My personal Berlinale Ranking - 2009
A ranking from films I saw at the Berlinale 2009.
Average Vote for the Festival: 6,33
Average Vote for the Festival: 6,33
List activity
1.3K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
24 titles
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsTaraneh AlidoostiGolshifteh FarahaniShahab HosseiniThe mysterious disappearance of a kindergarten teacher during a picnic in the north of Iran is followed by a series of misadventures for her fellow travelers.Competition - 9/10
- DirectorJean-Paul LilienfeldStarsIsabelle AdjaniDenis PodalydèsKhalid Berkouz'Skirt Day' is a fascinating psychological study, a socio-critical investigation - and Isabelle Adjani's first film in five years.Section Panorama - 9/10
- DirectorHans-Christian SchmidStarsKerry FoxAnamaria MarincaStephen DillaneHannah Maynard, a prosecutor of Hague's Tribunal for war crimes in former Yugoslavia, charges a Serbian commander for killing Bosnians. However, her main witness might be lying, so the court sends a team to Bosnia to investigate.Competition - 9/10
- DirectorAndrzej WajdaStarsKrystyna JandaPawel SzajdaJan EnglertIn small-town Poland in the late 1950s, an aging woman married to a workaholic doctor meets a young man who makes her feel young again. Framed around this story, lead actress Krystyna Janda discusses the death of her husband from cancer.Competition - 9/10
- DirectorRiri RizaStarsCut Mini TheoZulfannyIkranagaraIn the 1970s, a group of 10 students struggles with poverty and develop hopes for the future in Gantong Village on the farming and tin mining island of Belitung off the east coast of Sumatra.Section Panorama - 9/10
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsRenée ZellwegerLogan LermanMark RendallAfter leaving her philandering husband, an elegant socialite takes her two sons on a road trip across America in search of a better life.Competition - 8/10
- DirectorRebecca MillerStarsRobin WrightAlan ArkinMike BinderAfter her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.Competition (Out of Competition) - 8/10
- DirectorLisa SiweStarsJosefine MattssonMika Berndtsdotter AhlénAnnika HallinThe young adolescent girl Jenna is turning into a young woman whilst her mother is dying. It is difficult for her, therefore, to admit that she is afraid of losing her mother. Instead, she behaves contrary to what one would expect from her.14plus - 8/10
- DirectorAnnette K. OlesenStarsTrine DyrholmLorna BrownFinn NielsenA soldier returning from war is hired by her own father to drive his prostitutes around town. She calls upon herself to help one of them.Competition - 7/10
- DirectorSung Hyung ChoStarsYoung-Sook TheisArmin TheisChun-Ja EngelfriedAfter more than thirty years of absence, three Korean women return with their German husbands to their old homeland - to a land that is no longer theirs.Section Panorama - 7/10
- DirectorReha ErdemStarsElit IscanErdal BesikçiogluLevent YilmazHayat, her father and bedridden grandfather live in a riverside shack near the dangerously dark but breathtakingly beautiful waters of the Bosphorus. Hayat's father owns a small boat that secures the family's survival through a miscellany of not always lawful ventures. Beyond the motion and romance of the water, Hayat's life is harsh and unrelenting.Forum - 7/10
- DirectorAida BegicStarsZana MarjanovicJasna BeriSadzida SeticPost traumatic life of the Bosnian Muslim widows and daughters after their husbands and fathers were murdered by Bosnian Serb Army. Plot is set in post war eastern Bosnian village near town of Zvornik.14plus - 6/10
- DirectorRachid BoucharebStarsBrenda BlethynSotigui KouyatéSami BouajilaTwo strangers come to discover the fate of their respective children in the 2005 terrorist attacks on London.Competition - 6/10
- DirectorLisa Barros D'SaGlenn LeyburnStarsRupert GrintRobert SheehanJames NesbittThree teenagers go on a wild weekend of drink, drugs, shop-lifting and stealing cars that quickly spins beyond their control.14plus - 6/10
