di  Natalia HOLOWNIA

- programma

- PREMI

> for the good of others di Oskar Santos

> IT’S YOUR FAULT di Anahí Berneri
> The kids are all right di L. Cholodenko

> THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (conferenza stampa)

> the ghostwriter di Roman Polanski

> please give di Nicole Holofcener

> going south di Sébastien Lifshitz

> the killer inside me di M. Winterbottom

> Shutter Island (conferenza stampa)

for the good of others
di Oskar Santos
Spagna 2009, 107'

Panorama special

24/30

There are three important reasons why I chose to see For the good of others.  The name of the producer, Alejandro Amenabar, who made such movies as Abre los ojos, The Others and Mar adentro; The fact that the screenplay was written by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo - I loved his movie Azul Oscuro Casi Negro and I found his latest one, Gordos, truly witty and interesting; And, last but not least, the movie’s origin – Spain (I graduated from Spanish Philology, so my love for Iberian culture should be understandable).

Full of high expectations I attended the premiere screening. And…bum! Right from the first couple of scenes I knew it was going to be a bad movie. Oskar Santos, the director, mixed a lot of genders and plots and I guess he wasn’t really sure what he was planning to achieve.

The main action takes place in a university hospital where people’s sorrows meet and where doctors’ lives goes on - a bit like in a TV series popular in the 90’s, ER. Now, there’s one surgeon, Diego, played by Eduardo Noriega, who seems to have lost all the compassion he would feel for his patients. He remains distant and although he does treat everyone with interest and in a polite way, he’s mind and soul are always somewhere else. Then, one day, he gets completely involved with one of his patients’ husband. Even more - he inherits his special gift, which is the ability to heal people.

All right, it may all seem interesting and intriguing but…it’s not. Instead, For the good of others is too melodramatic and full of fake, exaggerated emotions. I believe the director was aiming for a touching movie, but what was meant to touch you, seems ridiculous.

Getting back to the main plot, we have a get-accustomed-with-pain therapy for those who suffer the most, we have a complicated family relationship, a rebelled daughter, a cheated wife who turns to alcohol, a loving ex wife, a mysterious pregnant lover in coma, a baby, an exceptionally gifted sister, a murder,  and then our doctor who has reached a fork in a road and has to decide how to make use of his extraordinary ability without doing any harm to anybody - because his unusual skills can be dangerous too.

I couldn’t help laughing when a multiplication of dramas emerged one after the other on the screen. It reminds me of Brazilian telenovels, with their complex plots and situations that only few of us have experienced or will ever have to face. There’s only one director in the world who can put in a movie a great dose of melodrama and not end up with a corny effect - Pedro Almodovar. But his particular style is inimitable and that’s why Oskar Santos has failed.

Also, I got very irritated by the pretty exalted style of the movie (including music, pictures and narration). You can easily see it in a scene where Diego realizes what an important gift he has been given, as well as in the last sequence of the film.

Personally, I also find (too) many analogies between For the good of others and two US productions  - 7 pounds and Hancock. There’s the same leitmotif of sacrificing oneself for the sake of those who one loves and cares for. In 7 pounds the main character has to die to make 7 people live a better life, and in Hancock he must leave far away from his own playground so that his beloved can stay alive and be safe.  The situation looks very similar in Santos’ movie. That’s why a film that theoretically was thought to be original,  in practice turned out to be rather secondary one.

To sum it up, I’m deeply disappointed with For the good of others. I truly believed in the team Amenabar - Sanchez Arevalo and they didn’t succeed at all. Of course, I haven’t seen the manuscript of the screenplay, neither have I known the main idea that they had in their heads, and that’s why I can’t blame any of them for the effect of their cooperation. But from such talented film directors, which they both definitely are, I expect much more (however, let’s not forget they didn’t direct this movie!). I can’t either comment much on the author of this picture, Oscar Santos, since I haven’t seen any of his previous achievements. However, it was his first feature film, so I hope he will improve and his next movie will be funny on purpose instead.

going south

di Sébastien Lifshitz

Francia 2009, 90'

