CONTENTS Page 3
Editorial
Page 4-7
TONI ERDMANN
Page 8–11
THE FOUNDER
A practical joking father tries to reconnect with his hard-working daughter by creating an outrageous alter ego and posing as her CEO’s life coach. The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman, the founder who turned two brothers’ innovative fast food eatery, McDonalds’s, into one of the biggest restaurant businesses in the world with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.
Page 12-15 HACKSAW RIDGE
WWII American Army Medic, Desmond Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refusing to kill people, becoming the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honour without firing a bullet.
Page 16–19 JACKIE
Following the assassination of President John F Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief, the trauma to recall her faith, console her children and define her husband’s historic legacy.
Page 20–21 FILMS ABOUT FILM
The first of a series listing the many films which have been made about films.
Page 22–24 FILMFEST FOLLOWER BERLIN
MbM recommendations from the scheduled screenings at the festival which runs from February 9 – 19.
Page 25–27 DAMIEN CHAZELLE
Close-up on the writer and director of LA LA LAND.
Page 28–29 EXTRAS
DVDS & BLU-RAYS OF THE MONTH: THE MAN BETWEEN and THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT.
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THE FOUNDER - POSTER
Page 31
HACKSAW RIDGE -POSTER
Page 32
TONI ERDMANN POSTER
PHOTO CREDITS: SODA PICTURES:1,4,6,7,32. STUDIO CANAL:8,10,11,30. LIONSGATE:12,14,15,31. ENTERTAINMENT ONE:16,18,19. VARIANCE FILMS:25,27 3
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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS We would like to thank the following for their help and assistance in providing images. Anjali Mandalia at Soda Pictures. James Haseltine at Substance Global. Christina Wood at Entertainment One.
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EDITORIAL Movies are about escaping into another world, where people can go to a cinema and for ninety minutes or more, be entertained while in the company of a like-minded audience. This magazine is a monthly celebration of that experience. Our cover feature is a German comedy, Toni Erdmann, about a man who tries to reconnect with his daughter by playing embarrassing jokes to win her attention. The film has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film.There are also feature reviews of The Founder, Hacksaw Ridge, and Jackie. This month we begin to look at the many features and documentaries which have been made about films and the film industry. They are the ultimate extras. The Berlin Film Festival is the object of our attention in Film Fest Follower, handpicking some of the titles from this year’s programme. And we are proud to examine the films of Damien Chazelle, the director of La La Land, the most-talked about film of the year which epitomises the joy of musicals. A recent article in Vanity Fair stated that people will eventually stop going to the movies and instead movies will eventually come to them. The article entitled “Why Hollywood as We Know It Is Already Over” claims that Movie-theatre attendance is down to a 19-year low, with revenues hovering slightly above $10 billion – or about what Amazon’s, Facebook’s, or Apple’s stock might move in a single day. Movie Studios are in trouble. DreamWorks Animation was sold to Comcast for a meagre $3.8 billion. Paramount was recently valued at about $10 billion, approximately the same price that it was acquired at 20 years ago, and between 2007 and 2011, overall profits for the big-five movie studios: Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and Disney, fell by 40 percent. Though Disney has been financially successful, partly due to Star Wars and its other successful franchises. Last summer, The Wall Street Journal reported that more sequels bombed than did not. MGM’s Ben Hur cost $100 million and yet grossed only $11 million in its opening weekend. The article points out that the film industry was shaken when Netflix started creating its own content, and goes on to mention that Hollywood’s real nemesis has been Facebook, Apple, Google and others which are experimenting with original material of their own. But Hollywood is to blame for digging its own grave by making blockbusters and franchises for an audience that is now preferring to see such movies at home by streaming them. There is still nothing that competes with seeing a movie on a big screen in a cinema with a like-minded audience. Arthouse cinemas are an aesthetical option to discerning cinemagoers worldwide. May you continue to enjoy that experience. Enjoy the read.
Brian Mills Magazine Editor
Paul Ridler Magazine Designer
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TONI ERDMANN Directed by Maren Ade Starring: Peter Simonischek, Sandra Huller, Michael Wintenborn, Thomas Loibl, Trystan Putter, Ingrid Bisu. Good evening. I’m only the father. Toni Erdmann Henneberg. Are you visiting? Henneberg Yes, a spontaneous decision. Never been to Romania. I’m actually here to negotiate with her. She’s hardly home anymore. So I hired a substitute daughter. Now comes the question who pays her. Toni Erdmann That’s a modern solution. Henneberg Exactly. Toni Erdmann Is the other daughter better? Henneberg The cakes are better. And er she cuts my toenails.
