Pictures: Netflix
What a year it has been for the biggest streamer in the world.
While the first half of the year was largely known for its widely seen star-studded critical failures, the second half of the year brought many successes. From a hit franchise blockbuster to multiple awards season contenders, Netflix’s year in films was turned around completely and may help them garner some hardware as we march towards the Oscars in March.
While this list may not represent the most-watched films of the year, I believe these to be the best Netflix had to offer over the past 12 months.
So, without further ado, here are my Top 5 Netflix Original Movies of 2023.
Please note that this author has not seen Best International Feature contender, Society of the Snow, as it will not be on Netflix until 1/4/24. This list will also not consider the Wes Anderson/Roald Dahl short...
What a year it has been for the biggest streamer in the world.
While the first half of the year was largely known for its widely seen star-studded critical failures, the second half of the year brought many successes. From a hit franchise blockbuster to multiple awards season contenders, Netflix’s year in films was turned around completely and may help them garner some hardware as we march towards the Oscars in March.
While this list may not represent the most-watched films of the year, I believe these to be the best Netflix had to offer over the past 12 months.
So, without further ado, here are my Top 5 Netflix Original Movies of 2023.
Please note that this author has not seen Best International Feature contender, Society of the Snow, as it will not be on Netflix until 1/4/24. This list will also not consider the Wes Anderson/Roald Dahl short...
- 12/29/2023
- by Andrew Morgan
- Whats-on-Netflix
Early in the Netflix action flick Extraction 2, handler Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) looks upon the battered body of mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) and observes, “You fought your way back.” That might sound like a bit of empty exposition, but those who saw the first Extraction know how remarkable Rake’s achievement actually is. Adapted from the Ande Parks comic Cuidad, 2020’s Extraction ended with Rake plummeting into the Ganges after being stabbed and shot. A lot.
But as clear as Nik’s first comment may be, her follow-up is much more baffling. “You just have to find out why,” she continues, the camera holding on her face to make sure everyone understands just how concerned she is.
In its weakest moments, Extraction 2 spends too much time dwelling on the hero’s existential crisis. The first 20 minutes of the movie follow mercenary Rake as he recovers from his...
But as clear as Nik’s first comment may be, her follow-up is much more baffling. “You just have to find out why,” she continues, the camera holding on her face to make sure everyone understands just how concerned she is.
In its weakest moments, Extraction 2 spends too much time dwelling on the hero’s existential crisis. The first 20 minutes of the movie follow mercenary Rake as he recovers from his...
- 6/16/2023
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Photo: Netflix
In Extraction 2, Chris Hemsworth (best known as Thor) returns as Tyler Rake, a hunky, tough dentist facing an amazingly recalcitrant tooth upon whose removal the life of a family depends.
Er ... no ... actually. Just kidding. In Extraction 2—a nearly nonstop action fest, Hemsworth returns as Tyler Rake,...
In Extraction 2, Chris Hemsworth (best known as Thor) returns as Tyler Rake, a hunky, tough dentist facing an amazingly recalcitrant tooth upon whose removal the life of a family depends.
Er ... no ... actually. Just kidding. In Extraction 2—a nearly nonstop action fest, Hemsworth returns as Tyler Rake,...
- 6/15/2023
- by Andy Klein
- avclub.com
Plot: After barely surviving the events of the first movie, Rake is back as the Australian black ops mercenary, tasked with another deadly mission: rescuing the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from the prison where they are being held.
Review: When Extraction made its debut right at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was the action extravaganza we needed to pull us out of the pandemic funk. It went on to garner 99 million views in its first four weeks, the most watched Netflix original at the time. Three years later, Chris Hemsworth, Joe Russo, and director Sam Hargrave are back with the next chapter which manages to equal the action of the first movie while expanding the world in preparation for Extraction 3 and beyond. With more insight into Tyler Rake’s backstory and a very different mission before him, Extraction 2 is a rock-solid sequel and the...
Review: When Extraction made its debut right at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was the action extravaganza we needed to pull us out of the pandemic funk. It went on to garner 99 million views in its first four weeks, the most watched Netflix original at the time. Three years later, Chris Hemsworth, Joe Russo, and director Sam Hargrave are back with the next chapter which manages to equal the action of the first movie while expanding the world in preparation for Extraction 3 and beyond. With more insight into Tyler Rake’s backstory and a very different mission before him, Extraction 2 is a rock-solid sequel and the...
