REVIEWS STAY AT HOME. VISIT THE WORLD
THE GREEN WAVE Directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi
Green is the color of hope. Green is the color of Islam - and Green was the symbol of recognition among the supporters of Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi. This touching documentary-collage illustrates the dramatic events before and after the 2009 presidential elections in Iran, sharing the feelings of the people behind the historic Green revolution.
IDFA
“Highly adventurous” The Hollywood Reporter
LOLA@Berlinale Screening: February 15, 1:30pm, CinemaxX 1
Market Screenings:
Today, 10:45am, dffb-Kino February 16, 9:30am, dffb-Kino
SMALL TOWN MURDER SONGS Directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly
A modern, gothic tale of crime and redemption about an aging police officer from a small Ontario Mennonite town who hides a violent past until a local murder upsets the calm of his newly reformed life.
TORINO FILM
FESTIVAL FIPRESCI PRIZE FORUM
Ger-Port. 2011. 126mins Director/screenplay Hugo Vieira da Silva Production companies Flying Moon, Contracosta Producoes International sales The Match Factory,
www.the-
match-factory.com Producer Helge Albers Cinematography Reinhold Vorschneider Editor Andrea Wagner Production designer Thomas Molt Main cast Kai Hillebrand, Ralph Herforth, Maria Schuster, Vasupol Siriviriyapoon
Swans REVIEWED BY JONATHANROMNEY
An ‘unhappy family’ story about illness, grief, teenage alienation and darker stuff besides, Swans is a relentlessly downbeat exer- cise which has moody elegance to spare but will test the patience of all but the most hardcore of ‘slow cinema’ aficionados. This second feature by Berlin-based, Portuguese director
Hugo Vieira da Silva — following 2006’s Body Rice — is an aus- tere study in mood and sketchily evoked psychological interior- ity, but in terms of communicating with its audience, it feels as hermetically enclosed as its sullen teenage protagonist. Sales potential is slender, but Swans will nest comfortably with festi- vals inclined to the starkly introspective. The film begins with a middle-aged man (Herforth) —
named Tarso in the credits — and teenage boy Manuel (Hille- brand) arriving in Berlin. It is only after a while that the film, leisurely in doling out information, establishes they are father and son, and have come from Lisbon to visit the boy’s mother Petra (Schuster), from whom Tarso has long been separated. She is in a coma in hospital following intensive chemotherapy. During their stay, Tarso and Manuel move into Petra’s flat,
sharing the space with her taciturn, seldom seen, Asian house- mate Kim (Siriviriyapoon). Tarso, deeply affected by events, spends much of his time sleeping or in a semi-stupour in front of the TV. Manuel, meanwhile, seems totally detached, and retreats into
“A cosmically profound drama." Variety
Market Screening:
Today, 10:45am, CinemaxX 17 February 14, 2:30pm, CinemaxX 17
Ryan Kampe
Tel +49 151 1437 4278
rk@visitfilms.com
Aida LiPera
al@visitfilms.com
US OFFICE
89 Fifth Ave Suite 806 New York, NY 10003 Office +1.718.312.8210 Fax
info@visitfilms.com n 24 Screen International in Berlin February 12, 2011 BERLIN OFFICE
Martin Gropius Bau Booth #11 Tel +49 176 1736 8623
+1.718.362.4865
his favourite occupation, skateboarding, with or without the accompaniment of hip-hop or punk soundtracks. In quieter moments, the boy starts taking an interest in the female effects around the flat, and a masturbation scene serves as prelude to an unexpected turn into the sexually transgressive area more usually associated with French than German cinema (Catherine Breillat, Christophe Honoré, etc). Among the cast, Ralph Herforth gives a solidly downbeat
performance while Kai Hillebrand is a striking, moody presence the camera loves, but the limitations of the role never allow him to suggest Manuel is more than a self-absorbed moper straight out of Larry Clark/Gus van Sant casting. The boldest performance is that of Maria Schuster, who,
wordless and virtually motionless as the bedridden mother, allows herself to be reduced almost to the status of human sculpture. Swans — in press notes, the director makes a point of refusing to explain the enigmatic title — ultimately registers not merely as downbeat but as defiantly introverted. The effect is that of watching potentially harrowing events through the sealed windows of an intensive care unit.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68