Berlin Dispatch – That’s a Wrap

I noted in my predictions that it’s hard to picture this year’s Berlinale jury arriving at any kind of consensus because its members bring with them such different sensibilities. On the one hand, you have filmmakers like Christian Petzold and Ann Hui whose work is heavily narrative-driven, on the other hand you have Albert Serra (and to a lesser extent, Brady Corbet) who is basically all form and no narrative. How did such a mixed group fare with its decisions under the leadership of president Lupita Nyong’o? Well, with a few exceptions, including a lovely Golden Bear winner, you could say the experimentalists won out big time. Let’s take a look.

Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Martin Gschlacht / cinematography of The Devil’s Bath

Solid choice, had it as one of my alternative picks. The Devil’s Bath looks great, there’s a quiet, classical beauty to the images that’s both alluring and constantly dread-evoking. All the light blue’s and misty gray’s make the splashes of red so much more shocking. A pivotal scene where the heroine confesses her crime is efficiently framed and eerily lit to maximize lead actress Anja Plaschg’s powerful performance. A worthy winner in a year without absolute stand-outs.

Best Screenplay: Dying

Dying is in fact the obvious choice, as it also features the most writing of any film in the lineup. I overthought it with my ideas for the whole distribution of prizes. And once again it’s a solid choice. I thought the screenplay kind of loses steam after the third chapter, but the first two are exceptional work for sure, whether in terms of plot, structure or character creation. What it says about those dying and our relationships to them is honest, surprising, bracingly unsentimental. I can get behind this.

Best Supporting Performance: Emily Watson (Small Things Like These)

I also have Watson as an alternative pick, so not mad about it. In a role with just one major scene in the whole film, she certainly made the most impact out of her limited screen time. Opening films almost never win anything, so the jury should at least be commended for not forgetting about something they saw and liked a lifetime (ten days) ago. Having said that, the complete rejection of My Favourite Cake, including the wonderful supporting actor Esmaeel Mehrabi, broke my heart a little. More on that later.

Best Lead Performance: Sebastian Stan (A Different Man)

I probably wouldn’t include it in my top 5 of the festival but yeah it’s a good performance. The role is definitely an interesting one. Stan plays a man whose disfigurement is miraculously treated, regains his handsome face and gets a brand new chance at life. While enjoying all the perks of being attractive, he becomes obsessed with losing the part of a disfigured man in a play that ultimately goes to Adam Pearson’s character. Stan essentially plays two parts with markedly different physicality and delivers a committed, vanity-free performance.

Now, on the accessibility scale for films, A Different Man might land slightly towards the more challenging, arthouse half. But if you think that’s a weird film, you’d better buckle up for the other films the Berlinale jury singled out, for example…

Best Director: Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias (Pepe)

Called it! You most likely won’t see a stranger film this year which, to me at least, is reason enough to seek Pepe out. That’s probably also the reason de Los Santos Arias won over the jury. It’s simply not something you’ve ever seen. Does this wild collage of fiction, documentary, animation, candid footage of nature, God-like voice-over from a dead hippo make any sense? Who’s to say? But the director certainly provided an alternative, truly unique perspective on the legacy of Pablo Escobar and the destructive ways of humankind in general.

Jury Prize: The Empire

Now, as confused as I was by Pepe, it’s something that teases and intrigues me. With Bruno Dumont’s now Berlinale-winning comedy, I’m just completely lost. Perhaps it’s a French thing, but this supposed “parody of Star Wars” feels radical in all the wrong ways. That this goes home with a bear while heartfelt, intelligent, human dramas like My Favourite Cake and especially Who Do I Belong To get shut out tells me this jury prefers narrative-free films to anything with a beginning, middle and end. This applies, to a lesser degree, also to…

Grand Jury Prize: A Traveler’s Needs

We all love some Hong Sang-Soo, his brand of humor can be so quirky, illogical, featherlight. But while I do think A Traveler’s Needs, featuring Isabelle Huppert as a French woman with an unknown past as she meets random Korean people and reflects on poetry and life, is significantly better than his last few films, it’s not something that touches me on any human level. It’s a shame that this jury is so averse to films that feel more earthbound and deal with real emotions. Lupita must know 12 Years a Slave would’ve had no chance in hell with her own jury.

Golden Bear: Dahomey

In hindsight, this should have been obvious. Dahomey is an artfully made documentary with an experimental spirit, it’s not overtly emotional and makes next to no mistakes in its 67-min runtime. It’s the perfect compromise between the traditionalists and the avant-garde. I loved the film and see only promise in its incredibly talented maker. So kudos to the jury for at least not messing up the top prize. But am I disappointed that another equally promising young female filmmaker of African descent gets outright rejected for a majestically realized piece of work? You bet I am.

That’s it from me for this Berlinale. The 75th edition next year will mark the first one under newly appointed artistic director Tricia Tuttle, we shall see if a change of leadership will bring fundamental changes to the festival.