Berlinale movie reviews

Yesterday Matthew and I managed to catch two films, which is almost a miracle at this festival. Tickets are very limited, as is time, and luckily we were keen enough to get up early to get our tickets for Monday on Sunday morning.

We caught the first screening ever of the still unfinished The Shock Doctrine, directed by Mat Whitecross and Michael Winterbottom. They were editing until the night before, there are no credits yet and as far as I understood in the Q&A afterwards they are still polishing it off. I really enjoyed that movie, they did a good job bringing Naomi Klein's book to the screen. What was also very exciting is that they used footage from President Obama's inauguration; I don't think I have ever seen a doco on the big screen that encompassed such recent images.

The Shock Doctrine will be screened a few more times here at the Berlinale; it will then be shown on TV in the UK. They are still seeking further distribution possibilities. From what we have seen with War, Inc., online channels and especially blogs would be very suitable to bring this movie to an already interested and engaged audience.

We also caught Sally Potter's Rage (we had to run from one theatre to the next, Berlin being huge and the U-Bahn taking forever). It caught my eye because of what I read on Sally Potter's blog a few days ago. I think it wasn't bad, not terrific, but certainly interesting. Almost the entire movie is talking heads in front of a blue screen; if it wasn't for talent fees (Judy Dench and Jude Law are amongst the cast), it would have been a very cheap movie to make. I found the story that was being told interesting, but the movie was a tad long for my taste. I do think however that though it is certainly not suitable for a wide release, it could be successful in a limited release.