Tag Archives: Locarno International Film Festival

LOCARNO: Striking lead and imagery in grim survival tale

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland: Belgian filmmaker Vanja d’Alcantara’s “Beyond the Steppes” is a gripping and sometimes harrowing story of a mother’s determination to keep herself and her infant child alive despite brutal hardship.

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LOCARNO: 'Saviors' reveals untold tale of courage

Veronica Ferres as a Jewish woman sheltered from the Nazis by farmer Martin Horn By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – German cinema’s growing number of films willing to address topics relating to World War II has a fine addition in … Continue reading

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LOCARNO: Provocative 'Partners' is a well-paced crime yarn

Cyril Descours and Nina Meurisse in Frederic Mermoud’s crime story By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland — Swiss director Frederic Mermoud’s “Partners” (Complices) is a police procedural with sex that deals with two sets of couples on both sides of the … Continue reading

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LOCARNO: Two loners make a fine pair in 'Nothing Personal'

Stephen Rea and Lotte Verbeek as solitary characters who form an unlikely bond By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland — Holland-based Polish director Urszula Antoniak’s “Nothing Personal” is an intensely personal and engrossing tale of a ferociously independent young woman’s involvement … Continue reading

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LOCARNO: 'A Real Life' is a crime yarn with a bucolic twist

Guillaume Depardieu and Florence Loiret Caille find tranquility while on the run By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland — Sarah Leonor’s “A Real Life” (Au Voleur) starring the late Guillaume Depardieu, is an odd little picture that runs along like a … Continue reading

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LOCARNO: Witty and wise 'Plato's Academy'

Antonis Kafetsopoulos, left, was named best actor at Locarno, with Anastas Kozdine By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – Intelligent, warm and very funny, Filippos Tsitos’s “Plato’s Academy” (Akadimia Platonos) is a small tale of a proudly nationalistic Greek man who … Continue reading

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LOCARNO: 'She, a Chinese' falls a bit flat

Wei Yibo and Huang Lu in Locarno International Film Festival competition winner By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland — Chinese filmmaker Xiaolu Guo’s “She, a Chinese” is an absorbing character study of a young woman from rural China who makes her … Continue reading

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: ‘Julia’s Disappearance’

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – Sophisticated and insightful, Christoph Schaub’s comedy “Julia’s Disappearance” is a romantic comedy about getting older that should charm grownup audiences keen for some wry laughs without sentimentality. The film won the public award after … Continue reading

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LOCARNO: Lame script trumps 'The Queen of Hearts'

Valerie Donzelli writes, directs and stars with Jeremie Elkaim in ‘The Queen of Hearts’ By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland — “The Queen of Hearts” is a frothy but lame Parisian sex farce about a young woman who cannot get over … Continue reading

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LOCARNO: Sad 'At the End of Daybreak' lacks cohesion

Wai Ying Hung and Chui Tien You as mother and son in ‘At the End of Daybreak’ By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland — Malaysian director Ho Yuhang composes some arresting images in “At the End of Daybreak,” his film of … Continue reading

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