. Starring Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton and Kirsten Dunst, it’s the tale of a boy who may have supernatural powers and all the bad guys in his pursuit.

Actor/Director Vincent Perez (Queen Margot) rallied up Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson to play a couple who start working against the Nazis after the death of their only son during WWII in Alone in Berlin. Daniel Bruhl is the SS Officer on their tail in the first of two 2016 movies where he plays a member of that infamous group, the other being the Jessica Chastain vehicle The Zookeeper’s Wife. (Not at Berlinale).

These titles join the previously announced opening film “Hail, Caesar!” which will be playing out of competition. Yes it's the latest from Joel and Ethan Coen but more importantly has Tilda Swinton giving Dame Helen Mirren (Trumbo) a run for her money by playing a version of Hedda Hopper. Who will be Capote and who becomes Infamous?

Kidman, Thompson, Moore, Swinton. Who’s first on your list based on these descriptions?