- 6/15/2023
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
A funny thing happened during our worldwide lockdown in 2020. With theaters shuttered, our immediate movie-going futures looking bleak and escapist entertainment becoming a therapeutic necessity, along came the rise of The Streaming Service Blockbuster — most notably “Extraction.” Stuntman-turned-director Sam Hargrave’s muscular albeit convoluted actioner, centered on a mercenary sent to rescue the kidnapped son of a crime lord, was handed a captive audience. All the folks at home made it a worldwide sensation for Netflix, and it continues to tear up the charts as their seventh most popular film ever.
Three years later and armed with a far better, bloody and bruising quest for the laconic hero, Hargrave, star Chris Hemsworth and screenwriter Joe Russo return to the burgeoning franchise with “Extraction 2”. The filmmakers’ renewed vigor is our reward as, similar to its unfussy title, this sequel deals in clean-lined action and suspense, removing much of the excessive...
Three years later and armed with a far better, bloody and bruising quest for the laconic hero, Hargrave, star Chris Hemsworth and screenwriter Joe Russo return to the burgeoning franchise with “Extraction 2”. The filmmakers’ renewed vigor is our reward as, similar to its unfussy title, this sequel deals in clean-lined action and suspense, removing much of the excessive...
- 6/15/2023
- by Courtney Howard
- Variety Film + TV
You didn’t think we’d seen the last of Tyler Rake, did you?
The black-ops mercenary played by Chris Hemsworth was the hero of 2020’s Extraction, one of Netflix’s most watched movies ever. So it’s hardly a surprise that the tough-as-nails, macho character returns in the unimaginatively titled Extraction 2, reuniting the Thor actor with director Sam Hargrave and screenwriter Joe Russo (co-director with brother Anthony on four MCU entries, including two Avengers flicks) for another wildly over-the-top adventure based on Andre Parks’ graphic novel Ciudad.
Suffice it to say that if you enjoyed Extraction, you’ll have a fine time with this one, which, in typical franchise fashion, busts its butt attempting to outdo its predecessor. And it does, most notably in a “oner” action sequence designed to appear as if it were filmed in a single take that lasts 21 minutes, or nearly twice as long...
The black-ops mercenary played by Chris Hemsworth was the hero of 2020’s Extraction, one of Netflix’s most watched movies ever. So it’s hardly a surprise that the tough-as-nails, macho character returns in the unimaginatively titled Extraction 2, reuniting the Thor actor with director Sam Hargrave and screenwriter Joe Russo (co-director with brother Anthony on four MCU entries, including two Avengers flicks) for another wildly over-the-top adventure based on Andre Parks’ graphic novel Ciudad.
Suffice it to say that if you enjoyed Extraction, you’ll have a fine time with this one, which, in typical franchise fashion, busts its butt attempting to outdo its predecessor. And it does, most notably in a “oner” action sequence designed to appear as if it were filmed in a single take that lasts 21 minutes, or nearly twice as long...
- 6/15/2023
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When we last left “Extraction” hero Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) he was, well, he was dead. He’d been beaten, shot multiple times, and tossed into a river, where he was presumably (again) dead. And yet…in the final moments of the Sam Hargrave-directed feature, a shadowy figure emerged, looking a bit like Tyler, albeit very much not dead, to watch over his young charge so many months after his apparent death. But, in the world of blockbuster filmmaking, no one is ever really dead, least of all an ass-kicking Aussie mercenary with a secret soft side, and thus: “Extraction 2.”
That Tyler is indeed not dead has served as the backbone of the Netflix action sequel’s marketing campaign, complete with the kicky hashtag #TylerRakeLives and its accompanying “punching arm on fire” emoji (which is basically this franchise in a nutshell). So it should come as little surprise that...
That Tyler is indeed not dead has served as the backbone of the Netflix action sequel’s marketing campaign, complete with the kicky hashtag #TylerRakeLives and its accompanying “punching arm on fire” emoji (which is basically this franchise in a nutshell). So it should come as little surprise that...
- 6/15/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The official trailer for Extraction 2 has Chris Hemsworth returning from near death as black ops mercenary Tyler Rake in another brutal display of power when he is personally requested for a rescue mission.
