child ' s pose ( film )
berlin winner ‘child’s pose’ gets u. s. distribution (exclusive) – variety
the romanian film child' s pose has picked up the coveted golden bear prize for best film at the 63rd berlin film festival .
“child’s pose” will open at film forum on feb. 19 with a national rollout to follow. the film had its north american debut last month at the toronto film festival .
rn film critic jason di rosso joins ellen fanning to discuss the belgium film the broken circle breakdown and child' s pose, a portrayal of class division in romania .
zeitgeist films has acquired all u. s. rights to calin peter netzer’s “child’s pose, ” winner of the golden bear at berlin and the romanian entry for best foreign language film at the academy awards. “child’s pose” will open at film forum on feb. 19 with a national rollout to follow. the film had its north american [ … ]
an unflinching look at life among the country’s entitled and connected upper class, “child’s pose” follows a controlling mother’s attempt to bribe freedom for her ungrateful son after he kills a child from a poor family in a traffic accident .
zeitgeist films has acquired all u. s. rights to calin peter netzer ’s “child’s pose, ” winner of the golden bear at berlin and the romanian entry for best foreign language film at the academy awards .
one piece of advice: see “child’s pose” in time for dinner or a long cup of coffee afterwards. this is a film meant for spirited discussion, and even argument .
cornelia (luminita gheorghiu) is an overbearing, oppressive mother seeking to keep her son, barbu, out of trouble in the romanian film “child’s pose. ” (zeitgeist films )
winner – best film – 2013 berlin film festival winner – 9 romanian film awards incl best film, director, actress, screenplay, supp. actor & supp. actress
correction, feb. 21, 2014: this article previously misstated when child' s pose won at the berlin film festival. it was last year, not this year. (return. )
gravity director alfonso cuarón and the film’s visual effects supervisor tim webber, of london’s framestore, explain the unique challenges of realising the film’s zero - gravity setting .
berlin - - the 63rd berlin international film festival handed out its awards saturday, with the top prize, the golden bear for best film, going to the romanian family drama and corruption tale “child’s pose, ” directed by calin peter netzer .
a gripping and thought - provoking drama that touches on the nature of grief and class corruption in the new romania, the heart of child' s pose is nevertheless its convincing study of a power struggle between mother and adult child .
the winner of the golden bear at the 2013 berlinale, calin peter netzer‘s riveting child’s pose centres on a mother’s twisted affection for her son, and the repercussions of her actions when his wellbeing is placed in jeopardy. .
‘child’s pose’, a romanian movie by director calin peter netzer about a domineering mother using her social position to try to save her son from jail, won the golden bear for best picture at the berlin film festival on saturday .
berlin (reuters) - “child’s pose”, a romanian drama about a domineering mother using her social position to try to save her son from jail, won the golden bear for best picture at the berlin film festival on saturday .
a romanian political allegory - in romanian - might sound like tough sledding, but thanks to a searing performance by luminita gheorghiu ,
child' s pose
is anything but .
child’s pose presents in a thrilling, emotional, yet humorous way, the relationship between a ruling mother and her grown - up child. child’s pose is a touching film on traumatizing children while suffocating them with love and on the marks that parents leave on their children’s personalities. the movie is also a depiction of the romanian contemporary high - class, speaking about low - level corruption and trading of influence in the midst of the core social institutions and their extensions over the whole socio - economic system in romania nowadays. urltoken
venue: berlin film festival (competition), feb. 11, 2012. production company: parada film
london — the european co - production award, the prix eurimages, which acknowledges the role of co - productions in the european film industry, has gone to ada solomon, the producer of calin peter netzer’s “child’s pose, ” which won the top prize at the berlin film festival, and is the romanian oscar entry .
calin peter netzer' s powerful family drama child' s pose - - which won this year' s berlinale top prize, the golden bear, and the critics' fipresci award - - was the unanimous choice of the national oscar nominating committee .
child' s pose is the sort of film that foregrounds a major event rather than a plot per se, in the hope that the exploration of said event will allow character nuance and social significance to waft up from cracks in the façade .
