Belgrade Film Festival: My movie picks and reviews
After 10 days in which a total of 105 films were presented at the 52nd Belgrade FEST, the FEST was solemnly closed last night with the screening of the domestic film "The Russian Consul".
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The winner of the festival is the film "The Owner".
One day, Ivan's family witnesses a traffic accident on the highway. Always ready to lend a hand to those in need, Ivan saves a man who was trapped in a car. The man saved from certain death is a high-ranking security forces officer, Rodin, who becomes a useful contact for Ivan. However, that friendship will cost Ivan more than he expects.
Country: Russia, France, Switzerland in 2023
Genre: Thriller
Program: Main competition program Duration: 123'
Director: Yuriy Bykov
Screenplay: Yuriy Bykov
Cast: Artyom Bystrov, Oleg Fomin, Klavdiya Korshunova, Kirill Pletnev, Aleksandr Bandurin, Ekaterina Rednikova, Artyom Borzovskiy, Roman Borzovskiy, Darya Poluneeva, Evgeniy Antropov, Andrey Davydov Editing: Anna Krutiy
Producers: Ilya Stewart, Pavel Buria, Murad Osmann, Elizaveta Chalenko, Ilya Dzhincharadze
Production: Hype Film, Bord Cadre Films, Charades, Pimienta Films, Sovereign Films
Filmography:
2023 The Owner
2019 Storozh Guard
2018 The Factory
2014 Yolki 1914
2014 Durak
2013 Mayor
2010 Zhit!
Festivals: 2023 - Geneva Film Festival
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Unfortunately, due to screening dates and my obligations, although it was in my plan, I did not watch this film. I will have to wait for it to appear in cinemas, in the regular repertoire.
In these 10 days, I watched a total of 4 films, two of which were from the main competition program, and two from the FEST Masters program.
Two films outside the competition program were a real refreshment for me, critics say that those are the films that should be watched by those whose day is full of obligations, in order to cheer up a little, and I am like that.
The other two films from the competition program were films about life, but from a completely different perspective.
One is a quiet, peaceful, slow-motion film in peacetime conditions, which made me almost fall asleep in the cinema hall, and the other, filmed in a war-torn area, fast and dynamic...
"Black tea"
Aja is a woman in her early thirties. After shocking everyone by saying no on her wedding day, she leaves the Ivory Coast and heads to China in search of a new life. In an area where the African diaspora meets Chinese culture, she finds work in a tea shop, run by a Chinese man named Tsai. As Cai reveals to Aya the secrets of Chinese tea and this ancient art, their relationship blossoms into love. But in order for their passion to be supported by trust, they must both shed their burdens and face their pasts.
Country: France, Mauritania, Luxembourg, Taiwan, Ivory Coast, 2023
Genre: Drama
Program: Main competition program
Duration: 111'
Directed by: Abderrahmane Sissako
Screenplay: Kessen Fatoumata Tall, Abderrahmane Sissako
Cast: Nina Mélo, Chang Han, Wu Ke-Xi, Michael Chang...
Festivals: 2024 – Berlin International Film Festival
Photo: Aymerick Pilarski
Editing: Nadia Ben Rachid
Music: Armand Amar
Producers: David Gauquié, Julien Derys, Denis Freyd, Kessen Fatoumata Tall, Jean-Luc Ormières, Charles S. Cohen
Production: Cinéfrance Studios, Archipel 35, Dune Vision, House on Fire, Red Lion, Wassakara Productions, Arte France Cinéma, Gaumont
Distributor: MCF MegaCom Film
Filmography:
2023 Black Tea
2014 Timbuktu
2006 Bamako
2002 Heremakono Waiting for Happiness
1998 La vie sur terre Life on Earth
1997 Rostov-Luanda (Documentary)
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This was a movie that literally put me to sleep. I don't know if I'm so ignorant of quality movies, but I didn't like almost anything from this movie. I watched the trailer and I think they packed all the scenes of the movie with interesting details in that trailer. lest the film is completely bad in my opinion, the first and last scenes are excellent, and the film has a good lesson, since it is about a liberated woman.
"The Palace"
Once upon a time there was, and still is today, Hotel Palas. An extraordinary castle designed by a mystical architect at the beginning of the 20th century, located in the Swiss Alps, in the middle of a snowy valley. The hotel has a gothic, fairytale atmosphere where spoiled and rich guests from all over the world meet. They are brought together by a unique event: the celebration of the New Year 2000. At the service of their extravagant needs is a horde of waiters, cooks and receptionists.
Country: Italy, Switzerland, Poland, France, in 2023
Genre: Comedy
Program: FEST masters
Duration: 101'
Director: Roman Polanski
Screenplay: Jerzy Skolimowski, Ewa Piaskowska, Roman Polanski
Cast: Oliver Masucci, Fanny Ardant, John Cleese, Mickey Rourke, Joaquim De Almeida, Luca Barbareschi, Milan Peschel, Bronwyn James, Fortunato Cerlino, Michelle Shapa...
