Berlinale Diary - The Winners

Though Filmbrain has fallen far behind in his reviews of films seen at the festival, he thought he'd share his thoughts on the winners, announced not long ago. The Golden Bear went to Marc Dornford-May's U-Carmen eKhayelitsha, which is Bizet's opera set in a modern-day South African township. Filmbrain missed this one, and is surprised by its win, as there wasn't that much buzz around it during the week. Many were convinced that one of the politically themed films would walk away with the top prize. The Silver Bear went to Peacock (Kong Que), the debut film from cinematographer Gu Changwei (who has worked with both Robert Altman and Chen Kaige). Set in mainland China during the 1970s, the film tells the often-sad tale of a family with three troubled children. Though it has all the makings of a "festival movie" (more on that later), it succeeds in telling a tale that is neither maudlin nor contrived. Given the setting, one would expect the Cultural Revolution to play a big part in the story, but it doesn't -- it stays focused on the family and their various problems. Gu is a master cinematographer, and every shot in the film is simply perfect, without ever calling too much attention to itself. A thoroughly enjoyable, quiet film that truly was one of the better films in competition. The Silver Bear for Best Director went to Marc Rothemund for his film Sophie Scholl - The Last Days. Not a huge surprise, as the film has been receiving almost unanimous praise from the press -- both local and international. Filmbrain would have rather seen Tsai Ming-liang take the prize, but Rothemund isn't a bad choice. (Far better than many of the other films in competition.) The Silver Bear for Best Actress went to Julia Jentsch for her role in the film Sophie Scholl - The Last Days. A fair win -- she's on-screen nearly the entire film, and there are some subtle nuances to her performance that really are impressive. The Silver Bear for Best Actor went to Lou Taylor Pucci for his role in the film Thumbsucker. Filmbrain arrived too late at the festival to catch this one, so he can't comment on it. There was much talk about Romain Duris' performance in Jacques Audiard's The Beat That My Heart Skipped (which was outstanding) -- many were comparing it to DeNiro's performance in Mean Streets. (More on this film to come. . .) The Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution went to Tsai Ming-liang for his screenplay of The Wayward Cloud. Very impressive, especially when you consider that there is virtually no dialog in the film. (Would love to see what one of his screenplays looks like.) The Silver Bear for Best Film Music went to Alexandre Desplat for the music in the film The Beat That My Heart Skipped. Other awards worth noting: The Alfred Bauer Prize (named in memory of the Berlinale's founder), which is awarded to a film that "takes the art of film in a new direction" went to Tsai Ming-liang's The Wayward Cloud. Had to be. No other film in competition came even close to meeting that criterion. The FIPRESCI Prize (International Film Critics Association) for best film in Competition also went to The Wayward Cloud. The NETPAC Prize (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) went to Lee Yoon-ki's This Charming Girl. Both Amnesty International and the readers of the Berliner Morgenpost chose Paradise Now as the best film at the festival. Filmbrain is still angry about missing this one. The film follows two Palestinians -- longtime friends who are now both about to become suicide bombers. A film that has ignited a fair amount of controversy -- hopefully someone will be brave enough to distribute it in the States. With the festival coming to an end tomorrow, Filmbrain should find himself with more time to catch up on all the films he's seen, as well as some overall thoughts on this year's Berlinale.

Comments

[phyrephox]

I was just reading about Gu Changwei in a book about the 5th generation. It's great to see him finally getting to direct.

[david hume]

YOU WROTE: "The Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution went to Tsai Ming-liang for his screenplay of The Wayward Cloud. Very impressive, especially when you consider that there is virtually no dialog in the film. (Would love to see what one of his screenplays looks like.)"

Actually, like Sofia Coppolla's LIT, Tsai didn't use a screenplay for CLOUDS. There is no screenplay. So how on Earth does he get an award for best screenplay, when others spend hours and hours and months and months preparing real screenplays? Something is rotten in, er, Berlin.

SMILE.

[Filmbrain]

I've been asking people here the same question -- nobody has an answer for me. Perhaps if I bump into Dieter Koslick (or better yet, Bai Ling) I can ask for an explanation. . .