more… “child’s pose sounds like something elementary and easy, but don’t be fooled. this stunning film from romania, a ferocious psychological drama with the pace of a thriller, is anything but simple” – kenneth turan reviews for npr (audio) .
she would go into
child' s pose ,
a resting position, but the room' s conditions made relaxing difficult. on four occasions, she left the 39 c room to recover. then she quit .
calin peter netzer' s film is a tale of corruption and guilt in modern romania .
london — the european co - production award, the prix eurimages, which acknowledges the role of co - productions in the european film industry, has gone to ada solomon, the producer of calin peter netzer’s “child’s pose, ” which won the top prize at the berlin film festival, and is the romanian oscar entry. through her shingle hifilm, solomon has [ … ]
călin peter netzer (b. 1975, petroşani, romania) studied directing at bucharest’s theatre and film academy. his feature - length debut maria (2003) premiered at locarno where it received the main jury prize and awards for the two main actors. his second feature medal of honor (medalia de onoare, 2009) screened at more than thirty film festivals and was selected for the prestigious variety critics’ choice section at kviff 2010. child’s pose is netzer’s third feature film .
produced by romania' s parada film, the movie is represented internationally by germany' s beta cinema, which is reportedly anticipating a u. s. sale soon .
alin peter netzer' s child' s pose is a gripping new drama from romania and another demonstration of how that country' s new wave is developing a distinctive kind of real - time slice - of - life cinema with characterisation in extreme, pitiless closeup. it' s able to open up brilliantly crafted incidental insights into post - ceaușescu society, and like corneliu porumboiu' s
hailed internationally by both audiences and critics, and popular winner of the coveted golden bear at the 2013 berlinale, calin peter netzer‘s child’s pose is a riveting drama that centres on the vice - like grip of a mother’s affection for her son, and the repercussions of her actions when his wellbeing is placed in jeopardy .
surprisingly, though, after mostly ignoring the heart of the injustice it clinically examines, the mutually toxic mother and son of “child’s pose” do finally confront the family of the dead boy in an emotional third act in which barbu, in a moment of liberation and responsibility, successfully asks his mother to undo the child lock on his car door .
few viewers will come away from “child’s pose” without strong feelings about cornelia and her behavior — whether they see it as pathological or an example of political allegory at its most shrewd. but even the most passionate judgments might be chipped away after the film’s amazing final sequence, which the director begins in a cramped home kitchen and ends by masterfully framing a pivotal encounter in a car’s rearview mirror .
taking the golden bear in 2013 was romanian film “ child’s pose ” from director calin peter netzer. his third feature, netzer has been quietly making a name for himself on the festival circuit, but gets one of his biggest wins to date for his tale about a mother who tries to keep her son out of prison after he runs over and kills a child. the film currently has no u. s. distribution, but that situation will hopefully change, with the big prize win certain to put the picture on a few more radars .
festival director dieter kosslick (l) applauds as jury president wong kar wai (r) watches as director calin peter netzer and producer ada solomon recieve the golden bear award for best film for their movie
pozitia copilului
( child' s pose) during the awards ceremony at the 63rd berlinale international film festival in berlin february 16, 2013. reuters / fabrizio bensch (germany - tags: entertainment )
luminita gheorghiu shines as a controlling mother who goes into overdrive when her adult son runs over a child .
a journalist’s conscience leads her to reveal her source to the fbi. here’s why .
all kinds of monstrous mothers rage and rail in the movies, including those who love too little or too much. in douglas sirk’s 1959 melodrama, “imitation of life, ” lana turner plays one type, a selfish white woman who’s blissfully indifferent to her child’s needs. yet the more disturbing mother is played by juanita moore as a black domestic who smothers her own daughter in so much goodness that it’s no surprise that the girl flees. at the end, the saint’s daughter throws herself on her mother’s coffin; it’s a wonder she doesn’t leap in front of a train. in “child’s pose, ” a drama with a story as cold, merciless and inevitable as a tomb, escape proves every bit as futile .
solomon is also head of distribution at parada film and executive director of the next intl. film festival in bucharest. she teaches at the national film school in bucharest and, together with tudor giurgiu, manages three mini - plex cinemas in romania .