Panorama

18/30

This French movie starts quite well: there’s a pretty young girl (played by astonishing French actress, Lea Seydoux) who’s dancing in a sexy way in front of a rather indifferent and truly handsome guy. No matter how hard she tries to please him and make him want her, he seems not to care much about her or anything that’s going around.
Going South is a kind of a road movie (or so it was supposed to be) - there’s a vintage car, some good music, three young, rebelled and cute Frenchmen and outstanding French landscapes that they pass by. But there’s nothing much in this film except for this visual beauty. It’s such a great pleasure watching this lovely trio, Sam, Lea and Mathieu! Even if they have been up for many hours or have spent the whole day in a stuffy car, they always look so cute, sexy and fresh. Fairytale, isn’t it?
Actually, this is the fakest part of the movie - they are simply too beautiful, skinny, neat etc. to be real. Even their haircuts stay the same after tiring hours on the road, after sleeping in tents or making passionate, wild love. There’s also one new passenger, Jeremie, who joins them in this weird trip and he’s just as perfect as they are - a well-built, tall and sexy young Adonis.
What we get during their whole trip, and the whole movie as well, is that the oldest one, Sam, who’s also in charge of everything is very, very (pardonez-moi) pissed off. He’s not friendly, he’s not warm or open or anything. He seems as if he hated his road friends, but somehow he never throws them out of the car. Thanks to some chaotic flashbacks we manage to understand that his childhood was a rather sad and tough one. His father shot himself in the head while arguing with his mother. In consequence, she went mad and ended up in a foster family. He never stopped missing his mother and he never forgave her - actually, he blamed her for his father’s suicide. This attitude explains to some point why there’s a gun in his backpack.
In this (very) French movie there’s a lot of sexy, passion, desire but it’s all a bit tacky. We don’t believe what we see, however authentic it may look. It’s also completely boring and predictable. You don’t like these character, don’t sympathize with them and you don’t even want to know them better. Nevertheless, you do enjoy watching them for the beautiful they are. That’s all.

It's Your Fault

di Anahí Berneri

Argentina 2010, 90'

Panorama special

23/30

The conclusion I came to after watching a couple of movies presented in the Panorama, Berlin Specials and Forum sections of Berlinale Film Festival is: only those movies that compete for the main award are entertaining and enjoyable. Frankly speaking, the rest of the movies are either pretentious or simply boring and It’s your fault is no exception.

However, I would lie if I said I didn’t like the movie at all, since I do appreciate some of its aspects. First of all, I’m a firm believer in the power of realism in contemporary cinema. The more true-to-life the scene is, the bigger impact it has. Of course, some movies are just over-realistic, which is not good at all. But let’s get back to It’s your fault itself.

The director, Anahi Berneri, focuses on one hard-working day of a young woman - Julieta. She’s separated from her husband, has a demanding job and two little children on her head. Normally there’s a nanny to help her with the household, but this very day she’s completely alone with an important project to be finished for the next day.

We can notice briefly how tired and powerless she gets and how chaotic her life is. She seems exhausted. Her children, sweet as they are, can get really annoying and need constant attention. So she tries to do both, work and look after them. Of course it doesn’t really work out in practice and one of the boys gets injured while the two are playing.

Bravo for Erica Rivas for a natural and touching performance of a loving yet a bit immature mother, and for the boys for their deeply convincing roles. I wish there were such talented children actors in Polish movies!

I somehow understand this lonely woman, a Latin American woman to be more specific, who has nobody to count on but herself. She’s not  perfect, she’s normal, like you or me. She has to deal with so many things at the same time, but still she tries not to lose her temper and she never gives up. Nevertheless, in this tough world, a woman without man’s support doesn’t mean much. That’s why when she gets to the medical clinic to have her son examined she might even be arrested and her sons may be taken away from her. Even though she has doubts, she’s too submissive and humble to express them. That’s why there’s only one person who can sort it all and put everything back in place - her ex husband who’s also a father of the boys. It’s a men’s world, indeed.