When Winfried (Peter Simonischek) does not see much of his daughter, he decides to surprise her with a visit after the death of his old dog. It’s an awkward move because Ines (Sandra Huller) is a serious career woman who is working on an important project as a corporate strategist in Bucharest. The geographical change doesn’t help the two to see more eye to eye. Practical joker Winfried loves to annoy his daughter with corny pranks. Even worse are his little jabs at her routine lifestyle of long meetings, hotel bars and performance reports. Father and daughter reach an impasse, and Winfried agrees to return home to Germany. Enter Toni Erdmann, Winfried’s alter ego. Disguised in a tacky suit, weird wig and even weirder fake teeth, Toni barges into Ines’ professional life, claiming to be her CEO’s life coach. As Toni, Winfried is bolder and doesn’t hold back, but Ines meets the challenge. The harder they push, the closer they become, and in all madness, Ines slowly begins to understand that her eccentric father might deserve a place in her life after all. The only way that Winfried can get through to his daughter is by inventing the character Toni Erdmann and using humour as a way of 4
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reaching her. He had already tried to redefine his relationship with her as a father and failed and now he’s at a loss, torn between his desire for more closeness with her and the resentment he feels towards her. Humour is his weapon. It means playing a much tougher game, and since Ines is tough herself, he is suddenly speaking language she understands. First and foremost, Toni Erdmann is a comedy. The hardest thing was for Peter Simonischek to hide his dexterous qualities as an actor in playing down as an unprofessional actor as Winfried, as it is extremely difficult for a good actor to play a bad one but he pulls it off brilliantly. The conflict is a conflict between generations. Winfried once fought to make sure his daughter would grow up with the confidence and independent spirit she needed to make way in the world, and Ines chose a life far removed from the ideals her father instilled in her as a child when she decided to go into a conservative, performance-orientated field that embodies the very values he used to despise. The freedom that Winfried’s generation fought for paved the way for an unfettered capitalism in which profit is the be-all and end-all, and he equipped Ines with everything she required to make it in that world. Ines, on the other hand, regards the complacent certitudes that govern Winfried’s supposedly politically correct life as too facile. It is mainly the central performances that make this film, though there is a fine supporting role by Ingrid Bisu, as Anca, who is under the supervision of Ines. She has all the attributes of becoming a star. There are many sequences which are ‘laugh-out-loud’ and endearing, but the nearly three hours running time could have been trimmed without losing the thread of its narrative. Ironically, any editing should not be at the expense of the long silent pauses following a lot of Toni Erdmann’s dialogue as it not only shows what he might be dreaming up next but also emphasising the pleasure he is getting from his antics. Toni Erdmann has been critically acclaimed and is a favourite to be nominated in the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars in March.
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Ines (Sandra Huller) and Toni Erdmann (Peter Simonischek) in Toni Erdmann.
Toni Erdmann (Peter Simonischek) and Ines (Sandra Huller) in Toni Erdmann.
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Natalie (Victoria Malektorovych), Ines (Sandra Huller) and Toni Erdmann (Peter Simonischek) in Toni Erdmann.
Ines (Sandra Huller) in Toni Erdmann.
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THE FOUNDER Directed by John Lee Hancock Starring: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson. I wanna win.
Ray Kroc
When is enough going to be enough for you? Probably never.
Ethel Kroc Ray Kroc
The major thing that you will take-away from this movie on the famous McDonalds fast-food restaurant chain’s owner Ray Kroc is the performance of Michael Keaton as Kroc. Is it enough to make this a memorable movie? No more than the burgers are meant to be an unforgettable culinary experience. Keaton’s Kroc takes the power away from the McDonald brothers to build a brand of his own based on his ideas of making more money and does so stealing the ideas from the McDonald’s but shelving their ideals of quality food, efficiency and expertise. You are asked to admire a protagonist who wants to save money by making milkshakes with water and a powdered mix instead of ice cream and milk which he then sends to every McDonald’s franchise. He yells at Mac McDonald that he is too nice to succeed in business. Business is dog eat dog, rat eat rat. If my competitor was drowning. I’d go over and put a hose right in his mouth. Kroc has a gargantuan ego, is an outright liar; creating a myth about himself and his business, takes credit for all the ideas dreamt up by Dick and Mac McDonald, is greedy and obnoxious, and even steals the wife of one of his keen supporters and restaurant owners. Read the small print on your bill before you pay it: Kroc is the personification of evil, but this declaration of character is not included as a service charge. The problem therefore is that it is very difficult to find empathy for an unlikeable character who is villainous and is as false as his smile.