cornelia talks a great deal in “child’s pose, ” a film in which every conversation reverberates with hidden meanings, veiled threats and the lingering history of a nation that’s traded one master for another. written by razvan radulescu and directed by calin peter netzer, the film is at once an allegory about the new romania and a slice of naturalism that turns on a traffic accident that has left a boy dead and barbu’s future in jeopardy. it’s a ghastly scene made worse when cornelia, who has raced to the police station where barbu is being held, announces that she’s the “mother of the boy” who caused the accident before she rushes to clean up his mess .
child’s pose is a film about a pretty pathological mother - and - son relationship, about the children’s position relative to their parents and vice versa, about parents losing their children one way or another. a camera dependent film i might say, that will attempt to convey states of mind, feelings, smouldering conflicts, desperate outbursts, i. e. a slice of life with an almost documentary authenticity. the characters are analysed or rather psychoanalyzed, trying to get a feeling of understanding or even compassion towards this weird family .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
there’s broad agreement that supporting family films is a good thing: not so much about what counts as a family film. by ben roberts .
the film was produced by parada film and hai - hui entertainment, with backing from hbo romania. netzer and razvan radulescu (“the death of mr. lazarescu”) wrote the script .
... transmits the nervousness present in the tortuous relationship between mother and child and social tensions. [ full review in spanish ]
mothers are blamed for a lot, in cinema and in life. their love is essential to a child' s development, but too much of that same love is damaging. wanting a close relationship with your adult child is healthy, but how close is too close? one of the greatest strengths of
child' s pose
, romania' s 2014 oscar - entry and winner of the golden bear this year in berlin, is that these questions are presented, but no real answers are provided. the answers we get are murky, ambiguous, disturbing. the truth is there, somewhere, but lost in an abyss of recriminations, resentment, and things too dark to discuss. it' s an extremely strong and upsetting film, yet another example of the fascinating things going on in romania' s new wave, with a breathtaking lead performance by luminita gheorghiu as cornelia, the competent career - woman in bucharest, determined to clear her adult son' s name .
the new romanian film movement of the past decade has made such a strong showing in contemporary world cinema that the inevitable backlash has already begun. forget the backlash: calin peter netzer' s child' s pose joins the ranks of cristi puiu' s the death of mr. lazarescu (2005) and cristian mungiu' s 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days (2007) as masterful works that transcend hype and bloated expectations. this is clearly a renaissance moment for romanian cinema that is too broad to be waylaid by either disappointing films from former bellwethers or contrarian views from cranky scribes courting controversy .
subscribe to trailers: urltoken subscribe to coming soon: urltoken subscribe to indie & film festivals: urltoken like us on facebook: urltoken follow us on twitter: urltoken child' s pose official trailer 1 (2014) - romanian movie hd seeing a way to reassert control over her adult son' s life when he faces manslaughter charges, an affluent romanian woman sets out on a campaign of emotional and social manipulation to keep him out of prison, navigating the waters of power, corruption and influence .
calin peter netzer’s film is the latest effort in the romanian new wave, a group whose debt to 1970s american cinema seems obvious. the impetus for romanian movies like “the death of mr. lazarescu, ” “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days” and “child’s pose” (in all of which gheorghiu appears) is controlled fury at the injustice and tyranny of systems. ordinary innocent individuals are as flies in a spider web, and the directors of these films ruthlessly, morbidly and sometimes humorously diagram every entrapping filament .
they’ll debut alongside north american premieres of james franco’s “child of god, ” alex gibney’s “the armstrong lie, ” hayao miyazaki’s “the wind rises, ” clio barnard’s “the selfish giant, ” guillaume canet’s “blood ties” and alain guiraudie’s “stranger by the lake” (which will have all premiered at either cannes or venice), as well as the international premiere of “martha marcy may marlene” director sean durkin’s “southcliffe, ” a british miniseries about a fictional market town inhabited by fictional characters, but with similarities to many actual people and places in britain today .
after the terrible news of a fatal car accident involving her son, a desperate mother will do anything in her powers to set her child free .