As is explained in the high-octane footage (below), Rake was clinically dead nine months ago. But he fought his way back and now, he just has to find out why.
Rake’s deadly mission follows his surviving the events of the original film and in the sequel aiming to rescue the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from prison against impossible odds. Hemsworth continues such death-defying stunts in the nonstop, brutal and bloody Extraction 2 trailer.
The original Extraction thriller saw the Australian mercenary mourn the death of his son while rescuing the kidnapped son of an imprisoned Indian drug kingpin. Rake then seemingly died in the original Extraction, which hit Netflix in 2020, but a...
As is explained in the high-octane footage (below), Rake was clinically dead nine months ago. But he fought his way back and now, he just has to find out why.
Rake’s deadly mission follows his surviving the events of the original film and in the sequel aiming to rescue the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from prison against impossible odds. Hemsworth continues such death-defying stunts in the nonstop, brutal and bloody Extraction 2 trailer.
The original Extraction thriller saw the Australian mercenary mourn the death of his son while rescuing the kidnapped son of an imprisoned Indian drug kingpin. Rake then seemingly died in the original Extraction, which hit Netflix in 2020, but a...
- 5/16/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
2023 is shaping up to be a year of action with films like John Wick: Chapter 4 and Fast X. Netflix‘s own Extraction proved to be a big hit for Chris Hemsworth outside of Marvel films, and though the first ended on somewhat of an open note regarding his character’s survival, the streamer has brought him back and is ready to give audiences the ride of their lives in the newly released posters of the sequel. Sam Hargrave returns to direct Hemsworth in more breathtakingly brutal action scenes for this year’s Extraction 2.
The official synopsis from Netflix reads,
Chris Hemsworth returns as Tyler Rake in Extraction 2, the sequel to Netflix’s blockbuster action film Extraction. After barely surviving the events of the first movie, Rake is back as the Australian black ops mercenary, tasked with another deadly mission: rescuing the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from...
The official synopsis from Netflix reads,
Chris Hemsworth returns as Tyler Rake in Extraction 2, the sequel to Netflix’s blockbuster action film Extraction. After barely surviving the events of the first movie, Rake is back as the Australian black ops mercenary, tasked with another deadly mission: rescuing the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from...
- 5/15/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Just how action-packed is the teaser trailer for Netflix’s Extraction 2? In one minute 45 seconds, there are just 27 words spoken. Rather than expansive dialogue, the teaser’s focused on showing off Chris Hemsworth taking down enemies, including shooting down a helicopter.
The dialogue:
0:01 – Hey. 0:05 – Move. 0:08 – Back off! 0:18 – Pull the pin! 0:34 – Tyler? 0:36 – You were clinically dead nine months ago. 0:44 – But you fought your way back. 0:51 – You came back for this. 0:54 – Why?
In addition to Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as Tyler Rake, the Extraction sequel’s cast includes Golshifteh Farahani (reprising her role from the first film), Adam Bessa, Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Bernhardt, and Tinatin Dalakishvili. Sam Hargrave directs from a screenplay by Joe Russo, with Hemsworth, Hargrave, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Patrick Newall, Sam Hargrave, Mike Larocca, Angela Russo-Otstot, Eric Gitter, and Peter Schwerin producing.
Benjamin Grayson, Steven Scavelli, Christopher Markus,...
The dialogue:
0:01 – Hey. 0:05 – Move. 0:08 – Back off! 0:18 – Pull the pin! 0:34 – Tyler? 0:36 – You were clinically dead nine months ago. 0:44 – But you fought your way back. 0:51 – You came back for this. 0:54 – Why?
In addition to Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as Tyler Rake, the Extraction sequel’s cast includes Golshifteh Farahani (reprising her role from the first film), Adam Bessa, Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Bernhardt, and Tinatin Dalakishvili. Sam Hargrave directs from a screenplay by Joe Russo, with Hemsworth, Hargrave, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Patrick Newall, Sam Hargrave, Mike Larocca, Angela Russo-Otstot, Eric Gitter, and Peter Schwerin producing.
Benjamin Grayson, Steven Scavelli, Christopher Markus,...
