Berlinale Silver and Golden Bear Winners
This week marks the start of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, which boasts the largest public attendance of any film festival worldwide. On this occasion, we look back at the recent winners of the festival’s main awards, the Golden Bear and the Silver Bear.
Synonyms
(Synonymes)
A young Israeli man absconds to Paris to flee his nationality, aided by his trusty Franco-Israeli dictionary.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Israel, Germany • 2019
- Director Nadav Lapid
- Cast Tom Mercier, Louise Chevillotte, Quentin Dolmaire, Léa Drucker
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Isle of Dogs
Welcome to the Isle of Dogs.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United States • 2018
- Director Wes Anderson
- Cast Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum
- Genre Adventure, Comedy, Animation
- Available on Disney Plus, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
On Body and Soul
(Testről és lélekről)
Two introverts who discover they share the same dreams try to recreate them in real life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hungary • 2017
- Director Ildikó Enyedi
- Cast Alexandra Borbély, Morcsányi Géza, Réka Tenki, Nagy Ervin, Zoltán Schneider, Tamás Jordán
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
The Other Side of Hope
(Toivon tuolla puolen)
A gambler and a refugee look to smuggle the refugee's sister out of Lithuania.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Finland, Germany • 2017
- Director Aki Kaurismäki
- Cast Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherwan Haji, Simon Al-Bazoon, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Fire at Sea
(Fuocoammare)
More than 17,000 people were reported to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in the last 15 years...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 2016
- Director Gianfranco Rosi
- Cast Samuele Pucillo, Mattias Cucina, Samuele Caruana, Pietro Bartolo, Giuseppe Fragapane
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
45 Years
How well do we know those we love?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2015
- Director Andrew Haigh
- Cast Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells, David Sibley, Richard Cunningham
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Taxi
(تاکسی)
An exiled filmmaker posing as a cab driver captures incisive portraits of diverse passengers in present-day Tehran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2015
- Director Jafar Panahi
- Cast Jafar Panahi
- Genre Comedy, Documentary
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Black Coal, Thin Ice
(白日焰火)
A neo-noir exploring the serpentine city, its neon lights, and its coal-black heart.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China • 2014
- Director Diao Yi'nan
- Cast Liao Fan, Kwai Lun-Mei, Wang Xuebing, Wang Jingchun, Yu Ailei, Ni Jingyang
- Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hi-YAH, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Freevee, Plex, Plex Channel
Child's Pose
(Poziţia copilului)
After the accidental killing of a boy in a car crash, the mother tries to prevent her son being charged for the death, and she refuses to accept that her son is a grown-up man.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Romania • 2013
- Director Călin Peter Netzer
- Cast Vlad Ivanov, Luminița Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Florin Zamfirescu, Mimi Brănescu, Tania Popa
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Kanopy
Caesar Must Die
(Cesare deve morire)
A scripted documentary showing inmates at a prison in Rome rehearsing for a performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2012
- Director Vittorio Taviani
- Cast Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri, Antonio Frasca, J. Dario Bonetti, Vincenzo Gallo
- Genre Drama, Documentary
- Available on Kanopy
A Separation
(جدایی نادر از سیمین)
Simin wants to leave Iran to give her daughter, Termeh, a different kind of life outside the country. But Nader, Termeh’s father, refuses to leave his ailing father behind.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 2011
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Leila Hatami, Payman Maadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Elite Squad
(Tropa de Elite)
On the streets of Rio only the elite survive
- ✭ ✭
- Brazil, United States, Argentina • 2007
- Director José Padilha
- Cast Wagner Moura, Caio Junqueira, André Ramiro, Milhem Cortaz, Fernanda Machado, Maria Ribeiro
- Genre Drama, Action, Crime
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel