A museum devoted to Cinema

Dateline: Berlin
(I've always wanted to write that!)

Berlin's newest architectural gem, the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz, is home to one of the most wonderful museums I've ever visited. The Deutsche Kinematek is devoted to cinema - - German cinema specifically, from the earliest silents to 'Run Lola Run.' And if any country's cinema deserves a museum of its own, Germany takes a back-seat to no country! (France and Hollywood included).

The Sony Center (as featured in last year's "The International" with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts)






I spent a glorious two-and-a-half hours here on a recent
Saturday afternoon, and enjoyed every minute of it. The classics of German expressionism are given their own displays (Caligari, M, Mabuse, and Metropolis -- which had a special exhibit devoted to the latest, most-complete restoration, which had its premiere while I was in town).

The stars of the era are celebrated, too: silent film great Asta Nielsen (I stayed in her fashionable apartment in Berlin, converted to a homey Pension), Conrad Veidt, Emil Jannings (winner of the FIRST Oscar for best Actor). Although I was disappointed in the cursory treatment given to my personal fave, American sensation Louise Brooks. Marlene Dietrich has pride of place with an entire room devoted to her photos, costumes, love letters from famous men (and women). and luggage! (She brought alot of clothes on her visits to Hollywood).

I will let my pictures tell the rest of the story:

the lovely Louise Brooks



Fassbinder's director's chair and his two Golden Bears for "The Marriage of Maria Braun."

The first Oscar for Best Actor
(to silent star Emil Jannings for "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh"). He later became a leading member of the Nazi film industry and was recently vilified (justifiably) in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."

My trip to the Berlinale

February 22, 2010 --

Yes, folks, I attended my first World Class Film Festival this year: the 60th Annual Berlin Film Festival. The stars were out in force, (Leo, Scorsese, Olivia Williams, Julianne Moore) but I didn't see any of them! Unless you count the Vanessa Redgrave-look-alike I spied at the Paris Bar on Kantstrasse one night. Instead, I was left to rub elbows with the great mass of public film-goers (Oh what I would have given for a Press Pass!)

The Berlinale is a massive, well-run festival. Next time, I must arrive early and wait in line for advance sale tickets (and go to the gift shop, which involves another long line). As I did neither, I only made it to three showings: two programs of shorts (one devoted to the work of Festival honoree Hanna Schygulla--she's a better actress than filmmaker--ouch!), and a new Czech film from Jan Hrebejk: "Kawasaki's Rose" -- good film, bad title.

The latter film was shown in a massive East Berlin theater, on a massive, Communist-era boulevard lined with apartment blocks. (Now Karl Marx Allee, formerly Josef Stalin Allee). Impressive, but a bee-atch to walk down when you are late for a screening! To be in a huge theater packed with film lovers was amazing. A community develops among the hard-core attendees. Unfortunately, I was unable to devote the time to cultivate any relationships (it was my first visit to Berlin... I had places to go, things to see!)

Next time (God willing), I'll know exactly what to do.

List of prize winners

Here are some of the sights I took in:

Esteemed member of the jury:

The foreignfilmguy himself!!

TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2009

February 11, 2010 --

I'm always the last critic to post my Top Ten List (there are just so many movies to see at the end of the year!!) Fortunately, the East Coast blizzard gave me the one extra day I needed to complete the list before I travel to the historic Berlin Film Festival ! (60th year). (Even so, I still haven't seen "Crazy Heart.")

To build the suspense, I first present my Saw & Enjoyed:

An Education (UK)
The Damned United (UK)
The International
Nine
Star Trek

Next, my Honorable Mention:

Antichrist
The Informant!
State of Play

Now, in ascending order:

10. The Moon
9. (500) Days of Summer
8. A Serious Man
7. Avatar
6. Me and Orson Welles
5. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. Precious: ...
3A. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
3. Up In The Air
2. BRIGHT STAR

and the No. 1 Movie of the Year ...

1. THE HURT LOCKER -- Good luck at the Oscars!

Best Foreign Films of the Decade

February 3, 2010 --

While I still have a few more 2009 releases to see before finishing my annual Top Ten List, that will not stop me from wrapping-up the decade just past (2000-09--I hate the phrase "the naughts") in film. For starters, here are the 15-Best Foreign Films of the Decade:


But First! I have to single out Europe for providing a steady stream of exceptional films, namely:
Germany -- The Educators, Goodye, Lenin!, A Woman in Berlin (and two movies I failed to see: Downfall, and The Baader-Meinhof Complex);
France -- A Very Long Engagement, La Vie en Rose, La Veuve de St. Pierre);
Scandinavia -- After the Wedding, Let the Right One In, Reprise, Saraband.

15. [3-way tie!] Each of these directors deserves recognition for their work this decade, so here are 3 representative samples: Amelie (FRA: Jean-Pierre Jeunet); In the Mood For Love (HK: Wong Kar-Wai); and Volver (ESP: Pedro Almodovar).

14. The Piano Teacher (2001 D: M. Haneke)
13. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (Korea 2003)
12. A Secret (FRA 2008)
11. The Sea Inside (ESP 2004)
10. The Lives of Others (GER 2006)
9. Caché (2005 D: M. Haneke, again)
8. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly (FRA 2007)
7. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (CHN 2001)
6. City of God (BRA 2002)
5. Y tu Mamá, también (MEX 2001)
4. To be and to have (FRA 2002) -- the only doc. to make the list, it is far more insightful than the more-recent, much-heralded "The Class"
3. Amores Perroes (MEX 2000)
2. The Best of Youth (ITA 2003)

and the #1 Foreign Film of the decade is ....


1. PAN'S LABYRINTH (MEX/ESP 2006)