Tuesday was one of the highlight days at the Berlinale: first the stars of Blue Moon Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley and Andrew Scott presented the film together with director Richard Linklater at the Berlinale Palast. Benedict Cumberbatch thrilled his fans when he attended the premiere of The Thing with Feathers . And Harry Potter villain Jason Isaacs was also on stage at the Zoo Palast.
In addition to the stars and the films, however, the BVG strike planned for Thursday and Friday was a big topic, as only the S-Bahn trains and a few buses will be running. So the distances between the cinemas will of course be long and arduous - hopefully you have planned your programme so that you have to travel back and forth as little as possible.
The Thing with Feathers
The film The Thing with Feathers revolves around grief. The protagonist, a cartoonist played by Benedict Cumberbatch and known only as Dad, sinks into deep grief after the sudden death of his wife. The grief manifests itself as a huge, initially threatening, then caring-looking crow that seems to have emerged from his comics. As he sinks deeper and deeper into grief and seems to lose touch with reality, his two young sons, called the Boys, also try to come to terms with their loss. What starts out like a horror film then develops into a family drama and a study of grief and how it can be processed in art. The inner torment is reflected in the staging of the rooms and the visual language; the flat is small and cramped, which is emphasised by the framing. In addition, director Dylan Southern uses the 4:3 format and shows Dad mostly alone and isolated.
And although the film is cleverly staged and Benedict Cumberbatch shows an impressive acting tour de force, the mixture of the individual set pieces does not fully come together.
Honey Bunch
Honey Bunch, another horror film, is also about grief. Its retro look is reminiscent of the horror films of the 1970s, and the hairstyle and beard of lead actor Ben Petrie are a clear homage to Donald Sutherland in Don't look now.
After an accident, Diana suffers from memory loss. Her husband takes her to a remote clinic where she undergoes experimental therapy. But mysterious occurrences soon begin to pile up. Plagued by visions, Diana tries to find out what is going on in the clinic and at the same time regain her memory. And what secrets is her husband hiding from her? How far would he go for her love? The film takes its time to build up the story, but many of the scenes only reveal their true meaning at the end.
What initially seems like a fairly conventional horror film then takes an original turn and manages to stand out from the genre crowd.
Tip: If you have time between two films, take a walk through Pankow and see where films like Oh Boy, Summer Outside the Balcony and Run Lola Run were shot. Tour suggestions for Film History Pankow can be found here.