As you can see, I hope, the screenplay isn’t so bad itself. The problem with It’s your fault is the fact that for 90 minutes we are watching…the same. If it was a short movie, I would truly love it. But a story of a dependent, exhausted woman who does nothing but waiting in the hospital for someone to save her, is just not enough for a feature film.

During the screening many viewers fall asleep, many left. I stayed till the end, in some moments of the movie I even got touched by Julieta’s situation.  But as a total It’s your fault is extremely boring. And the boredom it provokes makes me wonder if it has something important, new or unique to say -  and I think it doesn’t.

the ghostwriter

di Roman Polanski

Francia 2009, 128’

Orso d'Argento miglior regia

30/30

Roman Polanski at his best! – this is how we might sum up his latest movie, The Ghost Writer. Polanski wasn’t awarded the Golden Bear for no reason - his new movie simply confirms that he’s one of the best film directors alive.
In The Ghost Writer the tension and suspense rise with every minute. From the very first moment you sink completely into this particular intrigue that you’re eager to follow. It’s a perfect political thriller that reminds me a bit of  FRANTIC. But this one is much better!
In The Ghost Writer Polanski tells us a story of a writer of the British prime minister’s autobiography. He takes over this particular job after another ghost writer, who died in rather strange circumstances. It’s not clear whether he killed himself, died in an unfortunate accident or simply was killed. Nevertheless, the new ghost writer agrees to take this well-paid opportunity and starts to work on putting into writing the prime minister’s memories.
He moves to an island where Adam Lang (the prime minister played by Pierce Brosnan) and his staff reside. Shortly after he gets there, Lang is accused of having condoned the arrest of some alleged terrorist, who were then handed over to the CIA in secret. Moreover, since the terrorists were tortured, which Lang knew about, he’s now implicated in a war crime. Step by step the new ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) discovers that the prime minister has a lot to hide and that his personal memories may be worth much more that he thought.
The Ghost Writer is clearly a directing masterpiece. For over 90 minutes it keeps our emotions on the highest possible level and offers the best possible entertainment. Personally, I think that with this very movie Polanski deserves another Oscar.

The Kids Are All Right
di Lisa Cholodenko
Stati Uniti 2009, 104’

Fuori concorso

28/30

Welcome to the eccentric house of Jules and Nic - a lesbian couple who bring up two children together. Nic (Annette Bening) is the man of the family, she works as a doctor in a clinic and deals with all the household expenses. Jules (Julianne Moore) takes care of the kids, she’s always home, makes meals and doesn’t work.  The kids, Laser and Joni, respectively 15 and 18 years old, suffer from their mothers’ over-protection and wonder who their biological father is. As Joni is already an adult, she’s able to arrange a meeting with the sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) who helped their mothers get pregnant some time ago. This very meeting is going to spoil the family happiness and destroy, at least a bit, its structure.

When Lisa Cholodenko’s The kids are all right began, I had a feeling it was a bit naive and schematic. The dialogues seemed rather trivial and not sharp at all. I thought it would be more of a family comedy than a drama. Then, after about 25 minutes, things got much more interesting and the movie luckily changed its tone.

From the moment Paul, the bio–dad, crosses the door of Jules and Nic’s home, the screenplay gets more and more interesting and surprising. The tension between the two “men”, Paul and Nic, grows and becomes overwhelming. Annette Bening as Nic is quite irritating and doesn’t seem likeable at all. However, her performance is simply brilliant. In comparison to her character, Paul turns out to be an immature silly guy, who doesn’t really know what he’s looking for in life, while Nic seems responsible, involved with her family and complex.

Jules is a woman figure in their relationship. She’s vulnerable, sensitive and she needs to be taken care of. She seems younger than Nic and less mature. “I’m so fucked up”- she keeps on repeating in one of the scenes. Her choices are clear neither for viewers nor for herself, but are spontaneous and honest. She needs appreciation from her partner, which she hasn’t been getting recently. That’s why she tries to find it in other people’s eyes.