Festivals: 2023 - Venice Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival, El Gouna Film Festival
Photo: Pawel Edelman Editing: Hervé de Luze
Music: Alexandre Desplat
Producers: Luca Barbareschi, Wojciech Gostomczyk, Jean-Louis Porchet
Production: Eliseo Cinema, CAB Productions, Lucky Bob, RP Productions, RAI Cinema
Distributor: MCF MegaCom Film
Filmography:
2023 The Palace
2019 J'accuse
2017 Based on a True Story
2013 Venus in Fur
2011 Carnage
2010 The Ghost Writer
2005 Oliver Twist
2002 The Pianist
1999 The Ninth Gate
1994 Death and the Maiden
1992 Bitter Moon
1988 Frantic 1986 Pirates
1979 Tess
1976 The Tenant
1974 Chinatown
1972 What?
1971 Macbeth
1968 Rosemary's Baby
1967 The Fearless Vampire Killers
1966 Cul-de-sac
1965 Repulsion
1962 Knife in the Water
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Unlike the film Black tea, from the competition program, this comedy improved my mood.
The film shows the debauchery, arrogance and behavior of the global elite and multi-millionaires, during the celebration on New Year's Eve at the entrance of the new millennium.
All the recommendations for this movie where you can relax your cerebral gyri and laugh…
"The vanishing soldier"
Shlomi, an 18-year-old Israeli soldier, escapes from the battlefield in Gaza and returns to his girlfriend in Tel Aviv, in order to convince the top of the IDF that he has been kidnapped in the war. This tragicomic journey unfolds over a period of 24 hours on the hot and humid streets of Tel Aviv, moving from terror to hope, from romance to nightmare.
Country: Israel, 2023
Genre: Drama
Program: Main competition program
Duration: 98'
Director: Dani Rosenberg
Screenplay: Dani Rosenberg, Amir Kliger
Cast: Ido Tako, Mika Reiss, Efrat Ben Zur, Tiki Dayan, Shmulik Cohen...
Photography: David Stragmeister
Editing: Nili Feller
Music: Yuval Semo
Producers: Avraham Pirchi, Chilik Michaeli, Itamar Pirchi
Production: UCM Films
Filmography:
2023 The Vanishing Soldier
2020 The Death of Cinema and My Father Too
2018 Zohar, The Return (Documentary)
Awards: 2023 - Haifa - best film; Israel Film Academy Annual Awards - Best Picture Haifa International Film Festival - Best Film: Awards of the Israeli Film Academy - Best Cinematography
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If the action of this film was not set in Israel, i.e. Tel Aviv and the Gaza Strip, where terrible battles have been going on for a long time and in which innocent people are suffering, this film would have been comical in the situations in which the main character, an in love and scared eighteen-year-old, finds himself.
However, the folly of a war is shown, when a young man has to save the honor of his family at the cost of his life, and it is shown how wrong a decision even one of the boys is it can have a devastating effect on a large number of other people... The movie has a great, heavy story.
"El cu4rto pasajero/Four's a crowd"
Julian is a fifty-year-old divorcee. After starting to use a car-sharing app to solve his financial problems, he meets Lorena, a young girl who often travels to Madrid. Over the course of several months, Lorena earned a permanent place in Julian's car, but also in his heart. When he decides to finally tell her how he feels, a mistake in choosing the remaining passengers in the car will find him with a very disturbing fourth passenger, whose presence will bring about drastic changes.
Country: Spain, 2022
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 99'
Directed by: Álex de la Iglesia
Screenplay: Jorge Guerricaechevarría, Álex de la Iglesia
Cast: Alberto San Juan, Blanca Suárez, Ernesto Alterio, Rubén Cortada, Jaime Ordóñez, Carlos Areces, Carolo Ruiz...
Festivals: 2023 - Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Miami International Film Festival
Photo: Rita Noriega
Editing: Óscar Redondo
Music: Roque Baños
Producers: Ghislain Barrois, Alvaro Augustin, Álex de la Iglesia, Carolina Bang
Production: Pokeepsie Films, Telecinco Cinema, Mediaset España, Movistar Plus+
Distributor: Dexin Film
Filmography:
2022 El cu4rto pasajero/Four's a Crowd
2021 Veneciafrenia
2017 Perfectos desconocidos/Perfect Strangers
2017 El ba/The Bar
2015 Mi gran noche/My Big Night
2013 Las brujas de Zugarramurdi/Witching and Bitching
2010 La chispa de la vida/As Luck Would Have It
2010 Ballade triste de trompeta/The Last Circus
2008 The Oxford Murders
2004 Crimen FerpectoFerpect CrimeFerpect crime
2002 800 balas/Eight Hundred Bullets
2000 La comunidad/Common Wealth
1999 Muertos de risa/Dying of Laughter
1997 Perdita Durango
1995 El día de la bestia/The Day of the Beast
1993 Acción mutante/Mutant Action
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When I saw who directed this movie I bought tickets without a second thought.
Álex de la Iglesia directs excellent comedies.
I love Spanish movies and especially Spanish thrillers. However, lately I have also been following Spanish comedies. Alex who directed this film has excellent black and morbid comedy films. As in thrillers, you can't guess where the action of the film will take place, but be calm, it's always a joke that will make you laugh.
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And that was all of the films I managed to watch at this year's festival. I hope that next time I will have more time and manage to watch more movies. I watched three films this 52 FEST. which, according to my taste, I could recommend, and it remains a pity that I did not manage to watch the film that won the festival.
The source for posters and movie descriptions is fest.rs, and the review is mine 🙂
I hope that some of you will find this review of mine useful and that you will watch some of these films.