The highlights of the 75th Berlinale "The challenge is to find out why someone is an asshole"
In "Dreams", Jessica Chastain cultivates a hidden love affair with an immigrant. Timothée Chalamet shines in the Bob Dylan biopic. And director Tom Tykwer opens the festival with "The Light". A look back.
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- The Berlinale celebrates its 75th anniversary and presents itself for the first time under the leadership of the new festival director Tricia Tuttle, who previously headed the London Film Festival.
- This year's edition was opened by "Run Lola Run" director Tom Tykwer, who takes a humorous and creative look at a dysfunctional family in "The Light".
- Musicians are particularly in focus this time: Timothée Chalamet embodies songwriter icon Bob Dylan in the biopic "A Complete Unknown" and "Köln 75" is about Keith Jarrett's legendary jazz concert, which was organized by 18-year-old Vera Brandauer.
- Before the world premiere of Michel Franco's politically charged romantic drama "Dreams", blue News met the director and his cast on the red carpet for an interview.
The anniversary edition of the 75th Berlinale presented some sensational world premieres on the first weekend.
In addition to the ingenious sci-fi satire "Mickey 17", which takes aim at Donald Trump, among others, in its critical examination of world politics, Michel Franco's new film "Dreams" also deals with xenophobic ideas.
"Dreams": romantic drama with Jessica Chastain
In this quiet but intense drama, Jessica Chastain plays Jennifer, a wealthy woman from San Francisco who manages art projects for her father in various galleries and institutions.
One of these projects is a ballet school in Mexico City, where she meets the talented dancer Fernando (real ballet dancer Isaac Hernández). She falls in love with the much younger Mexican and helps him to immigrate illegally to San Francisco.
Initially inspired by the passionate love affair, Fernando soon longs for more freedom and feels restricted in his hidden life in the USA. He also dreams of a career as a professional dancer.
Jessica Chastain plays the wealthy Jennifer from San Francisco, who manages art projects for her father in various galleries and institutions.
Image: ©Teorema
Rupert Friend (Jake McCarthy) with Jessica Chastain as Jennifer McCarthy and the dancer Isaac Hernández (Fernando Rodríguez).
Image: © Teorema
Jessica Chastain plays the wealthy Jennifer from San Francisco, who manages art projects for her father in various galleries and institutions.
Image: ©Teorema
Rupert Friend (Jake McCarthy) with Jessica Chastain as Jennifer McCarthy and the dancer Isaac Hernández (Fernando Rodríguez).
Image: © Teorema
The relationship between Jennifer and Fernando is emblematic of the relationship between the USA and Mexico: "It's complicated." And just as the politicians resort to sometimes drastic measures, this also happens with Jennifer and Fernando - from both sides. As a result, Franco's film regularly manages to surprise and even shock.
While passionate love provides intense moments at the beginning of the story, it is the increasingly difficult conflicts that keep the intensity high as the film progresses. Chastain and Hernández harmonize superbly and bring this relationship to the screen with great emotional commitment.
Racism and hostility towards the foreigners, the Mexican immigrants, emanate in particular from Jennifer's father and brother. Marshall Bell and Rupert Friend are also convincing as narrow-minded, ignorant heads who regularly utter derogatory racist comments.
Michel Franco already worked with Jessica Chastain on his last film "Memory". blue News met the Mexican director and the cast of "Dreams" for an interview on the red carpet before the world premiere at the Berlinale.
He explained what it means to him to convey the important messages of his films to the world at renowned international festivals.
Rupert Friend spoke about his demanding interpretation of an asshole and explained what he finds appealing about such a role.
The Swiss theatrical release of "Dreams" is not yet known.
Dylan as the film "Like A Complete Unknown"
Two films dedicated to highly talented and influential musicians were presented at this year's Berlinale.
"Like A Complete Unknown" by James Mangold tells the story of the start of the career and rise of the iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Still strongly inspired by folk music and its pioneers in the early 1960s, electronic rock music increasingly aroused his curiosity. One of the representatives of this genre who particularly fascinated Dylan was Johnny Cash.
Dylan's life was also shaped by his encounter with the elegant and talented singer Joan Baez. The two not only perform together on stage, but also have a passionate affair, while Dylan is still in a relationship with his first girlfriend Sylvie Russo.
The legendary musician is embodied in an astonishingly authentic way by Timothée Chalamet, one of today's most sought-after acting stars.
His look, his posture, the way he moves and especially the way he actually mimes his voice and sings himself result in a gifted performance and one of the best acting performances of all time.
It must be mentioned that fans of Dylan and people who are familiar with Dylan's career and music will definitely get more out of "Like A Complete Unknown". The overall impression left by the film matches the image of Bob Dylan himself: Extremely intelligent, knowledgeable and sensitive, but not very spectacular or exciting.
"Like A Complete Unknown" opens in cinemas in German-speaking Switzerland on February 27.
Loud and colorful: "Köln 75"
Much livelier, louder and more colorful is "Köln 75" by Ido Fluk. The film tells the true story behind one of the best-selling jazz records of all time, Keith Jarrett's "Köln Concert" from 1975. Jarrett is regarded as the greatest solo jazz pianist and improvised his concerts entirely.
Vera Brandes, just 18 years old, was so enthusiastic about his music that she made it her goal to organize a concert by Jarrett at the Cologne Opera. Against her parents' wishes, she does everything in her power and lets nothing stand in the way of her plan.
Although "Köln 75" is about jazz music, its staging is punk, wild and rebellious. This is not least thanks to the phenomenal German actress Mala Emde, who embodies the main character Vera Brandes with an incredible amount of passion and energy - a captivating performance.
In the role of Keith Jarrett, John Magaro, last seen in "September 5", shines as a physically suffering but brilliant musician with a difficult character.
"Köln 75" opens in cinemas on March 13.
"The Light" by Tom Tykwer
In his latest film "Das Licht", Tom Tykwer, director of the cult film "Run Lola Run", focuses on a dysfunctional German family and hits the nerve of the times. Lars Eidinger and Nicolette Krebitz play a pair of parents who are labeled and insulted as hypocrites by their daughter in a highly humorous way.
According to her, their jobs and way of life are not compatible with the values they represent to the outside world. For her son, the digital world and online games are more important than anything else. The new cleaning lady Farrah brings a new lease of life to the family and makes them all confront themselves.
"The Light" is a movie that is a lot of fun with its creative stylistic devices. Similar to previous works by Tykwer, the director chooses a special narrative structure by telling five storylines in parallel at the beginning and allowing them to flow together in a witty way. The inclusion of musical sequences, which are completely different and original depending on the character, is also very daring.
The film poses exciting questions about our society today: questions of identity, moral and ethical questions and philosophical questions. However, these are questions that are not easy to answer and the answers that "The Light" provides are more confusing than enlightening. Tykwer's film therefore remains difficult to grasp as a complete work, but is nevertheless thought-provoking and a lot of fun in the way it is staged.
"The Light" opens in cinemas on March 27.
