From My View: The Best of World Cinema in 2006
My two favourite films of the year both show the triumph of human compassion. A Lion in the House is Steven Bognar and Julia Reichart’s near four-hour heart-rending documentary about five children’s battle against cancer, showing how this affects their families and the doctors of the Cincinnati Children’s hospital who work tirelessly to try and save them. Refraining from any manipulation this is an emotionally exhaustive but compelling portrayal of the far reaching effects of seriously ill children and underlines the tireless compassion of its makers who shot this remarkable film over eight years.
The Lives of Others is another film about altruism based on a member of the Stasi, the East German secret police. In the East Berlin of 1984, five years before the fall of the wall, a fully supportive and trusted member of the GDR secretly listens in to people who are suspected of being anti-communist, particularly those considered dangerous. While assigned to listen to a playwright at his home, the Stasi man slowly becomes sympathetic to a way of life he is employed to expose. This excellent drama recently won best film at the European Film Awards and depicts how one person’s selfless bravery can make a difference to the lives of others.
Other new films I saw this year which get a personal recommendation are Breaking and Entering, Pan's Labyrinth, Eros, 13 (Tzameti) by director Gela Babluani, Play by Chilean director Alicia Scherson, Euphoria (Eyforia) (the FIPRESCI prize winner at Kiev), Fresh Air (Friss levegö) (which played many festivals in 2006 and won the FIPRESCI prize in Warsaw) and the very funny Kiev Grand Prix winner East of Bucharest (A fost sau n-a fost?) by the Rumanian director Corneliu Porumboiu. There were also two standout short films that I saw in Kiev, one was the South Korean Rabbits and Bears by Hyo Jeong Kim and the brilliant animation Our Man in Nirvana by Jan Koester.
My two favourite films of the year both show the triumph of human compassion. A Lion in the House is Steven Bognar and Julia Reichart’s near four-hour heart-rending documentary about five children’s battle against cancer, showing how this affects their families and the doctors of the Cincinnati Children’s hospital who work tirelessly to try and save them. Refraining from any manipulation this is an emotionally exhaustive but compelling portrayal of the far reaching effects of seriously ill children and underlines the tireless compassion of its makers who shot this remarkable film over eight years.
The Lives of Others is another film about altruism based on a member of the Stasi, the East German secret police. In the East Berlin of 1984, five years before the fall of the wall, a fully supportive and trusted member of the GDR secretly listens in to people who are suspected of being anti-communist, particularly those considered dangerous. While assigned to listen to a playwright at his home, the Stasi man slowly becomes sympathetic to a way of life he is employed to expose. This excellent drama recently won best film at the European Film Awards and depicts how one person’s selfless bravery can make a difference to the lives of others.
Other new films I saw this year which get a personal recommendation are Breaking and Entering, Pan's Labyrinth, Eros, 13 (Tzameti) by director Gela Babluani, Play by Chilean director Alicia Scherson, Euphoria (Eyforia) (the FIPRESCI prize winner at Kiev), Fresh Air (Friss levegö) (which played many festivals in 2006 and won the FIPRESCI prize in Warsaw) and the very funny Kiev Grand Prix winner East of Bucharest (A fost sau n-a fost?) by the Rumanian director Corneliu Porumboiu. There were also two standout short films that I saw in Kiev, one was the South Korean Rabbits and Bears by Hyo Jeong Kim and the brilliant animation Our Man in Nirvana by Jan Koester.
posted by Steven Yates at 9:07 AM
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