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MICHAEL KEATON: Like most actors, Michael Keaton has had a wide variety of roles, some which have been very successful and critically acclaimed. Here are some of those highlights from his filmography. 1983. MR MOM. Directed by Stan Dragoti. With Terri Garr. After Jack is laid off, he switches roles with his wife. She returns to work and he becomes a stay-at-home dad. A job he has no idea how to do. 1988. BEETLEJUICE. Directed by Tim Burton. With Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis. This is the film which catapulted Keaton to fame and has become a cult classic. A couple of recently deceased ghosts contact the services of a ‘bio-exorcist, ‘to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house. On playing Beetlejuice he said: I wanted him to be pure electricity, that’s why the hair sticks out. At my house, I started creating a walk and a voice. I got some teeth. I wanted to be scary in the look and then use the voice to add a dash of goofiness that, in a way, would make it even scarier. I wanted something kind of mouldy to it, too. 1989. BATMAN. Directed by Tim Burton. With Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger. The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his major enemy the clownish homicidal joker. 1990. PACIFIC HEIGHTS. Directed by John Schlesinger. With Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine. A couple works hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. However, one of their tenants has plans of his own. 1992. BATMAN RETURNS. Directed by Tim Burton. 1993. MY LIFE. Directed by Bruce Joel Rubin. With Nicole Kidman. A terminally ill man prepares for his death. 2008. THE MERRY GENTLEMAN. Directed and starring Michael Keaton with Kelly Macdonald. A beautiful romantic fable. A woman leaves an abusive relationship to begin a new life in a new city, where she forms an unlikely relationship with a suicidal hit man (unbeknown to her). 2014. BIRDMAN. Directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu. With Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton. A former popular actor’s struggle to cope with his current life. 2015. SPOTLIGHT. Directed Tom McCarthy. With Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams. The Boston Globe uncovers a massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, rocking the entire Catholic Church to the core.
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Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) in The Founder.
Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) in The Founder. 10
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Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) in The Founder.
Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) in The Founder.
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HACKSAW RIDGE
Directed by Mel Gibson Starring: Andrew Garfield, Teresa Palmer, Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving, Vince Vaughan, Richard Pyros, Jacob Warner. While everyone else is taking life, I’ll be saving it. That’s going to be my way to serve. - Desmond Doss Mel Gibson’s latest film behind the camera as director is bringing the true-life story of Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector, who won the Congressional Medal of Honour, becoming the first conscientious objector to do so. It is a splendid tribute to the hero and Gibson has masterly made a memorable film and proving that he is a film director that understands his subject and brings those sensibilities to the story. For as he reminds us, though the film depicts the full horror of war with all its bloody realism of flying body parts and agonising screams amongst skeletal remains, it is first and foremost a love story. Desmond (Andrew Garfield) signs up as a medic, but before he heads to boot camp he meets and falls in love with Dorothy (Teresa Palmer) who is a nurse. A couple of days later he asks her to marry him. Dorothy’s love and support helps Desmond to follow his moral convictions, and it is those strong ideals that attracted Dorothy to him as he was like no other person she had ever met.
