By Alex Deleon
Director Diao Yinan chinese champ hold up his bear at berlin
The Chinese film Bai-Ri Yan-Huo ("Black Coal, Thin Ice") won the Golden Bear for best picture at the 64th Berlin international film festival. Actor Liao Fan won the prize for best thesp in the same pic, while Haru Kuroki won best actress for her role in the Japanese movie Chiisai Ouchi (The Little House).
The English translation of the Bear winner is not even close to the Chinese original "Bairi Yanhuo"~白日焰火 -- which means literally "flames, or fireworks, in broad daylight.
American Richard Linklater was named best director for his film "Boyhood" which followed the life of a boy from age 5 to 18 )and was a big audience favorite.
The grand opener, Wes Anderson's "Grand Budapest Hotel" was awarded the so called "Grand Jury Prize" which seems to be some kind of special recognition (booby prize?) for a film that should have won, but was too good for its own good at this politically inclined festival which prefers to recognize obscure films from the Twilight Zones of the inscrutable East whenever possible.
Generally speaking Berlinale #64, 2014 - was a very good year for the festival.
There were plenty of stars, an overwhelming variety of films to see -~ almost too much to choose from -- a reopened zowie Zoo Palace theater on the West Side of town, new places to hang out for journalists, some good Parties, and generally good vibes all around -- maybe because the weather was warmer and sunnier than usual --none of the usual February ice and snow and freezing temperatures ... Global Warming anyone?
There were the usual complaints that festival topper Dieter Kosslick caters a little too much to Hollywood and international stars so that the competition section gets watered down and suffers accordingly -- however, in the final analysis it was not at all a bad competition lineup.
Hollywood was indeed amply repesented by Wes Anderson's all star "Grand Budapest Hotel", Clooney's "Monuments Men" (both shot largely here at the Babelsberg film studios in Potsdam) , Richard Linkletter's "Boyhood", David O. Russell's all-star screecher "American Hustle", and finally, Lars von Trier's "Nymphomaniac" which is not strictly speaking a Hollwood movie even though it has a some Hollywood stars in it -- it's more of an international blockbuster by a Dane with a mostly international cast -- Charlotte Gainsbourg (france) Stellan Skarsgard (sweden) Tilda Swinton (england) Uma Thurman and Shia Boeuf (hollywood) among others. In any case a movie aimed at the BIG audience.
Selected undoubtedly because of its Notoriety Indexxx.
Two big mainstream pics from France were "Yves Saint Laurent", the glossy biopic of the gay king of haute couture, YSL, and "La Belle et la Bete", a colossal star vehicle featuring hot actress Léa Seydoux. Another prestige french entry was the latest work by 92 year old star auteur Alain Resnais entitled " Aimer, boire, et chanter" -- make love, drink, and sing ... a little aching in the joints but featuring perennial french stars such as André Dussollier (68) and Sabine Azéma (64). (which adds up to 224!)
Dussollier who was also in Beauty and the beast pocketed a Best SUpporting actor Silver Bear.
Veteran French actor André Dussollier with his producer Jean Louis Livi
Germany had four films up for bears: "Beloved Sisters", the classy story of a famous ménage à trois involving Germany's second most famous writer/philosopher after Goethe, Friedrich Schiller (1759 to 1895) in a lush 3 hour epic; "Kreuzweg" or "the way of the cross" which was a highly popular condemnation of religious fanaticism; "Zwischen Welten" (between worlds) -- a bard hitting account of a German military unit in Afghanistan, and; "Jack", the story of a runaway boy on the streets of co temporary Berlin. Kreuzweg especially was a hot favorite all week but went away empty handed. Of these I only saw "Between Worlds" but found it quite impressive -- not to mention geopolitically topical. There were three Chinese entries, one of which,
"Black Coal, Thin Ice" (BAI RI YAN HUO)"-- generically a film noir, was the surprise winner of the Golden Bear for Best film plus a Best actor bear for Liao Fan, who was the detective of the tale.
Japanese veteran director Yoji Yamada (81) presented a minor gem entitled "Chiisao Ouchi" (the little house) for which lead actress Haru Kuroki won a Silver Bear as Best Actress.
Finally "A long way down" an English entry about not committing suicide if you can help it' was mainly interesting for the star, one time James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, who was complimented in the local press for escorting his mother about town like a dutiful son.
Still another highly touted film I didn't get to see was "71" by Yann Demange which follows an English soldier around Belfast during the hardest part of the Irish separatist revolution. Those who saw it thought it had the inside track for best film.
So, all in all, this was no lightweight film lineup, certainly nothing Mr. Gosslick needs to apologize for.
Up next, details on some of the pictures seen during this fully packed Berlin Fillm Festival number sixty-four.
Alex at Kluckstraße ...
