While they provide the skeleton of the narrative, the visual component of “Memories of a Burning Body” is handled by a few actors, primarily Sol Carballo, who act out the powerful recollections provided by the subject. The moment when they met their first love or when they challenged for a divorce is depicted with delightful … Read more
Instead, the first chapter, entitled “The Doctor,” leaps into a Chicago hospital where a tearful Amira (Yasmine Al Massri) in a tiny office begins to recall Aleppo, Syria, nine years ago, where she was a combat physician mending bodies broken by a horrific Civil War. Despite the extremist nationalism happening around her, punctuated by killing … Read more
It’s worthy of that lofty placement: “Punishment” is a rock ’em, sock ’em edition that pretty much delivers all the open-hand slaps, booming punches, and flying knees to the head you want. For Ma’s latest case, he must fulfill a promise to a grieving mother who lost her son to an online gambling syndicate. The … Read more
Scorsese has long been instrumental in championing and restoring Powell and Pressburger’s films. (And many others’: At the tribute, Wenders called Scorsese’s Film Foundation “a Noah’s Ark of film heritage.”) But “Made in England,” which goes nearly feature by feature through their careers, is a stunning compendium that gets to the heart of what made … Read more
The only Palestinian film programmed for Berlinale is from a collective composed of Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal with Israeli colleagues Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. It captures the destruction of a West Bank community whose origins can be tracked to the 1830s. While the filming of “No Other Land” began during Summer … Read more
The latter consideration is a lens that feels particular to Diop’s desire to give voice to the most disaffected. In this case, it’s item #26 of the artifacts, a King Ghezo statue, who speaks in a low distorted voice about the scarring that occurred when he was ripped away from home. He mostly speaks when … Read more
Much could be said of how adventurous Mara is here and how exacting every member of this deep ensemble assumes their part — but it’s Carmona, playing a man in clear agony, who’s every word is delivered with cataclysmic intent that always draws our interest. When he finally blows, unleashing a cathartic primal scream that … Read more
While Ms. Lia and Achi’s tall task forms half the story — how likely is it to find Ms. Lia’s niece in a metropolitan area with only an outdated address in hand? — an equally undaunted Evrim (Deniz Dumanli) forms the rewarding second half. A former trans sex worker turned legal volunteer, Evrim helps during … Read more
“All the Long Nights” A smaller title in this year’s lineup, “All the Long Nights” is writer/director Sho Miyake’s return to Berlinale. I didn’t catch his previous film “Slow, Small but Steady” when it premiered at the festival in 2022. Rather it was at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where I fell for the story … Read more