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guide in English to films showing in Germany.
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Parental love is at the heart of three films at the 74th Berlinale: WHO DO I BELONG TO (MÉ EL AÏN), THE STANGER’S CASE, and SONS (VOGTER)…in stark contrast to the film THE DEVIL’S BATH see reviews.
WHO DO I BELONG TO (MÉ EL AÏN) Meryam Joobeur |Tunisia | France | Canada | 2024
A middle-aged mother Aïcha (Salha Nasraoui) lives a peaceful life on a farm in a remote area of Tunisia. Between prophetic visions and mourning the disappearance of her two adult sons, Mehdi (Malek Mechergui) and Amine (Chaker Mechergui), she looks after her youngest red-headed son Adam ( Rayene Mechergui) and husband Brahim (Mohamed Grayaâ). The oldest boys had secretly gone off to fight with ISIS in Syria, much to all the villagers’ disdain, especially Mehdi’s best friend, the local policeman Bilal (Adam Bessa). One day Mehdi returns home much to his mother’s joy, Bilal’s acceptance, and his father’s dismay. Where will they hide this traitor? To complicate things Mehdi has brought along his pregnant wife Reem (Dea Liane), who is wearing a niqab. Her penetrating eyes cast a sinister spell on the family and hint at an upcoming calamity. Will Aïcha’s unconditional love for her son Mehdi and her husband Brahim’s suspicion of him doom them all? THE STRANGER’S CASE Brandt Andersen | Jordan | 2024
Five adults and their families are linked together in five chapters; in each they struggle to save their children from certain death. “The Doctor”–Amira (Yasmine Al Massri), the compassionate pediatric surgeon escapes Aleppo, Syria, with her daughter Rasha after her home was bombed in 2016 because she had saved the lives of soldiers from the opposing side. “The Soldier”—Mustafa (Yahya Mahayni) helps Amira and her daughter escape Syria. Through his pacifist’s father’s guidance, and horrified by the brutality of his superior officer, he deserts the army and flees with Amira to Turkey. In the Turkish refugee camp, they meet “The Poet”—Fathi (Ziad Bakri) who, with his wife and two beloved children, are also desperate to escape to the West. Fathi turns over their life savings to gain passage on a dilapidated boat. “The Smuggler”—Marwan (Omar Sy), frighteningly sinister, arranges boatloads of refugees in fragile boats to cross from Turkey to Greece, indifferent as to whether they make it or not. Yet Marwan has a gentle, loving side. A single father, he dotes on his small, sick son who dreams someday of eating pizza in Chicago. “The Captain”—Stavros (Constantine Markoulakis), is a heroic Greek coast guard captain who brings the boatloads of refuges safely to shore, risking his life for other people’s children, ironically, while his own young son agonizes if he will make it back home safely. A friend of Stavros says that even God himself phones Stavros when he’s in trouble. In THE STRANGER’S CASE it becomes quite clear, that before the film ends, tragedy will strike…but to whom? THE STRANGER’S CASE won the Amnesty International Film Prize (Amnesty-Filmpreis) at the Berlinale.
SONS (VOGTER) Gustav Möller | Denmark | Sweden | 2024
Eva Hansen (Sidse Babett Knudsen, the prime minister in the Borgen series) is a kind, gentle corrections officer in an all-male Danish prison; her maternal instincts are valued by both her colleagues and the prisoners alike. There is something serene and majestic about her motherliness. That is until a new convict arrives at the prison. Looking out the window Eva sees the tattooed hulk of a menacing young man, Mikkel (Sebastian Bull) arrive. He is whisked away to the cellar where the most dangerous prisoners have their cells. Mikkel is no one you would never want to meet in a dark alley much less be alone with in his prison cell. Yet Eva schemes to be moved to the maximum-security wing of the prison to get close to him. No, this is no steamy prison romance. It turns out Mikkel had killed her nineteen-year-old son Simon while both were serving sentences in another prison together.
Filmed in the defunct Copenhagen prison of Vridsløselille the stark reality of sterile prison life is beautifully captured. What is missing is a sense of reality in the plot. Doesn’t the Danish prison system do background checks on its officers? How can Eva, working with an experienced warden, veteran colleagues, and dozens of cameras mounted throughout the prison, get so close to Mikkel? Is Eva is seeking revenge for the death of her son, or do her motherly instincts seek to rehabilitate Simon’s killer?