Director falls between all the stools

2005 Berlinale International Film Festival shows that German cinema is still on a winning streak

25. Februar 2005 By Michael Althen
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

German cinema did well at the 2005 Berlinale International Film Festival, winning two prizes, after having walked away with the Golden Bear award last year for “Head-On.“

Marc Rothemund won the Silver Bear Award for best director and Julia Jentsch took home the Silver Bear Award for best actress - both for the film “Sophie Scholl - The Final Days.“

The film market obviously profited enormously from the postponement of the American Film Market to autumn and posted growth rates of 30 percent. The general public is hardly aware of this, but since everything revolves around money in movie-making, it can be assumed that this success will attract the most attention in the sector and will also fuel the market next year too, when it at last finds a commensurate home of its own in the Martin Gropius building.

That is actually a large amount of good news. Yet in his four-year reign as Berlinale director, Dieter Kosslick never got so much bad press as this year - admittedly, not all of which was undeserved.

It is a complete mystery what came over the jury to award the prize for best director to the wooden, indecisive production of “Sophie Scholl“ and in turn give the prize for best film script to a movie like Tsai Ming Liang's “The Wayward Cloud,“ whose sparse dialogues would probably fit in one text message.

At least apart from the first prize, the right people got the prizes. The Silver Bear Award for Julia Jentsch as best actress is just as well deserved as that for her colleague Lou Taylor Pucci, who gives a remarkably large number of faces to a youth's lack of orientation in the “Thumbsucker.“ The Jury Grand Prix awarded to Gu Changwei's “Peacock“ rightfully honors a movie which looks with great inquisitiveness at its heroes' world, and even Jacques Audiard's underestimated psychological drama “The Beat That My Heart Skipped“ received a consolation prize for Alexandre Desplat's score, which was the only up-to-date music in the competition.

Given the fact that it was a competition in which the critics could not really agree on anything apart from their dissatisfaction, the decisions actually were not so wrong after all.

Festival directors are not to be envied. Year after year, they have to try to square the circle and bring as many stars as possible along, but for heaven's sake not present too many American movies. That did indeed lead to strange distortions at this year's Berlinale. “Million Dollar Baby,“ one of the best movies of the U.S. Oscar year, was not invited because Clint Eastwood did not want to commit himself to come. Woe betide Kosslick if he had indeed taken the risk and Eastwood had not come! The cries of horror would probably have been louder still. Since the Oscars have been brought forward, the Berlinale has had its day as an advertising platform. Now it is being discussed everywhere whether the date of the festival should be moved forward - maybe, to make things easier, the Berlinale should just be moved to Los Angeles and have done with it.

Kosslick obviously tried to flex his muscles by canceling out of hand his invitation to the U.S. advertising entry “Heights“ after it was clear that Glenn Close would not travel to Berlin. Although this is only a rumor, at least it was not denied - and it shows how desperate the situation of the festival director is.

The fact that the premiere of “The Life Aquatic“ took place without Bill Murray, “Changing Times“ without Gérard Depardieu, “Hotel Rwanda“ without Nick Nolte and “In Good Company“ without Scarlett Johansson was criticized. However, the fact that Cate Blanchett, Catherine Deneuve, Don Cheadle and Dennis Quaid respectively turned up for the same films was deliberately ignored.

However, it would be justified to ask if it was really necessary to invite a feel-good movie like “In Good Company“ to the competition or to show a movie like “Hitch“ so that Will Smith would come to the festival.

However, irrespective of what reply Kosslick gives, it will always be the wrong one. Either the critics are insulted or the heads of communication are disgruntled - only the audience does not seem to care. It storms happily to all showings as if there would be no more movie theaters around tomorrow. The real heroes of the festival are those who cool their heels in front of the box office or shiver in front of the movie theater to get hold of a ticket. It is time for spring to come.

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