- 4/3/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
A lot of peculiar things happened during the early months of the pandemic some 12,000 years ago in 2020. With everybody stuck at home, many people tried their hand at baking bread or singing sea shanties on TikTok. Others devoted their free time to playing "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" and remain very proud of the house they built for themselves, Tom Nook's parasitic loans be damned. Oh, and with most theaters shut down, viewers were left with little choice but to turn to streaming services for their entertainment.
Perhaps no movie benefitted more from the lockdowns than Netflix's "Extraction." A cross between "John Wick" and "Man on Fire," the movie stars Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, a remarkably named black ops mercenary with a checkered past who's hired to rescue the son of an incarcerated Indian drug lord. In his review for /Film, Chris Evangelista wrote, "Bathed in a sickly yellow filter from beginning to end,...
Perhaps no movie benefitted more from the lockdowns than Netflix's "Extraction." A cross between "John Wick" and "Man on Fire," the movie stars Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, a remarkably named black ops mercenary with a checkered past who's hired to rescue the son of an incarcerated Indian drug lord. In his review for /Film, Chris Evangelista wrote, "Bathed in a sickly yellow filter from beginning to end,...
- 4/3/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
12 features and 10 docs will be pitched Trieste co-pro forum next month.
New features from Ukraine’s Maryna Stepanska, Brazil’s Marcelo Gomes and Italy’s Letizia Lamartire are among the 22 projects selected for Trieste’s When East Meets West (Wemw) co-production forum which takes place January 22-25.
The Wemw line-up comprises 12 features and 10 documentaries from 19 countries, having received a record 410 submissions.
The titles, set to be pitched to attending producers, include Stepanska’s documentary It’s Not A Full Picture. Stepanska achieved international success with her 2017 love story Falling, about two young adults trying to find their path in the...
New features from Ukraine’s Maryna Stepanska, Brazil’s Marcelo Gomes and Italy’s Letizia Lamartire are among the 22 projects selected for Trieste’s When East Meets West (Wemw) co-production forum which takes place January 22-25.
The Wemw line-up comprises 12 features and 10 documentaries from 19 countries, having received a record 410 submissions.
The titles, set to be pitched to attending producers, include Stepanska’s documentary It’s Not A Full Picture. Stepanska achieved international success with her 2017 love story Falling, about two young adults trying to find their path in the...
- 12/16/2022
- by Alina Trabattoni
- ScreenDaily
Films from Poland, Romania and Slovenia will screen in the 2013 Berlinale Official Competition. The Official Competition, Panorama, Forum and Generation sections have also selected films from Turkey, Georgia, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic and Latvia.
The Polish director Małgośka Szumowska returns to the Berlinale after Elles (2012), starring Juliette Binoche, with W imię... /In the Name of, selected for the Official Competition. The film is produced by Mental Disorder 4 in coproduction with Canal +, and it follows Father Adam who takes over a small parish in the middle of nowhere and has to confront a long forgotten burden and passion. The main characters are played by Andrzej Chyra and Mateusz Kościukieiwcz. Memento Films is the sales agent.
Danis Tanovic makes his entrance in the Official Competition of the Berlinale with Epizoda u životu berača željeza/An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, the story of a 31 year old woman pregnant with her third child who needs emergency surgery, but has no health inssurance. The film is a coproduction between Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Slovenia, involving Pro.ba, Emotionfilm and Asap Film France. The cast includes Senada Alimanovic, Nazif Mujic, Sandra Mujic, and Semsa Mujic.
This is also the first Berlinale for the Romanian director Călin Peter Netzer, who screens in the Official Competition with Poziţia copilului/Child's Pose, a mixture of drama, emotion and humour about the relationship between an overbearing mother and her adult son. Răzvan Rădulescu and Călin Peter Netzer wrote the script and the main characters are played by Luminiţa Gheorghiu (Moartea domnului Lăzărescu/The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu) and Bogdan Dumitrache (Cu cele mai bune intenţii/Best Intentions). Child's Pose is a 100% Romanian production between Parada Film and HaiHui Entertainment.
After travelling with the first two parts of his Paradise film trilogy to Cannes and Venice, ground-breaking Austrian director Ulrich Seidl is a newcomer to the Berlinale where the third film in the series is to be screened in the Official Competition. Paradies: Hoffnung/Paradise: Hope is a coproduction between Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion GmbH (Austria, www.ulrichseidl.com), Tatfilm (Germany, www.tatfilm.de) and Société Parisienne de Production ( France, www.coproductionoffice.eu).
