Berlinale 2019 Review: Joanna Hogg’s ‘The Souvenir’
“‘The Souvenir’ is an infuriating but ultimately rewarding experience set to inspire deep criticism and analysis.”
“‘The Souvenir’ is an infuriating but ultimately rewarding experience set to inspire deep criticism and analysis.”
“Over 71 neatly-distilled minutes in ‘Those Who Are Fine,’ Schäublin emerges as an artist with a keen analytical eye and a knack for mischief hidden beneath layers of despondency and detachment.”
“Whether ‘All the Creatures Were Stirring’ becomes a festive must-watch remains to be seen, but there’s enough to enjoy for it to be a part of horror fans’ yearly rotation.”
“‘Lords of Chaos’ is a nasty little treat: involving, fascinating and often shocking.”
“‘Bodied’ is a blisteringly urgent and inescapably topical meditation on race, class and identity; the kind of movie that could only be told with the panache and in-your-face directness of Kahn.”
“‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ is a lot like a modern ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ for broke 30-somethings rather than wealthy, super-hot business types.”
“‘Salvatore Giuliano’ is a thoroughly concentrated work of formal conviction.”
“‘Sweet Smell of Success’ seems to exist somewhere beyond auteurist canonization or even the traditional Hollywood studio stock.”
“‘Benny’s Video’ implicates us, the audience, for watching. Haneke chides the spectators, removed from the action by a screen, for their inability — or perhaps their unwillingness — to stop the violence.”
“In ‘Crash,’ sex feels like a traffic accident. In ‘Videodrome,’ it becomes the subject of a warped, projected fantasy.”
“Undeniably the central focus of ‘Summer with Monika,’ Andersson’s overt sex appeal somewhat minimizes her remarkable range in the film, her seamlessly oscillating moods and subtle facial intimations.”
“Like his characters, Demy’s camera in ‘Lola’ moves everywhere but goes nowhere; it’s a paradoxically headlong hesitation.”
“‘American Gigolo’ doesn’t necessarily work as a neo-noir, but it still has enough romance and intrigue to be well worth watching.”
“‘I Am Cuba’ is more than a picturesque travelogue. It is a pulsating ethnographic profile, an excavation of sorts, uncovering and unleashing its discoveries with a sweeping scope.”
“Though bleak and at times brutal, ‘Buffalo ’66’ manages to evoke a world of sensitivity that’s, dare I say, rather feminine.”
“A fever dream of marital discontent, Charlie McDowell’s ‘The One I Love’ tackles a failing marriage with sci-fi panache.”
“With ‘Le amiche,’ Antonioni further bridges the gap between comparatively conservative melodrama and the groundbreaking narrative and visual abstraction he would soon unleash.”
“An incredible failure, ‘The Rose Tattoo’ has value in understanding the confines of the production code and the importance of good direction.”
“‘Modern Times’ is emblematic of a ‘Hollywood realism,’ with a rather immaculate industrial setting, strategically tattered clothing and deliberately designed destitution.”
“As Bridget Gregory in ‘The Last Seduction,’ Linda Fiorentino is like the shock of hearing a gunshot in the dead of night. She embodies, more than any other character, the ethos of the modern femme fatale.”