At boot camp, Desmond soon discovers that his ideals are not only unwelcomed by his colleagues but many consider them a front for cowardice. When he refuses to hold a rifle, or kill anyone, his fellow soldiers beat him up. Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughan), his drill sergeant, wants him out of the service, but he has a constitutional right to serve as a medic and not having to carry or use a gun. He does spend a short time in jail, but is kept sane by reading the small Bible which Dorothy gave him which has a picture of her between its pages to remind him that she is always with him. When his platoon is shipped out to the Pacific Island of Okinawa, they are ordered to take Hacksaw Ridge, a steep, 35-foot cliff which the Japanese have been hunkered down in bunkers. Dawes, instead of retreating, remains atop the Ridge for five hours, carrying *75 wounded men over his shoulder to lower them down the ridge for triage. Courageously, he mutters his prayer: Lord, help me get just one more. 12
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Gibson’s talent as a director is unquestionable and he manages to make you feel that you are up there on that ridge with nail-biting intensity. Essential backstory is not forsaken and we see why Desmomd’s father, played by Hugo Weaving, still bears the mental scars of fighting in WWI when he lost his best friend. Describing the character of Desmond Doss: Who he was, was basically about love. A person doesn’t have greater love than to give his life for another person and he did this over and over again. He didn’t consider his life to be more valuable than his brother. - Mel Gibson
And Andrew Garfield’s impression of his character and on working with Mel Gibson: He (Desmond Doss) is not a conscientious objector. He is a conscientious co-operator. Mel has it all in his head. It is part of his brilliance. It is a mystery how did it. He had half the money and half the shooting days that he had for “Braveheart”. - Andrew Garfield
Vince Vaughan’s take on working on the film and the character of the Drill Sergeant: Mel Gibson is a great storyteller: Apocalypto, Braveheart, Passion of the Christ. This is a true story about someone who had such conviction and was able to accomplish so much and put himself in harm’s way for his brothers-in-arms. So it is an amazing story. I couldn’t believe it when it came across my desk. The part of the Drill Sergeant was to bring them together as a unit and his choices bring some particular changes to that. It was really on the page to have a lot of the humour and stuff and there was a lot of drama to play out as well. Mel is such a master storyteller. When you see the film and you see all of his films. There is a love story. Teresa Palmer is incredible, such a great innocent love. You kind of feel, in a visceral way, that juxtaposes when you go to war in some of the most realistic battle scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie. It is just unbelievable how he (Mel Gibson) is able with performances and camera, just put altogether on cylinders that fire. - Vince Vaughan
*One of the 75 soldiers Doss saved was Japanese.
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Dorothy (Teresa Palmer) and Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) in Hacksaw Ridge.
Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) and Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughan) in Hacksaw Ridge 14
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Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) in Hacksaw Ridge.
Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) in Hacksaw Ridge.
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JACKIE Directed by Pablo Larrain Starring: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, John Hurt. Billy Crudup. I’m guessing that you won’t let me write any of that. - The Journalist No, because I never said that. - Jackie Kennedy Screen biographies about people who are still in our memories are not easy to pull off and will inevitably prove a great challenge to the actress or actor portraying them as well as to the audience who have paid to see it. Jackie is no exception. Natalie Portman is one of our finest actresses, so though the title role for her would be a tough assignment she was totally capable in meeting the skills required to play the part. However, neither she or Peter Sarsgaard who has the role of John F Kennedy’s brother Bobby, actually resemble the real-life characters that they had been cast to play. Consequently, and this is cold comfort for the actors and spoils the illusion, instead of seeing Jackie Kennedy we are seeing Natalie Portman and instead of watching Bobby Kennedy we are witnessing Peter Sarsgaard. Yes, superficially they look like Jackie and Bobby, courtesy of costumes, but it is not enough to be convincing.
