The theaters below show films in their original language; click on the links for showtimes and ticket information.
 
Interviews with the stars, general film articles, and reports on press conferences and film festivals.
 
Subscribe to the free KinoCritics monthly email newsletter here.
 
 

 

© eksystent distribution / Sibille Lehnert Filmdispo

Auf trockenen Gräsern (About Dry Grasses, Kuru Otlar Üstüne)

Samet (Deniz Celiloglu) teaches fifth grade in a small village in Anatolia, Turkey. He has been there for the last four years and is looking forward to returning to Istanbul. He rooms with a fellow teacher Kenan (Musab Dizdar). A fourteen-year-old student Sevim (Ece Bagci) gives him a love letter, which she then wants to be returned. He claims to have thrown it away. Sevim and another student say that Samet and Kenan have approached them sexually, which, naturally, causes problems for the two guys. Actually, they are interested in another teacher: Nuray (Merve Dizdar). She unfortunately lost a leg during military service. She tells them about her eight months in the hospital. Kenan teaches her to drive, and she buys a car.

The film title translates literally to “On Dry Grasses” and the 197 minutes are carried along expertly with continuous conversations between the actors. There is much to discuss: philosophy, good, bad, forgetting, home, life, patience, and leaving one’s own inner desert or die Wüste deines Inneren (which are the last four words in the film). Often a long film with little action is difficult to enjoy, but here the conversations expertly keep our attention. Snow, which falls continuously and covers the area throughout the events, is practically an actor in its own right until about the last twenty minutes, when life turns “green.” The film was shown in several film festivals, including the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where Merve Dizdar won best actress. (Becky Tan)

 

All We Imagine as Light (2024)

Anora (2024)

Better Man – Die Robbie Williams Story (Better Man) (2024)

Die Ermittlung (2024)

Emilia Pérez (2024)

Favoriten (2024)

Flow (2024)

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Heretic (2024)

Konklave (Conclave) (2024)

Like a Complete Unknown (A Complete Unknown) (2024)

Like a Complete Unknown (A Complete Unknown) (2024)

Misty – The Erroll Garner Story (2024)

Mufasa: Der König der Löwen (Mufasa: The Lion King) (2024)

Paddington in Peru (2024)

Soundtrack to a Coup d'État (2024)

The Room Next Door (2024)

Wicked (Wicked: Part I) (2024)

Kneecap (2024)

Konklave (Conclave) (2024)

The Substance (2024)

The Substance (2024)

Would you like to receive a list of all the current month's film releases -- with links to reviews by the KinoCritics -- delivered right into your email box? If so, click here to subscribe to the KinoCritics Newsletter. We'll email it to your inbox at the beginning of every month.