gravity captures the sensation of actually being in zero - gravity orbit around the earth with a verisimilitude like no film before it, largely due to the technical innovations developed during production. director alfonso cuarón and visual effects supervisor tim webber discuss the film’s production, and cinematographer emmanuel lubezki’s eureka! moment at a peter gabriel concert .
motivation of the jury :
a uniquely complete film. shattering, to the point, poetic, believable, delicate, humorous. the sensitive interaction between the two main actors has resulted in the most touching portrayal of friendship we’ve seen in film. only someone hard - hearted could fail to love this film .
last year' s romanian submission, cristian mungiu' s beyond the hills, made it to the january shortlist before losing out to michael haneke' s winning submission, amour .
speaking from the winner’s podium, the film’s producer ada solomon addressed the dwindling support for film in her country, declaring, “romanian politicians should pay much more attention to the kind of ambassador romanian cinema is for our country around the world. ” solomon also gave thanks to art house distributors and cinemas for their fight against “commercial censorship. ”
the psychological thriller “ child’s pose, ” the latest example of romania’s house style, stars luminita gheorghiu, a veteran of both “lazarescu” and “4 months, ” here taking a well - deserved pass at center stage. she plays cornelia keneres, a prosperous bucharest architect who, as the movie opens, is commiserating with her sister over drinks and cigarettes about her son, barbu (bogdan dumitrache), who is living with a woman of whom cornelia doesn’t approve .
director calin peter netzer' s golden bear - winning drama is the country' s unanimous submission to the 86th academy awards .
this month’s issue boldly goes into outer space as our cover feature explores the immersive 3d technical marvel that is alfonso cuarón’s gravity .
this year’s silver bear for outstanding artistic contribution was awarded to cinematographer aziz zhambakiyev for his work on kazakh film “harmony lessons” from director emir baigazin. the film focuses on bullying in a school in rural kazakhstan, and makes the most of its spare landscapes and the faces of its intense young performers .
winner of the online short film competition ifestival, as voted by the audience :
swear
by lea becker .
the european co - production award will be presented during the european film awards ceremony in berlin on dec. 7 .
the first thing you should know about child’s pose is that, despite the unfortunate choice of english title, this wrenching romanian drama has nothing to do with yoga. the original title, pozitia copiluilui, refers to the literal physical position of a child—an image which might have several meanings in the movie’s context, none of them involving a relaxing forehead - to - floor asana. the central event of the film’s story is a tragedy (and, possibly, a crime) that the audience never witnesses: a thirtysomething man, barbu (bogdan dumitrache) hits a 14 - year - old boy with his car, killing him instantly. in the immediate aftermath of the accident, the driver’s mother, a wealthy, cultured architect named cornelia (luminita gheorghiu) rushes to her son’s side to do whatever she needs to do to protect him—up to and including bribing witnesses, falsifying police reports, and pressuring the family of the dead boy not to press charges .
ann hornaday is the washington post' s chief film critic. she is the author of
talking pictures: how to watch movies .
she joined the post in 2002. follow
motivation of the jury :
although it was the shortest film, as well as the only animated one in the competition, we found it to combine all the elements of cinema. it´s well executed, efficient and quietly moving. it uses a textual, three - dimensional teqnicue that we´ve never really seen before in this way. it´s beauty is in it´s simplicity, and the film feels mature and fully formed as a result .
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the 46 - year - old then went to explain the low - budget horror film — titled hollywood hills, 90028 .
if cornelia represents romania’s cold war past (and bourgeois self - delusion), then by right barbu stands for the new romania, and the portrait he presents is far from an optimistic one. he’s clearly suffering from unspoken psychic wounds — which he angrily lays at his mother’s well - heeled feet — but he’s a petulant, unpleasant figure, nonetheless. as “child’s pose” proceeds, cornelia will not be deterred in her snooping and scheming, but her encounters along the way are open to interpretation. barbu’s girlfriend, carmen (ilinca goia), insists he can’t ask for what he wants, an observation belied by his constant stream of curt demands to his mother; barbu’s father (florin zamfirescu) is ineffectual at best; and one crucial meeting at a shopping mall, with someone who witnessed the inciting event, is maddeningly inconclusive .
