Satyajit Ray - THE HERO at Berlinale
Satyajit Ray – THE HERO at Berlinale

Legend of the Berlindale Film Festival, Satyajit Ray’s award-winning 1966 Indian drama The Hero (Nayak) showcases the filmmaker’s talents.

WILDFIRE: Irish Eyes No Longer Smile In Affecting Sibling Drama
WILDFIRE: Irish Eyes No Longer Smile In Affecting Sibling Drama

Wildfire is a commanding calling card for Brady, showcasing kitchen-sink realism and a powerful portrayal of sibling heartbreak.

RED POST ON ESCHER STREET: The World Is Your Stage. Are You At Its Center?
RED POST ON ESCHER STREET: The World Is Your Stage. Are You At Its Center?

It embodies the theory of a movie’s intricate parts, and bit players function initially as individualistic entities that coalesce into a collective.

CHERRY: Excess Is Just Its Character
CHERRY: Excess Is Just Its Character

Cherry wants to be a movie about tragedy and weighty thematic issues but is too concerned with showing off for points on a scoreboard.

BERLINALE 2021: ALBATROS (DRIFT AWAY)
BERLINALE 2021: ALBATROS (DRIFT AWAY)

Xavier Beauvois’ Albatros starts off as a low-key police procedural drama before transforming into a generic meditation on guilt and grief.

HAPPILY: Unique Take on a Familiar Story
HAPPILY: Unique Take on a Familiar Story

Happily breathes new life into a story we have seen too many times through its unique twists to the classic structure and charming performances.

Berlinale 2021: WHAT WILL SUMMER BRING
Berlinale 2021: WHAT WILL SUMMER BRING

Using found footage, Ignacio Ceroi builds a poignant dwelling on the contemporary nomad that beautifully conveys a man’s existential quest.

BLAST OF SILENCE: Born to Die
BLAST OF SILENCE: Born to Die

For the 60-year anniversary, Film Inquiry muses on Allen Baron’s noir film Blast of Silence and its existential prison of shadow and sound.

MONSTER HUNTER: Paul W.S. Anderson's Still Got It... Whatever "It" Is
MONSTER HUNTER: Paul W.S. Anderson’s Still Got It… Whatever “It” Is

Monster Hunter is a relic of sorts, where the guts and action, unrefined and tawdry as they are, are at least based on a genuine creative impulse.

CENTER STAGE: A Legend Lives On
CENTER STAGE: A Legend Lives On

One hopes that this new restoration reignites interest not just in the film, which is an absolute masterpiece, but in the career of Ruan Lingyu.

ABSENT NOW THE DEAD: Touring Greece With Trojan War Ghosts
ABSENT NOW THE DEAD: Touring Greece With Trojan War Ghosts

Hamilton Sterling’s Absent Now The Dead gives an avant-garde look into the world of the ancient Greeks and the Trojan War.

MONKEY BARS: A Sidling, Unsettling Step Away From Girlhood
MONKEY BARS: A Sidling, Unsettling Step Away From Girlhood

Monkey Bars is a must see short film with with its atmospheric, evocative score that adds to the anxiety of its scenes.

DEAR COMRADES: A Political Moment, Filtered And Paved
DEAR COMRADES: A Political Moment, Filtered And Paved

While the details and historical recreations are impeccable, Andrei Konchalovsky’s Dear Comrades! remains emotionally unmoving.

AWOKEN: A Horror Movie To Make You Lose Sleep
AWOKEN: A Horror Movie To Make You Lose Sleep

Wearing its influences on its sleeve and a love letter to horrors of the past, Awoken is a sharp little horror movie with bite and shocks.

CITADEL: London In Lockdown
CITADEL: London In Lockdown

Overall, John Smith’s Citadel is a perfect cinematic reflection of the difficult 2020 that the British public dealt with.