hrvatski
THE PASSIONATE LIFE OF ÉDITH PIAF
(La Môme)
France, 2007, 2h20, 35 mm
production Légende, TF 1 International, TF 1 Films Productions, Songbird Pictures, Okko Productions, Canal+, Sofica Valor 7, TPS Star producer Alain Goldman
director Olivier Dahan
screenplay Olivier Dahan, Isabelle Sobelman
cinematography Tetsuo Nagata
editing Richard Marizy
production design Olivier Raoux
costume design Marit Allen
music Christopher Gunning
cast Marion Cotillard, Emmanuelle Seigner, Gérard Depardieu, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Jean-Paul Rouve, Clotilde Courau, Jean-Pierre Martins, Catherine Allégret, Manon Chevallier, Pauline Burlet
PLOT: Lavishly produced, disturbing story about a stormy life of the legendary French chanson singer Édith Piaf (1915-1963) opened this year's International Film Festival in Berlin. Three periods from her life are intertwined in the film: her extremely difficult childhood in poor neighbourhood and a brothel where her grandma who took care of her used to work, period of ascent, acknowledgement and success and a tragic year of facing the painful truth about deteriorating health, illusions and youth. The film depicts her greatest struggles, victories and defeats. Leading female role is played by Marion Cotillard and the film also features Gérard Depardieu as her first mentor, Loui Leplée and Emmanuelle Seigner as prostitute Titine. The film charms the audience with music and unforgettable chansons performed by Édith Piaf whose trembling, sensual voice has become a symbol of sorrow and hope...
AN OLD MISTRESS
(Une vieille maîtresse)
France, Italy, 2007, 1h54, 35 mm
production Flach Film, CB Films, France 3 Cinéma, Studio Canal, Buskin Film, Canal+, CNC, TPS Star
producer Jean-François Lepetit
director Catherine Breillat
screenplay Catherine Breillat (according to the novel by Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly)
cinematography Giorgos Arvanitis
editing Pascale Chavance
production design François-Renaud Labarthe
costume design Anaïs Romand
music Ralph Benatzky
cast Asia Argento, Fu'ad Aït Aattou, Roxane Mesquida, Claude Sarraute, Yolande Moreau, Michael Lonsdale, Anne Parillaud, Lio, Caroline Ducey, Isabelle Renauld, Amira Casar
PLOT: Part of the competition programme of this year's Cannes Film Festival, An Old Mistress, is a refined and erotic adaptation of a 19th century novel by the French author Jules-Amédéea Barbey d'Aurevilly about a young man Ryn de Marigny (Fu'ad Aït Aattou) and his love quanderies when he finds himself torn between the feelings for his wife, a young French noblewomen Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida) and his ex-lover Vellina (Asia Argento). The film boasts wonderful costume and set design and a very attractive shots of the French coastal landscape. However, the key of the film are meticulously profiled characters and relations between them as well as a very good cast headed by a débutant Fu'ad Aït Aattou.
MEN IN THE NUDE
(Férfiakt)
Hungary, 2006, 1h34, 35 mm
production Centrál Filmstúdió
producer György Fülöp
director Károly Esztergályos
screenplay Károly Esztergályos
cinematography Miklós Bíró
editing Éva Palotai
production design Márta Jánoskúti
music Péter Mátraházi, Ferenc Boka
cast László Gálffi, Éva Kerekes, Dávid Szabó, Tamás Végvári, László Sinkó, Ilona Nagy
PLOT: Screened at the International Film Festival in Berlin within the Panorama programme, Hungarian drama Men in the nude deals with marriage crises of an elderly artistic couple, Zayk (László Gálffi) a writer past one's prime and Edit (Éva Kerekes) a former theatre star now performing only in provincial theatres. When a young man Zsolt (Dávid Szabó) „devil in angels body“, who treats human relations and sexuality in a completely different way, enters their lives, their everyday life takes an unexpected and exciting turn...
The film is, according to author's words, on the one hand absurd, forbidden, strange and scaring, but on the other hand also a love story filled with respect, a story in which one of the characters is-the fate itself.