The film is director Pablo Larrain’s re-imagining of the events following the assassination of Jackie’s husband President John F Kennedy. The idea was to project us into Jackie’s private world. Suddenly alone, save for her family, confidante and priest, the First Lady faced a remarkable series of challenges as a wife, a mother and a reluctant part of the political machine: consoling her young children, planning her husband’s funeral, preparing for the next President to rapidly move into the White House and most remarkably, fighting to maintain control over how history would forever define her husband’s legacy. The film starts with Jackie being interviewed by a Life Magazine journalist played by Billy Crudup. It was the mythical kingdom of Camelot ruled by King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table based on the highest of human principles which inspired the interview in the film. 16
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Today, Camelot is often used to refer to Kennedy’s entire tenure as President. But it was actually Jackie who introduced the idea after Kennedy’s death. In the interview, Jackie spoke of her husband’s love of “Camelot” and especially the lyric: “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief moment, that was known as Camelot,” That brief shining moment became a powerful descriptor of Kennedy’s sudden loss that reverberated. Said Jackie in the interview: “There will be great presidents again, but there will never be another Camelot.” What Natalie Portman captures is the inner Jackie Kennedy, and that she did as she recalls: You have to get to a threshold of believability before anyone can relate to you emotionally because if you don’t just pass that initial look enough, sound enough, walk enough like her, you can’t buy her as a character, then you can’t lose yourself in the story; no matter what story you’re going to tell. I always had an image of her as smart, but when you start looking at the transcripts of her interviews, posts about the assassination where she was trying to define her husband’s legacy and create an aural history of his Presidency, every single name, party affiliation, lobby position. Every person who walked into the office…she was like a human recorder. She was encyclopaedic in what was going on. There is no question that Natalie Portman will be a hot contender to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards in March, but despite her performance the film as a whole is lacking the credentials of winning. Why? Mainly because Jackie never comes across a true person that you can feel empathy with no matter what she has been through. Strangely, the sequences that have been mainly charged against the film is the jumping backwards and forwards in the narrative to black and white television footage of the White House tour which she gave on February 14, 1963. I thought that this was a strong set of sequences that strengthened the film rather than weakened it. Perhaps the whole film would have better suited to being made in monochrome rather than colour. Despite a good cast and direction, it was enough to make it a memorable film. Because of this it receives a lower rating than expected which even the finest acting cannot raise. The most positive thing about the film is that it wisely does not attempt to tell the whole story. In conclusion, the film will mainly appeal to cinemagoers who enjoy history being recreated.
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John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Casper Phillipson) and Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) in Jackie.
Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) in Jackie. 18
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Bobby Kennedy (Peter Sarsgaard) and Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) in Jackie.
The Priest (John Hurt) and Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) in Jackie.
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Films About Film Films A to J 21 YEARS: QUENTIN TARENTINO ............. Directed by Tara Wood 5 BROKEN CAMERAS ........................ Directed by Emad Burnat & Guy David 8½ ...................................... Directed by Federico Fellini A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE ............ Directed by Ted Demme & Richard La Gravenese A JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA ......... Directed by Bertrand Tavernier A MOVIE LIFE ............................ Directed by Selton Mello A PERSONAL JOURNEY WITH MARTIN SCORSESE THROUGH AMERICAN MOVIES ................. Directed by Martin Scorsese & Michael Henry Wilson A USEFUL LIFE ........................... Directed by Federico Veiroj ABBAS KIAROSTAMI: A REPORT .............. Directed by Bahman Aghdashloo ABBAS KIAROSTAMI: THE ART OF LIVING ..... Directed by Pat Collins & Fergus Daly AFTER MIDNIGHT .......................... Directed by Davide Ferrario ALTMAN .................................. Directed by Ron Mann AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE ..................... Directed by Roberto Rodriguez AMERICAN MOVIE .......................... Directed by Chris Smith BACK IN TIME ............................ Directed by Jason Aron BELLISSIMO: IMMAGINI DEL CINEMA ITALIANO Directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi BERTOLUCCI ON BERTOLUCCI ................ Directed by Walter Fasano & Luca Guadagnina BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD ................ Directed by Rob Kuhns BOGIE AND BACALL ........................ Directed by Helise Stamos BRIGHT LIGHTS ........................... Directed by Alexis Bloom & Fisher Stevens BRING ME THE HEAD OF LANCE HENRIKSEN .... Directed by Michael Worth BUNUEL .................................. Directed by Rafael Cortes BURDEN OF DREAMS ........................ Directed by Les Blank BUSTER KEATON RIDES AGAIN ............... Directed by John Spotton CAMERAMAN – THE LIFE AND WORK OF JACK CARDIFF ............................ Directed by Craig McCall CAPTURING REALITY ....................... Directed by Pepita Ferrari CASTING BY .............................. Directed by Tom Donahue CHACON SON CINEMA (TO EACH HIS OWN CINEMA) ................ Various Directors CHAPLIN ................................. Directed by Richard Attenborough CIAO, FEDERICO! ......................... Directed by Gideon Bachman CINEMA PARADISO ......................... Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore CINEMA VERITE: DEFINING THE MOMENT ...... Directed by Peter Wintonick CINEMANIA Directed by Angela Christlieb & Stephen Kijak CITY OF GOD – 10 YEARS LATER ............ Directed by Cavi Borges & Luciano Vidigal COMING SOON ............................. Directed by Sophon Sakdaphisit COMING UP ROSES ......................... Directed by Stephen Bayley CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS ................. Directed by Woody Allen DANGEROUS DAYS – THE MAKING OF BLADE RUNNER ............................ Directed by Charles de Lauzirika DAVID LYNCH: THE ART OF LIFE ............ Directed by John Nguyen, Olivia Neersgaard-Holm & Rick Barnes DAY FOR NIGHT ........................... Directed by Francois Truffaut DE PALMA ................................ Directed by Noah Baumbach & Jake Paltrow
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DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID ................. Directed by Carl Reiner DEAN TAVOULARIS, LE MAGICIAN D’HOLLYWOOD .. Directed by Clara & Robert Kuperberg DEREK CAMERON’S DOMINION .................. Directed by Ian Rintoul DON’T SAY NO UNTIL I FINISH TALKING: THE STORY OF RICHARD D ZANUCK ............. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau EASTWOOD DIRECTS: THE UNTOLD STORY ........ Directed by Richard Schickel EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS, HOW SEX, DRUGS ANDROCK ‘N’ ROLL GENERATION SAVED HOLLYWOOD ........................... Directed by Kenneth Bowser ELSTREE 1976 .............................. Directed by Jon Spira EN COMPAGNIE DI ERIC ROHMER ............... Directed by Marie Riviere ENTER THE SAMURAI ......................... Directed by Brent Baisley EVEN THE RAIN ............................. Directed by Iciar Bollain EVERYTHING IS COPY ........................ Directed by Jacob Bernstein & Nick Hooker FEAR ITSELF ............................... Directed by Charlie Lyne FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL ......... Directed by Paul McGuigan FILMING OTHELLO ........................... Directed by Orson Welles FILMING THE TRIAL ......................... Directed by Orson Welles FINAL CUT – LADIES AND GENTLEMEN .......... Directed by Gyorgy Palfi FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES: THE STORY OF AMERICAN FILM CRITICISM ................... Directed by Gerald Peary FRANK AND AVA ............................. Directed by Michael Obloitz FROM THE JOURNALS OF JEAN SEBERG .......... Directed by Mark Rappaport FULL TILT BOOGIE .......................... Directed by Sarah Kelly GAZZARA ................................... Directed by Joseph Rezwin GETTING GILLIAM ........................... Directed by Vincenzo Natale GREAT DIRECTORS ........................... Directed by Angela Ismailos GUY AND MADELEINE ON A PARK BENCH ......... Directed by Damien Chazelle HANS ZIMMER LIVE ON TOUR .................. Directed by Tim Van Someron HARRY DEAN STANTON PARTIALLY FICTION ...... Directed by Sophie Huber HAVE YOU SEEN MY MOVIE? ................... Directed by Paul Anton Smith HEARTS OF DARKNESS – A FILMMAKER APOCALYPSE .................... Directed by Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper & Eleanor Coppola HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT’S INFERNO ........... Directed by Serge Bromberg & Ruxandra Medrea HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, WARNER BROS ........ Directed by Robert Guenette HITCHCOCK ................................. Directed by Sacha Gervasi HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT ........................ Directed by Kent Jones HOLLYWOOD MAVERICKS ....................... Directed by Florence Dauman & Dale Ann Strieber HOLLYWOOD RENEGADE ........................ Directed by Benn Sculberg HUGO ...................................... Directed by Martin Scorsese I’M ALMOST NOT CRAZY: JOHN CASSAVETES – THE MAN AND HIS WORK ...................... Directed by Michael Ventura ILLUSION .................................. Directed by Michael A Goorjian IN SEARCH OF FELLINI ...................... Directed by Taron Lexton INGRID BERGMAN – IN HER OWN WORDS ......... Directed by Stig Bjorkman INNISFREE ................................. Directed by Jose Luis Guerin 2 JACKS ................................... Directed by Bernard Rose JACQUOT DE NANTES ......................... Directed by Agnes Varda JODOROWSKY’S DUNE ......................... Directed by Frank Pavich
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FILMFEST FOLLOWER BERLIN FEBRUARY 9-19 Opening Film DJANGO Directed by Etienne Comar Starring: Reda Kateb, Cecile de France, Alex Brendemuhl. The French film revolves around Django Reinhardt, the famous guitarist and composer, and his flight from German-occupied Paris in 1943. Within moments, this superb guitarist was able to reach people’s hearts with his instrument. Yet his family was harassed and hounded by the Nazis. And Django played and played. He was the father of Gypsy Swing.
