SXSW Review: Dreaming of ‘Malta’

By Abe Friedtanzer

The grass is always greener on the other side, and it’s easy to imagine that things might be better if only something was different. Natalia Santa’s sophomore feature Malta, which makes its world premiere at SXSW, follows a woman named Mariana (Estefanía Piñeres) who is looking to get away from her life in Bogotá, Colombia and has become fixated on the island of Malta as somewhere she could be free from it all. Unfortunately for her, she’s not headed anywhere with any particular urgency…

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Berlinale #5: Four bizarre films

by Elisa Giudici

L'EMPIRE © Tessalit Productions

If I think about the typical film competing at Berlin, I imagine something quite dramatic, decidedly political, and sometimes rather heavy. This edition of the Berlinale has added the adjective "bizarre" to this profile of mine. Here are four films seen in these hours that deserve this adjective.

L’EMPIRE by Bruno Dumont
Let me preface this one: Dumont and I just don't see eye to eye. He might be the only French director whose work I can't seem to appreciate, despite my overall fondness for French cinema. Given this history and a rather late screening on a very heavy day, the recipe for disaster was served. However, one positive thing about L’Empire I can say: in hindsight, it made me reassess his previous film, France, which I saw at Cannes and detested...

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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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Berlinale #2: "Cuckoo", "La Cocina," and "All The Long Nights"

by Elisa Giudici

There are days when every film starts off more than promisingly. Your heart races because you think you're about to watch a great movie, but movies don't always live up to their promise.

CUCKOO © NEON

CUCKOO by Tilman Singer
This year's Berlinale promises a wealth of intriguing horror films. Unfortunately, the first one to be presented, one of the most anticipated this year, turns out to be a classic case of a film with a phenomenal start that derails just as spectacularly while seeking its development and conclusion. Despite the film being far from successful, there's a clear impression that, with a bit more experience, writer/director Tilman Singer is destined for a very bright future...

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Berlinale #1: Cillian Murphy in "Small Things Like These"

Elisa Giudici, TFE's frequent festival friend is in Berlin for the 74th annual Berlinale...

SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE © Shane O'Connor

by Elisa Giudici

"If you want to get on with life, sometimes you have to ignore things" Billy Furlong's wife remarks to him. It's 1985, and life in the Irish town of New Ross is modest yet dignified, for the most part. It's in the subtleties and the fine line between two worlds that the agony and suffering of Berlinale's opening film unfolds.  

Adapted from Claire Keegan's novel, Tim Mielants' Small Things Like These portrays the story of a "soft-hearted man" named Billy (Cillian Murphy, teased by his wife for his unwavering tendency to aid those in need...

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