theresa-kuhles Reviews

The Strangers' Case (2024)

A deeply moving drama on refugees that interweaves the lives of five families on four continents

[10/10 · 23 February 2024]

There were standing ovations and lots of tears at the world premiere tonight at Berlinale Film Festival.

Set in Aleppo, in the middle of the war in Syria, the surgeon Amira tries to save lifes among constant attacks. Throughout the movie, we follow her and her daughter and get to know five different families whose lives are all intertwined with each other. The director Brandt Andersen, who has worked in refugee camps in Syria, Jordan and Turkey among others, has created a dramatic story with four different perspectives on war and seeking refuge that deeply touched me and left a mark on me.

In times like these, were right-wing parties and hate against migrants and refugees are uprising all over Europe (again), this movie is so important as it shows without telling that it is not the refugees that are at fault, not the soldiers, neither the traffickers. But the goverments that create the need to leave. I dearly wish for The Stranger's case to be awarded with the golden bear as it will help many people to change their perspective and to give a voice to all the people who apparently are "strangers". 10/10.

La Cocina (2024)

Far too long with little depth and too many experiments

[5/10 · 21 February 2024]

La Cocina lasts 2:20 hours with a plot that could have been told in 60 minutes and lacks depth. Shot entirely in black and white, the play-like film takes place in a busy tourist restaurant in New York's Times Square, where mainly illegal immigrants from all over the world make their living.

Over a period of a day, various scenes thrown together with a mix of film elements show the everyday life of those who have little hope: getting ready, stressful preparations in the kitchen, arguments between the workforce, daydreaming during the break, a theft and a relationship between the cook Pedro and the waitress Julia, who wants to abort their baby.

The film has some funny points and some special experimental shots. But unfortunately the stories of the many characters that are presented largely remain untold. Instead, Ruizpalacios repeatedly chooses very flat dialogues and long close-ups that drag on like chewing gum. In addition, the depiction of the relationship between Pedro and Julia is so clichéd that it resembles a Bollywood film.

Overall, the film was boring to watch. If it hadn't been the world premiere at Berlinale film festival, I would have left after 30 minutes.

Another End (2024)

A true masterpiece about loss and letting go

[10/10 · 18 February 2024]

This movie is a true masterpiece. The ones who have lost someone to onforeseen events will know the tearing feeling of wanting to speak to the deceased person for just one more time. In Another end, this wish becomes reality for Sal, who has lost his wife Zoe in a car accident. With the help of a technology that takes Zoe's memories and thoughts and plants them into a host, he gets to speak to his love again.

Piero Messina has created a touching drama, that masterly depicts the different feelings of loss: the longing, the pain, the unanswered questions, the words unspoken, the wish to just die - all in contrast to the happiness created by the person's memories. The outstanding performances by Gael Garcia Bernal and Renate Reinsve, combined with the touching music (by Moderat among others) and excellent camera work create an atmosphere, that stayed with me long after the movie was over. At times the movie reminded me of Inception, one of my favourite movies. I saw the movie at the world premiere at Berlinale and read a few reviews by critics that stated the movie was just a copy. But it is not a copy at all! It is even better and hits completely different which might not be understood by people who have not gone through the same loss before. For the ones of you who are not as lucky I can only recommend this movie to you on your journey to closure. 10/10.

Robe of Gems (2022)

Two extremely long hours of random scenes with no plot

[1/10 · 21 February 2022]

Two hours of random, extremely long scenes put together with no actual plot. Those scenes that could have been cut to a few seconds stretch out for minutes like chewing gum (e.g. A mentally ill woman asking her gardener to hurt her while he is chopping trees, a mother fighting with her wannabe-gangster son over his clothes, a girl swimming on the surface of a pool, people searching for a missing woman in the dark). Displaying all those scenes in one room with additional information would have been a nice art project maybe, but as a movie it was just extremely boring. I regret I didnt just leave the Berlinale screening. It is such a shame that the director failed to actually tell the terrible tales of the countless missing victims in Mexico in an interesting way.