IRINA PALM
Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, France, 2007, 1h43, 35 mm
production Entre Chien et Loup, Pallas Film, Samsa Film, Ipso Facto Films, Liaison Cinématographique, Ateliers de Baere, RTBF Television, Future Films Limited, Canal+
producers Sébastien Delloye, Diana Elbaum, Thanassis Karathanos, Karl Baumgartner, Jani Thiltges, Claude Waringo, Christine Alderson
director Sam Garbarski
screenplay Sam Garbarski, Martin Herron, Philippe Blasband
cinematography Christophe Beaucarne
editing Ludo Troch
production design Véronique Sacrez
costume design Anushia Nieradzik
music GHINZU
cast Marianne Faithfull, Miki Manojlović, Kevin Bishop, Siobhán Hewlett, Dorka Gryllus, Jenny Agutter, Corey Burke, Meg Wynn-Owen, Susan Hitch, Flip Webster
PLOT: Screened at this year's International Film Festival in Berlin, a humorous drama Irina Palm is one of his most impressive films. A blend of drama and comedy it talks about a middle-aged Maggie (Marianne Faithful) who is still under the impression of her husband's death. But life goes on and Maggie decides to help her son and daughter-in-law to gather money for Ollie's (Corey Burke), her grandson's, operation. Desperately searching for a job which would secure enough money to cover the hospital bill, she finally accepts to work as a hostess in a sex-club run by a sturdy Miklos (Miki Manojlivić)...
Intertwining the soft and the provocative, the director has managed to depict the force of love and readiness to sacrifice, but also the fake moral, Philistine mentality and human hypocrisy in his "politically incorrect romantic tragicomedy"...
GARDENS IN AUTUMN
(Jardins en automne)
France, Italy, Russia, 2006, 115 min / 1h55, 35 mm
production Pierre Grise Productions, Cinemaundici, Cinema Without Frontiers LLC
producer Martine Marignac
director Otar Iosseliani
screenplay Otar Iosseliani
cinematography William Lubtchansky
editing Otar Iosseliani, Ewa Lenkiewicz
production design Manu de Chauvigny, Yves Brover
costume design Maïra Ramedhan-Levi
music Nicolas Zourabichvili
cast Séverin Blanchet, Michel Piccoli, Muriel Moitte, Pascal Vincent, Lily Lavina, Denis Lambert, Jacynthe Jacquet, Mouna Ndiaye, Salomé Bedine-Mkheidze, Mathias Jung
PLOT: Silver Bear winner for best directing and Golden Arena winner for best foreign film with Monday Morning, Otar Iosseliani is presenting himself with a comedy on politics, love and second chances. The director has ridiculed politicians in the process, their inclination to lovers, relationships with their mothers and primitivism of any kind, and has done so in his own peculiar way: casually, lucidly and discretely. The main character is an influential Minister (Séverin Blanchet), who is equally passionate about politics as he is about his lover. But when he loses his position, he will also lose his lover; and that will be the start of a whole new life for the former Minister. Will he be able to let go after all that has happened and enjoy the small things, and turn his attention to the people he had been ignoring?
C.R.A.Z.Y.
Canada, 2005, 2h07, 35 mm
production Cirrus Productions / Crazy Films inc., TVA Films Canada, Films Distribution International
producers Jean-Marc Vallée, Pierre Even
director Jean-Marc Vallée
screenplay Jean-Marc Vallée
cinematography Pierre Mignot
editing Paul Jutras
production design Patrice Vermette
costume design Ginette Magny
music David Bowie
cast Michel Coté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Émile Vallé, Pierre-Luc Brillant, Maxime Tremblay, Alex Gravel, Natasha Thompson, Gabriel Lalancette, Johanne Lebrun
PLOT: One of the best rated Canadian films in recent years, winner of ten Canadian Film Awards (Genie), including the best film award, is coming to Pula – family comedy drama C.R.A.Z.Y. The film follows the Beaulieu family, headed by a father of five sons. Zac (Marc-André Grondin) is one of the sons and he is a lot different than his brothers, which will lead him to making important decisions about his life – on the one hand bringing him trouble, and on the other hand a lot of joy. A cute, authentic and suggestive story by Jean-Marc Vallée, with music by David Bowie, has acquired the status of a cult film and has been awarded with more than 30 awards worldwide.