- DirectorRune Denstad LangloStarsAnders BaasmoKyrre HellumMarte AunemoNORTH Following a nervous breakdown, ski athlete Jomar has isolated himself in a lonely existence as the guard of a ski park. When he learns that he might be the father of a child way up north, he sets on a strange and poetic journey through Norway on a snowmobile, with 5 liters of alcohol as sole provisions. On this trip through amazing arctic landscapes, Jomar seems to do everything in his power to avoid reaching his destination. He meets other tender and confused souls, who will all contribute to push Jomar further along his reluctant journey towards the brighter side of life.Section Panorama - 6/10
- DirectorLucía PuenzoStarsInés EfronMariela VitalePep MunnéA desperate love story between two young girls of extremely different social backgrounds who, unable to find a place for their love in the world they live in, are pushed to commit a crime.Section Panorama - 6/10
- DirectorLukas MoodyssonStarsGael García BernalMichelle WilliamsMarife NecesitoWhen a father has to leave his family in New York, for a business trip to Thailand in the gaming industry, fatal destinies collid.Competition - 5/10
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsMichelle PfeifferRupert FriendKathy BatesThe son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.Competition - 5/10
- DirectorSeung-bin BaekStarsYu Ha-bokSong Ha-yoonSeon-ae JiThe history of a dysfunctional Korean family is revealed as they attend a funeral.Forum - 5/10
- DirectorRoberto CastónStarsEriz AlberdiJosean BengoetxeaCristhian EsquivelA love story between a Basque farmer and a Peruvian immigrant.Section Panorama - 5/10
- DirectorMijke de JongStarsIan BokMaryous GabrielseFred GoessensSome people find her removed from reality. Her older sister Katia even thinks she's stupid. But this is only a first impression, perhaps the result of her subconscious desire to remain a child. Or perhaps, her strange behavior is a defense against the uninspiring life she leads, a cruel existence shared with her sister and mother. Having emigrated from Russia some years previously, her mother tries to build up a life in Amsterdam and is drawn into the world of prostitution. Slowly, oldest daughter Katia follows her mother into the same obscure world. Our heroine, Katia's Sister, adores her older beautiful sister Katia, but she is getting more and more lonely, having nobody to share her feelings with. Although her surroundings are harsh, she does not judge. She continues to see the world in an unconditional and even loving manner. Despite her non-judgmental attitude, she becomes increasingly isolated, creating her own protective universe in which she sacrifices a lot, even her own name, referring to herself only as "Katia's Sister."14plus - 4/10
- DirectorMitchell LichtensteinStarsParker PoseyDemi MooreRip TornTwo sisters return home to deal with their ailing father, only to face some surprising situations.Competition - 3/10
- DirectorYu-Chieh ChengStarsSandrine PinnaRay ChangBing-Chen ChenYang-yang is a French-Taiwanese mix. She has never seen her French father. She does not speak a single French word. Her mum has re-married but she has been very lonely. She started working at the entertainment industry. The fact that she is a mix is a good selling point. The film depicts how Yang-yang dealt with her life, her relationships with men, with her mother and friends.Section Panorama - 3/10
- DirectorBoris KhlebnikovStarsEvgeniy SytyySergey DreydenAnna MikhalkovaKind and lazy Jenya comes to Moscow from small village in Belarus for earnings... Criminal incident unexpectedly separates Jenya from companions and leaves him alone without money and documents. He has no friends or relatives in this big and hostile city and he is about to end as a homeless bum... But suddenly a miracle happens with Jenya: a strange old man brought homeless Jenya to his flat and let him stay. Soon Jenya is invited to join a strange fight the old man is engaged in: a fight against evil, that spoils life in Moscow. Jenya willingly participates in the old man's undertakings, until he meets the old man's daughter who reveals Jenya a horrible truth of her father.Forum - 3/10