Berlinale: Decisions, decisions, decisions
Deciding on which Berlinale movie to head out to is never easy for one who has a) a limited amount of time, b) conflicting schedules (work, family, party, sleep), and c) the inability to split oneself into multiple halves and attend every single movie. Of course, none of these permit the luxurious cruising from one screening to another.
If I had it my way, I would take the next 2 weeks off and plan my days around my movies of choice, meticulously slotting in of course, the required coffee-fixes, long wine-fuelled post-film discussions and the heated dinner debates, when necessary. But alas, faced with time, money and social constraints, I made my Berlinale choices.
Our second recommendation goes to Mammoth starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams. More infos, trailer and schedule after the jump.
An eagerly anticipated Berlinale finalist in the Competition category from Swedish director Lukas Moodysson, tells the tale of an American couple, Leo and Ellen, who live in New York with their eight-year-old daughter Jackie, and Gloria, their Filipino nanny. (As is done in New York society circles.)
As most of mommy’s and daddy’s time is spent harvesting the fruits of capitalism (he’s a successful website creator/owner) and saving the world (she’s a dedicated emergency surgeon), Jackie spends most of her time with Gloria, the nanny who’s earning the prized ‘Benjamin Franklin’s’ to support her family back home in the Philippines. As things would have it, Jackie and Gloria’s relationship finally (or rather, ironically) hits a button with Ellen after some point.
Now take this compelling family-matrix, throw in Gloria’s son half-way across the world in the Philippines, who yearns for his mothers return and thus resorts to his own measures for bringing her back, combined with a fateful trip Leo makes to Thailand and you’ve got the right ingredients for the unraveling of Mammoth. Filmed in English, Tagalog and Thai, this is definitely a Berlinale favourite big enough not to miss.
Mammoth
Sunday 08.02.09 19:30h, Berlinale Palast (D)
Monday 09.02.09 12h, Friedrichstadtpalast Berlin (D)
Monday 09.02.09 15h, Freidrichstadtpalast Berlin (E)
Monday 09.02.09 22:30h, Urania (D)
Sunday 15.02.09 10h, Berlinale Palast (D)
by Diwa
on February 8th, 2009
in Entertainment, Movies
2 Comments »
February 13th, 2009 at 06:58h
Mammoth sounds bloody good! Thanks for the tip!
February 17th, 2009 at 18:17h
I love Gael. Now I’m definitely gonna go check this out!