LOVE SONGS
Les Chansons d'amour
France, 2007, 1h35, 35 mm
production Alma Films, Flach Film, CNC, Canal+, Cinécinéma, Cofinova 3 & 4, Coficup a Backup Films funds
producer Paulo Branco
director Christophe Honoré
screenplay Christophe Honoré
cinematography Rémy Chevrin
editing Chantal Hymans
production design Samuel Deshors
costume design Pierre Canitrot
music Alex Beaupain
cast Louis Garrel, Ludivine Sagnier, Chiara Mastroianni, Clotilde Hemse, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Brigitte Roüan, Alice Butaud, Jean-Marie Winling, Yannick Renier
PLOT: Inspired by the songs of composer Alex Beaupian, this romantic music comedy is in the official program of this year's Cannes Festival. It connects music, love and youth in a very striking way. Realistic and persuasive, the film is along the line of Bernard Bertolucci's The Dreamers, a film with which it shares the actor in the leading role, Louis Garrel. The film follows the stories of today's well-off Paris youth, whose main concern in life are romantic relationships. The film is somewhere along the line of liberal relationship towards sexuality, but as opposed to The Dreamers, which flirted with incest, this drama by director Christophe Honoré talks about a love triangle with two girls and a young man, who are later joined by a young Breton in the other half of the film. He will try to win the heart of the main hero with his persistence and charm…
SALT AIR
(L'aria salata)
Italy, 2006, 1h27, 35 mm
production RAI Cinema, Biancafilm
producer Donatella Botti
director Alessandro Angelini
screenplay Angelo Carbone, Alessandro Anelini
cinematography Arnaldo Catinari
editing Massimo Fiocchi
production design Alessandro Marrazzo
costume design Daniela Cancio
music Luca Tozzi
cast Giorgio Pasotti, Giorgio Colangeli, Michela Cescon, Katy Saunders, Giorgio Colangeli, Simone Colombari, Federico Del Monaco, Paolo De Vita, Sauro Artini
PLOT: Working as a volunteer at prison, director Alessandro Angelini had an idea to make a drama about people who are not only sentenced to prison, but to being ignored by their loved ones. The main character of Salt Air, his suggestive film about family secrets, is a young and enthusiastic social educator Fabio (Giorgio Pasotti), who helps ex-prisoners successfully integrate into the society. One day he meets a prisoner named Sparti (Giorio Colangeli), who is serving a sentence for murder. Fabio discovers that he is his father, whom he hasn't seen since childhood. Finding himself in a situation which he yesterday couldn't have even imagined, Fabio starts to question his own relationship to the past, but at the same time he gets into conflict with his sister Cristina (Michela Ceson), who doesn't want to open up old wounds…
I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND
(Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále)
Czech Republic, 2006, 2h00, 35 mm
production AQS, IN FILM, TV NOVA, Magic Box Slovakia, Barrandov Studios, Universal Production Partners
producer Pavel Čechák
director Jiří Menzel
screenplay Jiří Menzel (based on the novel by Bohumil Hrabal)
cinematography Jaromír Šofr
editing Jiří Brožek
production design Milan Býček
costume design Milan Čorba
music Aleš Březina
cast Ivan Barnev, Oldřich Kaiser, Julia Jentsch, Martin Huba, Marián Labuda, Milan Lasica, Josef Abrhám, Jiří Lábus, Jaromír Dulava
PLOT: A new, charming comedy by Jiří Menzel, I Served the Kind of England, is a long awaited and announced film adaptation of the adventure novel by Bohumil Hrabal, the director's long time associate. The film was shown in the official competition at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the FIPRESCI award by international film critics. It is a story about the life and career of a good natured, naïve waiter Jan Dítě (Ivan Barnev / Oldřich Kaiser), from his first days of internship to marriage in the shadow of Nazi occupation, to coming out from prison in the communist regime. Just as his earlier films and just like classics such as those by Ernst Lubitsch and Federico Fellini, the new work by Jiří Menzel appeals to audiences with its truthfulness, philanthropy and nostalgia, defying all dominant trends of today's cinematography.
The Oscar winner and one of the most famous directors of our time, Jiri Menzel, will be a special guest of the Festival. He is remembered by his films Closely Watched Trains, My Sweet Little Village and Cutting It Short.
Menzel won the prestigious prize of the international critics (FIPRESCI) at this year's Berlin Film Festival for his long-awaited nostalgic comedy I Served the King of England.
Competing for the Golden Arena for the Best Foreign Film is also Black Horses (Koji vrani) by Ljubiša Samardžić, a Serbian-Croatian co-production which will be screened in the Arena within the PoPular programme.
Eva Zaoralova, the artistic director of the festival in Karlovy Vary, will preside over the Jury, which will award films from the Europolis-Meridians programme.
Mr. Serge Sobczynski, the programme director of Tous les Cinemas du monde festival in Cannes, Roland Rust, the festival director & artistic director of Film Festival Cottbus - Festival of East European Cinema, Ana Maria Percavassi, the founder and artistic director of the Alpe Adria Film Festival in Trieste and Philip Bergson, a journalist and film critic for the BBC World Service will be on the Jury.
Note: This year's selection is completed. To submit your feature film (over 70 minutes only) to the international competition of the next edition of the Festival in 2008. please send the screener to the artistic director:
Zlatko Vidackovic
Nazorova 37, HR-10000 Zagreb
Hrvatska / Croatia