OFFICIAL COMPETITION THE PARTY Directed by Sally Potter Starring: Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Timothy Spall, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy and Kristen Scott Thomas. The Party is a comedy wrapped around a tragedy. It starts as a celebration and ends with blood on the floor.
FELICITE Directed by Alain Gomis. Starring: Vero Tshanda Beya, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka. NO PLOT GIVEN
COLO Directed by Teresa Villaverde. Starring: Joao Pedro Vaz, Alice Albergaria Borors, Beatriz Bataroa, Clara Jost. NO PLOT GIVEN 22
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ON BODY AND SOUL Directed by Ildiko Enyedi. Starring: Geza Moresanyi, Alexandra Borbely, Zoltan Schneider. An unusual love story set in the everyday world and based on the duality of sleeping and waking, mind and matter. “What would happen if you met someone who dreamt the same as you or, has been meeting you in the same world every night for years?�
ANA, MON AMOUR Directed by Calin Peter Netzer. Starring: Mirlea Postelnicu, Carmen Tanass, Adrian Titieni, Vlad Ivanov. A film that explores a dysfunctional relationship between two lovers.
BEVYS Directed by Andres Veiel Documentary. NO PLOT GIVEN
THE DINNER Directed by Oren Moverman Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloe Sevigny. A look on how far parents will go to protect their children. Based on a novel by Herman Koch.
THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE Directed by Aki Kaurismaki Starring: Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherman Haji. A poker-playing-playing restaurateur and former travelling salesman befriends a group of refugees newly arrived from Finland.
SPOOR (Pokot) Directed by Agnieszka Holland Starring: Agnieszka Manaat, Wiktor Zborowski, Miroslav Krobot. Janina, an elderly woman lives alone in the Klodzko Valley, where a series of mysterious crimes are committed and is convinced that she knows who, or what, is the murderer, but nobody believes her.
UN MUJER FANTASTICA Directed by Sebastian Lelic Starring: Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco. NO PLOT GIVEN
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PANORAMA FIGHTING THROUGH THE NIGHT Directed by Sylvain L’Esperance A nearly-five-hour-documentary that takes you to the heart of Europe and to Athens.
CASTING JONBENET. Directed by Kitty Green Documentary that attempts to revisit the facts surrounding the unsolved violent death of six-years-old “Beauty Queen”, JonBenet Ramsey.
HONEY GIVER AMONG THE DOGS Directed by Dechen Roder Starring: Jamyang Jamtshu Wangchuk, Sonam Tashi Choden. A veritable Buddhist film noir. Atmospherically dense cinema, dynamically charged between tension and serenity, faith and morality.
CENTAUR Directed by Aktan Arym Kubat Starring: Nuraly Tursunkojoev, Zarema Asanalieva. Saga of the metaphysical bond between horse and humankind and how the former ended up becoming the wings of the latter.
PENDULAR Directed by Julia Murat Starring: Raquel Karro, Rodrigo Bolzan. An examination of the relationship between a dance artist and a sculptor using the means of their particular art forms.
SMALL TALK Directed by Hui-chen Huang. A documentary about a mother who earns a living as a spirit guide for the deceased at their funerals.
UNTITLED Directed by Michael Glawogger. A documentary shot during a journey of four months and nineteen days through the Balkan States, Italy and Northwest and Western Africa. 24
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DAMIEN CHAZELLE WRITER/DIRECTOR PERSONAL NOTES ABOUT THE DIRECTOR DAMIEN CHAZELLE was born on January 19, 1985 on Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Whiplash (2014) and La La Land (2016). FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR Guy and Madeleine on a Park Bench 2009 Whiplash 2014 La La Land 2016 First Man 2017 (Pre Production) TRIVIA Met his former wife, directorproducer Jasmine McGlade, at Harvard University. She was his co-worker on several projects and movies. Graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies. Directed one Oscar winning performance: J.K. Simmons in Whiplash He is the son of Celia (Martin), a writer, and Bernard Chazelle, a computer scientist. His father is French and his mother is American. Brother of actress Anna Chazelle. PERSONAL QUOTES There are a lot of musicians in my life. But movies came first for me. That was my original passion. It’s interesting when you wind up distilling all your ambitions and your goals and dreams into one single person. It’s giving that person a lot of power. I like a set to be a happy place, where people can feel free to experiment. I’ve always, especially through Hollywood musicals, loved just to watch tap dancing; I adore it. I think it’s fantastic. I find L.A. kind of romantic, actually. As a movie junkie, it’s a city that was built by the movies. There’s something really weird and surreal about it that I find energizing. Certainly, I’ve loved musicals for a while, so I did some short films in college that had musical numbers and things like that, so I’ve kind of been obsessed with Fred and Ginger and Vincente Minnelli and Stanley Donen and Jacques Demy forever.