The kids are all right offers all kinds of emotions: from laughter to tears, from irritation to compassion. Nevertheless, I was disappointed with how the movie ended. I believe, even though it had potential, the director wasn’t completely sure how to finish this story and how to solve this trio’s situation. During the press conference Cholodenko confessed that she had many ideas of how to end her movie and, I dare say, she hasn’t chosen the best one.

To sum it up, the movie’s reviews are so far quite good and the public’s reaction after the screening was highly optimistic too. I think you should watch The kids are all right to see how even a theoretically eccentric and modern family can get old-fashioned and how they don’t differ from the woman-and-man family model that is still the reigning one in contemporary societies.

Press Conference

The kids are all right Lisa Cholodenko’s new movie with Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, was one of the most interesting films competing at the 60th Berlinale. The director together with Julianne Moore turned up at the press conference where they both answered many questions and tried to figure out all the doubts. Both Bening and Moore gave great performances and the film received positive reviews from most critics. During the press conference journalists from all over the world asked Cholodenko whether it was her personal experience that inspired her to make such a movie - she denied. Moreover, Moore was much complimented on her role.

The Kinematrix team appreciated her performance as well and asked her about her personal opinion on Jules and her choices:

- I loved her, I mean… Wow, poor Jules, she’s like she said in the movie- so fucked up - Moore explained to Kinematrix - And she is, she’s completely lost. It was interesting for me to play someone who was so lost within her own family, in her relationship with her partner, with the children and this guy, Paul. You know, she just got lost, as if she went down the rabbit hole. For me it was really compelling and interesting because I’ve seen it a lot in life. You don’t get to see this very often in a movie, generally people have a very clear idea of where they are going in the movies and they do get somewhere in the end. I don’t even know where Jules gets in the end, except that she kind of wakes up a little bit and goes like: oh, boy, I’ve made a big mess. However, she stays within this family - and that to me is most interesting about this movie. She messes up, but they do not reject her, they do punish her instead (laughing) and she deserves to be punished, but they all stay together.

To sum it up, the conference was very interesting and brought a lot to my personal analysis of the movie.

At the end there was huge applause for the director and her actress.

The KiLLER INSIDE ME
di Michael Winterbottom
Stati Uniti 2009, 120’

Concorso

28/30

Many didn’t like this movie, but I did. Many left during the screening, and I didn’t. Many attacked the director while the press conference was on - I wasn’t one of them.
Winterbottom’s new movie is definitely an intense, powerful and tough one. However, it’s realistic and that’s why so many people have rejected it so easily. The violence presented on the screen is nothing but true: brutal, painful and terrible. But this exactly what violence IS.
Contemporary US cinematography pictures violence in a nice, however awkward it may mean, way and the victims of it are usually well-build, strong men. Nevertheless, in the real world these are the weak that usually suffer from violence: women and children. Then, why do directors lie so often in their films and why on earth are they so afraid of showing life as it really is?
Winterbottom has always been a brave artist who makes movies for adults, not for kids. In The Killer Inside Me he tells us a story of a typical policeman from a small town somewhere in the USA. This guy, called Lou, doesn’t differ much from his job partners or from you and me. But there’s one thing that makes him completely unique (in a bad way!) - he beats to death everyone he loves. And so he does: he kills his friend, his girlfriend and his mistress. But what’s so controversial about what he’s doing is is that he simply shots the men and always brutally murders the women. That’s why there were so many protests during the conference. Some of the journalists even said that he encouraged to violence against women and that the scenes in which he hits them are too cruel. But making one suffer is cruel indeed and I see no point in hiding it.
Jessica Alba who plays Lou’s lover and a local prostitute is astonishing and really brilliant in her role. When we’re watching her beautiful, sweet face being beaten to pulp we do fell her pain. It’s so hard witnessing such an outstanding beauty being destroyed, don’t you agree?
Cassey Affleck as Lou is brilliant as well, even though I don’t like him much. His accent, his behavior, his lack of at least a shadow of guilt make us wonder where such cruel guys come from and why they like to kill so much.
To sum it up, it’s not a pleasant movie, but it’s real - no hiding, no faking. If you appreciate Irreversible by Gaspar Noe with this famous, brutal rape scene with Monica Bellucci, I believe you will appreciate Winterbottom’s movie as well.

