Haughty mothers haunt a draughty hotel in João Canijo’s Bad Living and Living Bad, playing in both Competition and Encounters at the Berlinale 2023.
Bad Living and Living Bad at Berlinale 2023: Four Enigmatic Hours of Maternal Misery
Redmond Bacon
Redmond is the editor-in-chief of Journey Into Cinema.
Berlinale 2023 Perspektive Deutsches Kino: German Soft Power
The explicitly German section of the Berlinale, Perspektive Deutsches Kino is a fascinating example of film festival soft power diplomacy.
in water is Hong Sangsoo’s Best Film In Years
Hong Sangsoo innovates with new techniques to create his best film since On The Beach at Night Alone with In Water — a tremendous ode to the magic of art.
Further Adventures in the Panorama Section: Women Strike Back
The patriarchy pushed them to the edge. These three films from the Berlinale Panorama section show how women can fight back.
A Brief Foray into The Generation Section
A story about the allure and freedom of war and an amusing memoir about growing up in a psychiatric facility play in the Berlinale Generation section.
Yes, Past Lives Is as Good as They Say
Usually Sundance-hype films are overheated and underwhelming. The sly, smart Past Lives is a brilliant exception to the rule.
Tótem Piercingly Asks If Love is Enough
A family celebration provides the setting for a haunting coming-of-age tale, courtesy of auteur to watch, Lila Avilés. Golden Bear winner?
In Heroic, The Military Is Anything But (Review and Interview)
Through documentary-like framing and a cool distance from his characters, Zonana riffs on military classics to create a brutal yet intellectual critique of military culture.
A Perfect Parody of French Cinema
There’s not much difference between Passages and a sketch show parody of a French art-house film. Let’s see how European Ira Sachs’ latest film truly is.
The Boring Travails of Disco Boy
Disco Boy remakes Claire Denis for a self-indulgent, ponderous slog through the Nigerian delta with the completely wrong cast.