Georgia sends two films to Berlin. On 7 February, the Panorama’s main programme will openwith the GeorgianChemi Sabnis Naketsi/A Fold in My Blanket by Zaza Rusadze. Produced by director’s production companyZazarfilm with the support of the Georgian National Film Centre, the film tells the story of a young man returning to his home town after studying abroad. Tornike Bziava, Tornike Gogrichiani, and Zura Kipshidze are the main actors. Media Luna New Films is the sales agent.
A Georgian-German coproduction will be screened in Forum. Grzeli nateli dgeebi/In Bloom, the first feature by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß, is focusing on two young female friends in a country marked by civil war and poverty in 1992.
Two Turkish films were also selected for Panorama. Asli Ozge's Hayatboyu/Lifelong is a Turkish-German-Dutch coproduction between Razor Film Produktion, Augustus Film, Kaliber Film, Bulut Filmand, and Soda Media. The cast includes Defne Halman, Haka Cimenser, and Gizem Akman. Uğur Yücel's Soğuk/Cold is a 100% Turkish production starring Cenk Alibeyoğlu, A. Rıfat Şungar, and Valeria Skorohodova.
Croatia is also represented with two films selected for the Forum section. Krugovi/Circles Srdan Golubović’s drama of three parallel stories about heroism is produced by the Serbian company Bas Celik and the German company Neue Mediopolis Filmproduktion, in coproduction with the Slovenian company Vertigo/E-motion Film, the Croatian company Propeler Film and the French company La Cinefacture.
Another Croatian coproduction, this time with Bosnia and Herzegovina, was also selected in Forum. The story from Obrana i zaštita/A Stranger aka The Bridge, written and directed by the acclaimed theatre and film director Bobo Jelčić, is set in Mostar, a town still divided into the Croatian and the Bosnian side 20 years after the war. The film is a tale about prejudice, human weaknesses and conflict between the individual and the society played by: Bogdan Diklić, Nada Đurevska, Ivana Roščić, and Izudin Bajrović. The project involves Spiritus Movens, Produkcija Kadar and Croatian Radio and Television.
Two Austrian films will be shown in the Forum section, beginning with the world premiere of Gustav Deutsch's Shirley – Visions of Reality. This Austrian production of Kgp Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production uses 13 cinematically vivified paintings by Edward Hopper in order to tell the story of a woman who lives in a reality she sees as a made up construct. The cast includes Stephanie Cumming, Christoph Bach, and Florentin Groll.
Die 727 Tage ohne Karamo/The 727 Days without Karamo by Anja Salomonowitz (also in Forum) is a documentary experiment of 21 binational couples sharing personal moments of their love stories, forming one complete story of how love can rise above the written law. The 80 minite film is produced by Amour Fou Vienna.
The German-Polish coproduction Sieniawka by Marcin Malaszczak, screening in Forum, is a lyrical portrait of post-socialist reality between Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, conceived of as a mix of fictional staging and documentary representation of a dilapidated mental asylum and a landscape scarred by coal mining
Reha Erdem's Jîn (Turkey), selected in Generation 14plus, sees the war between guerrillas and the army in Kurdish areas in Turkey through the eyes of a 17 year old girl, a young fighter (played by Deniz Hasgüler). The film is produced by Ömer Atay through Atlantik Film.
Kasia Rosłaniec's Baby Blues (Poland), will have its European premiere in Generation 14plus. After Mall Girls, Kasia Rosłaniec made a teenage mother’s tour de force through a world of daily chores, nappies fashion and drugs. Zentropa International Poland is producing.
Mammu, es Tevi mīlu/Mother, I Love You by the Latvian director Jānis Nords, selected in Generation Kplus, is the touching story of a misunderstood adolescent who tries to negociate his relationship with his mother while delving into the world of the petty crime. The film is produced by Tanka ( alise@tanka.lv) and stars Kristofers Konovalovs, Vita Varpina, and Matiss Livcans.
