The Burden of Talent

WHAT’S ON — Film The burden of talent Editor’s Choice The protagonists of these three new releases are cursed with extraordinary gifts. By Paul O’Callaghan f you’re the kind of individual Bum, retains the setting and hedonis- ing turns by Jonah Hill as a dandyish DON’T MISS who experiences a jolt of ir- tic vibe, but shifts the satirical focus literary agent and Martin Lawrence I rational paranoia every time towards middle-aged dropouts. The as a dolphin-obsessed Vietnam vet. you pass through airport security, beach bum of the title is Moondog Julian Schnabel is responsible for Berlin Sci-Fi Border (photo) may prove triggering. (Matthew McConaughey), a once- several distinctive screen portraits Filmfest rerun On the second This oddity from Iranian-Swedish great poet who now spends most of trailblazing creative talents, Tuesday of each filmmaker Ali Abbasi tells the story of his time getting high and chasing including The Diving Bell and the month between now of Tina, a customs officer with the younger women – a lifestyle funded Butterfly, his formally dazzling ad- and August, head to Il Kino in Neukölln remarkable ability to smell fear and by his independently wealthy wife aptation of the bestselling memoir for a selection of shame on unsuspecting passen- Minnie (Isla Fisher). But when a by French writer Jean-Dominique highlights from last gers. Her downtrodden demeanour change of circumstances disrupts his Bauby. With At Eternity’s Gate, he year’s fest. April’s suggests a lack of self-esteem, and cash flow, Moondog is encouraged turns his attention to the archetypal picks include Ray Raghavan’s twisty her facial abnormalities make her a by loved ones to clean up his act and tortured genius, Dutch Post-Impres- mind-control target for bullies. But she finds a new write the great American novel that sionist painter Vincent Van Gogh. thriller Violentia. sense of purpose when she becomes surely lurks within him. While regular Willem Dafoe’s expressive central Apr 9 involved in a police operation to ap- gratuitous shots of topless women performance ensures an emotionally Fantasy Filmfest prehend a paedophile ring. And she’s suggest that Korine has no desire to engaging experience, but this is con- Nights offered a shot at happiness when she become a spokesman for the Time’s siderably more experimental than The latest edition of the city-hopping crosses paths with Vore, a creepy in- Up movement, The Beach Bum is nev- your average biopic, with lurching genre fest includes sect enthusiast who looks uncannily ertheless a timely portrait of a privi- camerawork, a fragmentary structure previews of contro- like her. To give away more would leged white man given carte blanche and an earnestly philosophical tone. versial Ted Bundy diminish the impact of what might be to behave outrageously on account Alas, the unavoidable expository se- biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly the most unpredictable film you’ll see of his alleged artistic genius. Korine quences are clunky, with on-the-nose Evil, and Vile, and this year. Suffice to say thatBorder sceptics are unlikely to be converted dialogue and some highly question- Craig S. Zahler’s is less grounded in realism than it – like much of his work, the film is able accents. And the decision to cast outrageously provocative cop first appears. That it’s co-written by narratively threadbare and childishly 63-year-old Dafoe as Van Gogh, who thriller Dragged horror novelist John Ajvide Lindqvist provocative. But it’s also exhilarat- died aged 37, proves jarring, particu- Across Concrete. becomes very apparent as the film ingly immersive and occasionally larly in early scenes depicting the Cinestar Sony Center. Apr 13-14 builds towards its jaw-dropping laugh-out-loud funny, with support- artist’s formative years in Paris. T climax. The overall package should Sehsüchte delight fans of dour social realism Head to Filmuniversität and midnight movie quirkiness alike. The Beach Bum Starts Mar 28 D: Harmony Korine (US 2019) with Babelsberg KONRAD 2012’s Spring Breakers, a lurid Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg | Border Starts Apr 11 D: Ali WOLF in Potsdam to portrait of youthful debauchery in Abbasi (Sweden 2018) with Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff |At Eternity’s Gate see new films at the sun-drenched Florida, proved an un- Starts Apr 18 D: Julian Schnabel (France, UK, US 2018) with Willem International Student Film Festival. likely hit for oddball auteur Harmony Dafoe, Rupert Friend Apr 24-28 Korine. His follow-up, The Beach 22 EXBERLINER 181.

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