Funnier than most out-and-out comedies, Sterben captures the messy absurdity of life in all its glory, despite, or perhaps, because of, the sad subject matter.
Sterben Hits the Thin Line with Ease
Redmond Bacon
Redmond is the editor-in-chief of Journey Into Cinema.
Two Glasses of Wine and a Packet of Chips
Suspended Time (Olivier Assayas, 2024) is the lockdown comedy that finds little dramatic potential in its set-up, feeling like a 100-minute episode of a sitcom.
Polyphonic Russian Voices, Deftly Intercepted
A rigorous and brutal documentation of Russian brutality in Ukraine, Intercepted’s absences stir the worst recesses of the human imagination.
Another End. We’ve Got Black Mirror at Home.
Piero Messina’s science-fiction Another End fails to inspire interesting questions or interest the viewer visually. It’s a bust, live from Berlin Film Festival.
Sleep With Your Eyes Open. Postcards from the Past
Sleep With Your Eyes Open uses an elastic narrative form to paint an ironic portrait of Chinese migrant life in Brazil, to both its benefit and detriment.
Brief History of a Family: Failson v. Social Climber
The problems with China’s one-child policy are laid bare in Jianjie Lin’s effective and creepy debut Brief History of a Family, live from Berlinale Panorama.
There’s Plenty of Fake News at The Editorial Office
Roman Bondarchuk takes us to a pre-invasion Southern Ukraine in his Forum satire The Editorial Office, filled with weighty topics while lacking cinematic bite.
Too Many Cooks Spoil La Cocina
La Cocina uses its kitchen-setting as a springboard for a grand Statement on America. But it ruins the main dish by adding too many flavours.
A Different Man, Sort Of
A Different Man has all the snarky hallmarks of another A24 provocation, but it’s saved by a screenplay that somehow evokes the best of Woody Allen.
Into the Panorama-Verse
The Panorama section of the Berlinale probes the limits of human sexuality, violence and capacity for connection. Here’s our master list of Panorama reviews.