Category Archives: Berlin International Film Festival

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Angelo Cianci’s ‘Top Floor, Left Wing’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Angelo Cianci’s “Top Floor, Left Wing” is a genial urban comedy about an Algerian father and son who end up holding a bailiff hostage when the boy thinks police have come to their apartment building … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Ralph Fiennes’s ‘Coriolanus’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – At a time when revolution is once again in the air around the world, Ralph Fiennes delivers a ferocious reminder of the perils in store when a warrior becomes the head of state. He directs … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Dirk Lutter’s ‘The Education’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – German director Dirk Lutter’s “The Education” is clearly intended to be a cautionary tale that takes a bite out of large companies for the way they often mistreat their staff but it’s a toothless affair … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘Boxhagener Platz’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Based on a popular German novel set in East Berlin in 1968, “Boxhaganer Platz” is filled with gentle humor as the folks in a busy neighborhood deal with the every day realities of Soviet rule. … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘In the Shadows’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Thomas Arsian’s “In the Shadows” aims to be a character study of a certain kind of man who will do anything to achieve independence including armed robbery and murder, but the result is ponderous and … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘A Somewhat Gentle Man’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – An oddball comedy with criminal undertones, Hans Petter Moland’s “A Somewhat Gentle Man” follows a mild-mannered convict as he gets out of jail seeking mostly a quiet life but possibly also vengeance against the man … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Doris Dorrie’s ‘Hairdresser’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – The difficulty with Doris Dorrie’s jolly and colorful romp “The Hairdresser” is that when the fat lady sings it still ain’t over. She doesn’t so much sing, really, as chirp, but she keeps on chirping … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘For the Good of Others’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Modern medicine and old-fashioned superstition clash in Oskar Santos’ well-constructed medical drama “For the Good of Others” about a doctor who discovers that he holds the power to heal in his hands. But only those … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Feo Aladag’s ‘When We Leave’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – A battered wife leaves her husband and takes her son back home but their reception is not at all what she expected in Feo Aladag’s “When We Leave”, a well-crafted examination of the blindness of … Continue reading

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BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Jo Baier’s ‘Henry of Navarre’

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Epic in scale but still betraying its producers’ willingness to cut it into two parts for television sales, Jo Baier’s “Henry of Navarre” should do well in most international markets looking for something in the … Continue reading

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