AugusteB

This is a beautifully filmed portrait of different people in Berlin and a young woman in Marseille. More little scenes than a story. Very atmospheric and melancholy. The best film from Angela Schanelec so far.

In the first half we follow Sophie a German woman in Marseille on her ways through the city. While the second half is set in Berlin with scenes out of the life of an actress and a photographer. Every dialog is very well written and has a subtle sense of humor, which was often missing in the earlier films of Schanelec. But still there a long scenes and repetition even if the overall atmosphere is amazing.

Maren Eggert as Sophie gives a wonderful performance. New German wave cinema at its best.

This is a film to proof that there are different ways to tell a story. We are so used to watch the Hollywood style. This film incorporates animation, kabuki and Butoh, colorized experiments, collapsing sets, animal masks (where you realize it is your fantasy which makes the illusion complete and not a perfect computer animation!). It's a crazy colorful tale about a court fortune teller driven mad by a murder, who ends up marrying a fox in human form. Erika Gregor, the formal Berlinale-Forum curator said about the film: "No film in recent years has surprised, fascinated, and also moved me as much." The beginning is a bit dry but it is worth waiting until the magic begins.

A masterpiece about a working-class family in the late twenties in Berlin. You see Mutter Krauses fight for survival shown in such a modern way that you feel close even if it is nearly ninety years away. The way the camera (operated by the director himself) films the scenes and sometimes just the everyday life on the streets of Berlin is so energetic and real. The actors are playing very physical and natural (which was surprising for me as i expected acting in silent movies as much more stiff and awkward). All characters are very pure and just like in a documentary. Ilse Trautschold as the daughter is unforgettable. Whenever you get the chance to see this film go and watch it. Faßbinder once said it was his favorite film.