please give
di Nicole Holofcener
Stati Uniti 2009, 90’

Fuori concorso

30/30

As for me, Please Give was the best movie presented at this year’s Berlinale. Not only was it truly funny, but also it talked about important issues of today’s reality.
In a few words, this film concerns such problems like materialism and the worth of money in the contemporary world we live in. It also shows us that the way we live may end up in a huge feeling of guilt. Then, no matter how hard we try to help people and just to be a good man, our sacrifice is not always appreciated or even acknowledged.
There are three (or maybe four, if the teenager is included) powerful, young women in this movie, each of them completely different from one another. However, it’s hard to judge any of them as what they do is not only black and white. Their motivations are very complex and their decisions are hard to be made, but they manage to live their life just the way it is and deal with the reality that can be pretty tough from time to time.
The actresses play genuinely brilliant. I think it’s the very first time Amanda Peet (as Mary) has ever created such a convincing character in a movie. Rebeca Hall, previously known from Vicky Cristina Barcelona, is simply perfect as devoted and hard-working Rebecca, and so is Catherine Keener as Kate - a wife and a mother who together with her husband owns an antique gallery.
The director, Nichole Holofcener, is called the female Woody Allen of the West Coast. Personally, I think it’s a perfect analogy. Holefcener is cynical and harsh, but also witty and really intelligent. The characters she brought to live in Please Give are true and not exaggerated at all. We feel their pain, we easily find ourselves in their problems, doubts or tears. We laugh with them and we feel as if we had known them for ages. And this is, in my opinion, the power of an exquisite movie that Please Give definitely is.

Shutter Island
di Martin Scorsese
Stati Uniti 2010, 138’

Fuori concorso

N/D

Press Conference

The Shutter Island press conference was the most popular one among journalists and movie critics alike. Hundreds of people struggled to get into the conference room and see Martin Scorsese, the director, and Leonardo DiCaprio, his actor, together live. Such an important event couldn’t go unnoticed by the Kinematrix team. Not only did we manage to get into the room, but we were also one of the few that talked to the Shutter Island crew.

Since Scorsese’s new movie is very dense and offers a real mix of emotions, there were many questions from the journalists. They asked whether it was hard to shoot the scenes in wind and rain or on rocks surrounded by the ocean. Also, everybody wanted to know how it was to work with such an experienced and talented team that included DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams and Mark Ruffalo. Of course the director praised his actors and seemed proud and satisfied his latest effort.

Also, many asked Scorsese and DiCaprio how many films they are still planning to make together. They didn’t give the exact number, but they agreed that there are such plans. We asked DiCaprio:- Which of Martin Scorsese’s movies that you played in was the most difficult and demanding for you as an actor?

He replied:- Probably this one, but I have to mention The Aviator. That was the first I felt walked on to a set working with a director of his caliber and I felt just as responsible for the character and the movie myself. Well, it was me who brought the idea to him and luckily he said yes to the project. I think it was a kind of a changing point for me. I hate using this particular term transitioning into adulthood (I could’ve been in the army four times by that time), but this is what it really was for me. It was a different level of responsibility that I felt for the character and the world that we were trying to depict and it was a very close and intense collaboration between the two of us. So that was really a turning point. But I truly loved every single second of it. I wish I could go back and do that movie again as I really, really enjoyed that.

- Yes, me too, that was wonderful, - Scorsese agreed.

- I can go on and on about that movie just because there are the sequences in which he uses a different technical process to make a transition from the 20’s to the 30’s and then to the 40’s, two tones of color, and that amazing things that they built and re-built, how they depicted the old Hollywood… I can really go on and on about this movie, so I’d better shut up.

The atmosphere of the whole conference was very pleasant, the director and his staff were at ease and seemed eager to talk about their movie. Also, there was a lot of joking and it was very easy to notice that the team gets along pretty well. The premiere of “Shutter Island”, next to “The Ghost Writer”, was definitely the most important moment of the festival.

SITO UFFICIALE