Tickets were scarcer on the ground at this year’s Berlinale but I still managed to tick a lot of films off my wish list. Some highlights:
Future Lighthouse/Pálás classic Love Lies Bleeding is every bit the sexy, gay, pulpy thriller the trailer promises, plus a lot more. It’s a bit of a genre mash-up and it takes some wild swings. There’s further exploration of the motif of body horror & obsession from director Rose Glass’s first feature Saint Maud, but here she cuts loose on a bigger and more colourful canvas.
Langue Étrangére is a beautiful coming-of-age story about finding connection, love, and acceptance between German and French teenage girls on student exchange. It felt to me like Lukas Moodyson’s Fucking Amal for a new generation.
Director Olivier Assayas’s new film Hors du Temps is an enjoyable 90mins of droll French auto-fiction. A nuanced and humorous depiction of life during Covid, Assayas’ film is like the cottage in which his characters while away the lockdown – cosy, ruminating viewing.
Sasquatch Sunset: I’m a fan of the Zellner Bros and this dialogue-free Bigfoot odyssey feels like the zenith of their absurdist filmmaking to date. They definitely have fun with the concept, while also fully making us invested in the lives and stakes and survival of these bigfoot creatures. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough, even though they never speak and are submerged in Bigfoot costume, this is a future cult classic that I hope gets distribution here in Ireland.
The Devil’s Bath is an effective atmospheric horror set in 18th century Austria, from the directors of Goodnight Mommy. The wider historical context of women who would commit crimes in order to be sentenced to death and avoid the stain of suicide is looked at through the story of Agnes, who is driven mad by her unfulfilled desire to conceive a child. There’s a pervasive sense of the supernatural without ever veering into that territory. The real-life horror – the period details, the harsh country beautifully shot by cinematographer Martin Gschlacht and the mental anguish in Anja Plaschg’s lead performance - is more than sufficient to haunt the viewer.
I wrapped up my Berlinale with a viewing of Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger. What is there to say? Scorsese takes us on a personal tour of Powell & Pressburger’s filmography with accompanying sumptuous imagery for two hours. A cinephile’s dream. And its funny too. I laughed out loud when Scorsese recounts how Powell told him he used too much red in Goodfellas! I think we’ll have to bring back some of our recent Powell and Pressburger screenings when this documentary gets released in May…