Berlinale 75: "Blue Moon" isn't your traditional biopic

by Elisa Giudici

Watching Blue Moon, I couldn’t help but think of Inside Llewyn Davis, one of the Coen brothers’ most accomplished yet underappreciated films. That movie introduced Oscar Isaac in what remains his most astonishing performance, portraying a talented but ill-fated musician who arrived just a bit too soon to achieve success. A similar fate awaited Blue Moon’s protagonist, though his story unfolds decades earlier, in 1943 New York, amid the turmoil of World War II...

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Berlinale 75: On the Golden Bear-winning "Dreams"

by Elisa Giudici

First love is by definition all-consuming, reshaping one’s world with overwhelming intensity. In Dreams (Sex Love), a multi-generational reflection on first love from Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud, captures this transformative experience, The movie tells the story of Johanne, a high school student who falls deeply for her French teacher. While the premise may seem familiar, the film’s execution is anything but. With remarkable authenticity, Dreams conveys the raw, feverish energy of youthful desire—both in mind and body—while weaving in a broader meditation on love across different stages of life...

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Berlinale 75: "Dreams" is sure to be controversial

by Elia Giudici 

After the Emilia Pérez affair, Dreams by the Mexican director Michel Franco presents a portrait of the Mexican population that is sure to spark intense debate. Even as the audience left the theater, groups of journalists were already engaged in animated discussions among themselves. This is because, at the film's conclusion, Franco makes a bold choice that inevitably compels one to take a firm stance. His hand, clearly visible, is that of the director of Nuevo Orden, a filmmaker who, when confronted with violence and cruelty reaching almost unbearable heights, approaches them with the cold detachment of a surgeon...

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Berlinale 75: “Das Licht” makes for an Overstuffed Opening

by Elisa Giudici

After two hours and forty minutes, Das Licht's conclusion delivers a devastating blow, undoing much of what had been carefully built up. It's like a long, enjoyable flight that ends in a disastrous crash landing—an impact so severe that it forces a reassessment of the entire journey. 

Tom Tykwer's latest work, chosen to open the 75th Berlinale, is ambitious and multilayered, yet excessive in its attempt to tackle everything—and its opposite—within a Berlin inhabited by both genuine victims and impostors who thrive on victimhood. Despite its considerable runtime, the film fails to develop any of its many narrative threads in a fully satisfying way...

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Berlinale #4: Reinate Rensve conquers Berlin

by Elisa Giudici

A DIFFERENT MAN © Faces Off LLC

Watching her in Norway's international hit The Worst Person in the World (2021), it was clear that Renate Reinsve was destined for great things. Three years later, we find her at the Berlinale starring in two international films and shining brightly in both. Is it finally becoming easier for non-native English-speaking actors to break through internationally? It certainly seems so!

A DIFFERENT MAN by Aaron Schimberg
The title is cleverly crafted and the film has the potential to go far internationally. Writer/director Aaron Schimberg tackles a Lynchian theme (a man's facial deformity reflecting his inner self), and adds a touch of Kafka in a contemporary key. Despite the influences and references, he makes it entirely his own...

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