Cee Films At The Berlinale:
Official Competition:
W imię... /In the Name of by Małgośka Szumowska (Poland)
Epizoda u životu berača željeza/An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker by Danis Tanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina-France -Slovenia)
Poziţia copilului/Child's Pose by Călin Peter Netzer (Romania)
Paradies: Hoffnung/Paradise: Hope by Ulrich Seidl (Austria-Germany-France)
Panorama:
Chemi Sabnis Naketsi/A Fold in My Blanket by Zaza Rusadze (Georgia)
Hayatboyu/Lifelong by Asli Ozge (Turkey-Germany)
Soğuk/Cold by Uğur Yücel (Turkey)
Forum:
Grzeli nateli dgeebi/In Bloom by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß (Georgia-Germany)
Krugovi/Circles by Srdan Golubović (Serbia-Germany-Slovenia-Croatia-France)
Obrana i zaštita/A Stranger by Bobo Jelčić (Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Shirley – Visions of Reality by Gustav Deutsch (Austria)
Die 727 Tage ohne Karamo/The 727 Days without Karamo by Anja Salomonowitz (Austria)
Sieniawka by Marcin Malaszczak (Germany-Poland)
Generation 14plus:
Jîn by Reha Erdem (Turkey)
Baby Blues by Kasia Rosłaniec (Poland)
Generation Kplus:
Mammu, es Tevi mīlu/Mother, I Love You by Jānis Nords (Latvia)...
The Polish director Małgośka Szumowska returns to the Berlinale after Elles (2012), starring Juliette Binoche, with W imię... /In the Name of, selected for the Official Competition. The film is produced by Mental Disorder 4 in coproduction with Canal +, and it follows Father Adam who takes over a small parish in the middle of nowhere and has to confront a long forgotten burden and passion. The main characters are played by Andrzej Chyra and Mateusz Kościukieiwcz. Memento Films is the sales agent.
Danis Tanovic makes his entrance in the Official Competition of the Berlinale with Epizoda u životu berača željeza/An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, the story of a 31 year old woman pregnant with her third child who needs emergency surgery, but has no health inssurance. The film is a coproduction between Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Slovenia, involving Pro.ba, Emotionfilm and Asap Film France. The cast includes Senada Alimanovic, Nazif Mujic, Sandra Mujic, and Semsa Mujic.
This is also the first Berlinale for the Romanian director Călin Peter Netzer, who screens in the Official Competition with Poziţia copilului/Child's Pose, a mixture of drama, emotion and humour about the relationship between an overbearing mother and her adult son. Răzvan Rădulescu and Călin Peter Netzer wrote the script and the main characters are played by Luminiţa Gheorghiu (Moartea domnului Lăzărescu/The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu) and Bogdan Dumitrache (Cu cele mai bune intenţii/Best Intentions). Child's Pose is a 100% Romanian production between Parada Film and HaiHui Entertainment.
After travelling with the first two parts of his Paradise film trilogy to Cannes and Venice, ground-breaking Austrian director Ulrich Seidl is a newcomer to the Berlinale where the third film in the series is to be screened in the Official Competition. Paradies: Hoffnung/Paradise: Hope is a coproduction between Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion GmbH (Austria, www.ulrichseidl.com), Tatfilm (Germany, www.tatfilm.de) and Société Parisienne de Production ( France, www.coproductionoffice.eu).
Georgia sends two films to Berlin. On 7 February, the Panorama’s main programme will openwith the GeorgianChemi Sabnis Naketsi/A Fold in My Blanket by Zaza Rusadze. Produced by director’s production companyZazarfilm with the support of the Georgian National Film Centre, the film tells the story of a young man returning to his home town after studying abroad. Tornike Bziava, Tornike Gogrichiani, and Zura Kipshidze are the main actors. Media Luna New Films is the sales agent.
A Georgian-German coproduction will be screened in Forum. Grzeli nateli dgeebi/In Bloom, the first feature by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß, is focusing on two young female friends in a country marked by civil war and poverty in 1992.
Two Turkish films were also selected for Panorama. Asli Ozge's Hayatboyu/Lifelong is a Turkish-German-Dutch coproduction between Razor Film Produktion, Augustus Film, Kaliber Film, Bulut Filmand, and Soda Media. The cast includes Defne Halman, Haka Cimenser, and Gizem Akman. Uğur Yücel's Soğuk/Cold is a 100% Turkish production starring Cenk Alibeyoğlu, A. Rıfat Şungar, and Valeria Skorohodova.