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I’m a terrible procrastinator. If you’re an artist, you want to draw from real life; you want to draw from experiences, emotion, and it’s something that a lot of musician’s juggle with. I’ve always found it so fascinating. My dad is a big jazz fan, and that was the reason I first got into jazz. If you want to make a movie, there may be many forces trying to pull you down, but really a lot of it is will power. You can will it into being if you just believe that you are going to make a movie. My first movie was totally improvised. What’s great about musicals is their energy and go-for-brokenness – stopping the story to sing and dance. How can you not love that?
I feel a lot of directing is casting. I’ve always wanted to make movies that are fever dreams. I love the idea of using film language similarly to how musicians use music – combining images and sounds in a way that they create an emotional effect. There is something very inspiring about the older musicals. To me, it was about honing in on the emotions. The emotions are what help to hook you in, helps a movie feel like it could be for any moment. And I think that there is something very inspiring about the older musicals in the simplicity of their approach: the purity of the idea that you break into song when you are too emotional to do anything else and that every musical number is justified. You know that when Gene Kelly starts to dance, he can’t express an emotion any other way. That to me is like; if I had to explain to someone what a musical is – that’s how I describe it. It’s walking down a rainy street and you are so happy and so in love that you just start dancing in the rain. It is very simple. It is very timeless. It doesn’t have to be an old-fashioned idea. So it was trying to figure the emotions and the grounded context where you can have those emotions to allow those emotions to happen. Damien Chazelle’s first film, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, was totally improvised. LA LA LAND has been an unprecedented success and is odds on favourite to win an Oscar for Best Film and Best Director. It has already won the Golden Globe Award for Best Musical/Comedy and has received eleven nominations for the British Academy Awards which are held this month. It has got fourteen nominations for Oscars, the ceremony will be held on February 26. NEXT UP: The First Man starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong.
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Madeline (Desiree Garcia) and fellow dancers in Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench.
Madeline (Desiree Garcia) and fellow dancers in Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench.
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EXTRAS DVDS/BLU-RAYS MbM's Recommendation.
THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT Directed by Jacques Demy. Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Francoise Dorleac, Danielle Darrieux, Jacques Perrin, Michel Piccoli, Gene Kelly, Georges Chakiris. Following on from the success of “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg� comes this large-scale tribute to the Hollywood musical featuring screen legend Gene Kelly. The story centres on twin sisters Delphine and Solange (played by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac) who, tired of their humdrum existence, dream of finding success and romance in Paris. A beautiful celebration of life.
EXTRAS SPECIAL FEATURES *Les Demoiselles ont eu 25 ans, directed by Agnes Varda. *Gene Kelly Guardian Lecture, 1980 (audio with stills). *Catherine Deneuve Guardian Interview,2005. *Illustrated booklet. *Fully uncompressed PCM stereo audio.
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EXTRAS DVDS/BLU-RAYS MbM's Recommendation.
THE MAN BETWEEN Directed by Carol Reed Starring: James Mason, Clare Bloom, Hildegard Neff, Geoffrey Toone.
The film is often considered a companion piece to The Third Man thanks to the atmospheric portrayal of a city struggling to survive in a grim post-war reality of poverty and mistrust. Unlike Harry Lime, Mason’s world-weary dealer Ivo Kern is ultimately still a decent man, compelled by his love for a naïve schoolteacher (Clare Bloom) to make one last misguided trip through the Brandenburg Gate, with potentially tragic consequences.
EXTRAS SPECIAL FEATURES *Interview with Claire Bloom *Carol Reed: A Gentle Eye Documentary *BFI Audio Interview with James Mason (1967)
BRAND NEW RESTORATION
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