Croatia is also represented with two films selected for the Forum section. Krugovi/Circles Srdan Golubović’s drama of three parallel stories about heroism is produced by the Serbian company Bas Celik and the German company Neue Mediopolis Filmproduktion, in coproduction with the Slovenian company Vertigo/E-motion Film, the Croatian company Propeler Film and the French company La Cinefacture.
Another Croatian coproduction, this time with Bosnia and Herzegovina, was also selected in Forum. The story from Obrana i zaštita/A Stranger aka The Bridge, written and directed by the acclaimed theatre and film director Bobo Jelčić, is set in Mostar, a town still divided into the Croatian and the Bosnian side 20 years after the war. The film is a tale about prejudice, human weaknesses and conflict between the individual and the society played by: Bogdan Diklić, Nada Đurevska, Ivana Roščić, and Izudin Bajrović. The project involves Spiritus Movens, Produkcija Kadar and Croatian Radio and Television.
Two Austrian films will be shown in the Forum section, beginning with the world premiere of Gustav Deutsch's Shirley – Visions of Reality. This Austrian production of Kgp Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production uses 13 cinematically vivified paintings by Edward Hopper in order to tell the story of a woman who lives in a reality she sees as a made up construct. The cast includes Stephanie Cumming, Christoph Bach, and Florentin Groll.
Die 727 Tage ohne Karamo/The 727 Days without Karamo by Anja Salomonowitz (also in Forum) is a documentary experiment of 21 binational couples sharing personal moments of their love stories, forming one complete story of how love can rise above the written law. The 80 minite film is produced by Amour Fou Vienna.
The German-Polish coproduction Sieniawka by Marcin Malaszczak, screening in Forum, is a lyrical portrait of post-socialist reality between Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, conceived of as a mix of fictional staging and documentary representation of a dilapidated mental asylum and a landscape scarred by coal mining
Reha Erdem's Jîn (Turkey), selected in Generation 14plus, sees the war between guerrillas and the army in Kurdish areas in Turkey through the eyes of a 17 year old girl, a young fighter (played by Deniz Hasgüler). The film is produced by Ömer Atay through Atlantik Film.
Kasia Rosłaniec's Baby Blues (Poland), will have its European premiere in Generation 14plus. After Mall Girls, Kasia Rosłaniec made a teenage mother’s tour de force through a world of daily chores, nappies fashion and drugs. Zentropa International Poland is producing.
Mammu, es Tevi mīlu/Mother, I Love You by the Latvian director Jānis Nords, selected in Generation Kplus, is the touching story of a misunderstood adolescent who tries to negociate his relationship with his mother while delving into the world of the petty crime. The film is produced by Tanka ( alise@tanka.lv) and stars Kristofers Konovalovs, Vita Varpina, and Matiss Livcans.
Cee Films At The Berlinale:
Official Competition:
W imię... /In the Name of by Małgośka Szumowska (Poland)
Epizoda u životu berača željeza/An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker by Danis Tanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina-France -Slovenia)
Poziţia copilului/Child's Pose by Călin Peter Netzer (Romania)
Paradies: Hoffnung/Paradise: Hope by Ulrich Seidl (Austria-Germany-France)
Panorama:
Chemi Sabnis Naketsi/A Fold in My Blanket by Zaza Rusadze (Georgia)
Hayatboyu/Lifelong by Asli Ozge (Turkey-Germany)
Soğuk/Cold by Uğur Yücel (Turkey)
Forum:
Grzeli nateli dgeebi/In Bloom by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß (Georgia-Germany)
Krugovi/Circles by Srdan Golubović (Serbia-Germany-Slovenia-Croatia-France)
Obrana i zaštita/A Stranger by Bobo Jelčić (Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Shirley – Visions of Reality by Gustav Deutsch (Austria)
Die 727 Tage ohne Karamo/The 727 Days without Karamo by Anja Salomonowitz (Austria)
Sieniawka by Marcin Malaszczak (Germany-Poland)
Generation 14plus:
Jîn by Reha Erdem (Turkey)
Baby Blues by Kasia Rosłaniec (Poland)
Generation Kplus:
Mammu, es Tevi mīlu/Mother, I Love You by Jānis Nords (Latvia)...
- 2/12/2013
- by Iulia Blaga
- Sydney's Buzz
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