: other people my age have a normal relationship with their child. parents find their fulfillment in their children. everything they failed to accomplish, they achieve through their children .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
cornelia is a nosy mother. she is estranged from her son barbu (bogdan dumitrache), and blames that estrangement on barbu' s girlfriend, whom she can barely reference without a sneer. cornelia is a wealthy successful architect and gave her son all the privileges available to him in the chaotic post - ceaușescu era. and yet he drifts, he lacks focus, he wants nothing to do with his mother. when he hits and kills a peasant child while speeding and is arrested for drunk driving, cornelia, wrapped in furs, swoops in to the rescue .
child' s pose
, like so many other current romanian films, is really about class. cornelia is part of the bucharest elite, and her friends are surgeons and famous opera singers. the family of the dead child are traditional peasants, described by one of the arresting officers as
very simple people
. when cornelia and the dead child' s parents finally meet, in a scene almost absurd—cornelia chooses that moment to babble about her son' s achievements and what a wonderful athlete he was as a teenager—the culture clash is so enormous that it is as though nobody speaks the same language .
memories, myths and radical politics all converge in a gloriously experimental film exploring the mystery of the sphinx. by charlie fox .
seeing a way to reassert control over her adult son' s life when he faces manslaughter charges, an affluent romanian woman sets out on a campaign of emotional and social manipulation to keep him out of prison, navigating the waters of power, corruption and influence. child' s pose is based on the sense of loss of parents who have to send their children away - physically and psychologically. the parent - child relationship is re - assessed through a son in his 30s that wants to escape from his mother, who in turn wants to keep her adult son by her side. the mother' s character is quite familiar, but this film is unique in that the director delicately portrays how the controlling mother wants to deny that her son is destined to leave her by following the characters' emotional flows and gazing at their twisted desires. luminita gheorghiu turns in an extraordinary performance in playing a mother struggling to
save
her son. heading to the conclusion, the film shows that the unhealthy mother - son ...
the film was a favourite among the 19 contenders. mr netzer said he was
a little bit speechless
by the win .
motivation of the jury :
this award goes to a director who is in complete control of his chosen mode of expression. the film succeeds at being at the same time both epic and personal. all too often a director can overshadow their own film, but here is someone whose presence doesn’t force itself onto the film, but which still shines through in each editorial choice he has made. quite apart from the beautiful craftsmanship, this film is uniquely courageos. the unexpected duration of certain close - ups never feels self - serving, as each shot contributes to the film as a whole creating the unique feeling and aura of 12 years a slave .
overall, today’s lineup didn’t come with any significant surprises or hugely anticipated new titles, though there’s still one announcement left next week. until then, you can find this week’s batch of announced titles on the next page .
though the p. o. v. remains cornelia’s throughout the film, the viewer can’t help but sympathize with everyone else in her family. she pries info about barbu’s private life out of the maid, thus learning that his live - in girlfriend carmen is bringing her young daughter to live with them. “raising other people’s offspring” is how mamma puts it .
true to romanian form, director calin peter netzer (who wrote the screenplay with razvan radulescu) keeps his camera close to the women, swishing and swooping between them, often landing on one face while the other person is talking. it can be a maddening, too - obvious visual tic; however, he eventually settles down, and “child’s pose” begins to cast its spell, drawing viewers into a fascinating, troubling and finally controversial portrait of maternal anxiety at its most smotheringly neurotic .
as subtle and careful and slyly disturbing as “child’s pose” is though, it and many others of its genus suffer from an airlessness, pacing like the growth of algae, a dishwater color palate and a dirge - like monotone. the drained, exhausted, stifling mood is a frequently punitive experience for the viewer. these films’ american ancestors (movies like “one flew over the cuckoo’s nest, ” “dog day afternoon, ” “bonnie and clyde”) were deeply sympathetic to their anti - heroes and delivered operatic ecstasy in each spectacular downfall. romanian cinema is all shrug and no crescendo .
a young woman, her shoulders shaking, breaks from the pose and lies down on the yoga mat under her feet. every inch of exposed skin is beaded with perspiration that won' t evaporate. she looks overwhelmed .
special mention: “promised land” by gus van sant (u. s. )
but netzer seems less at ease in the scenes between cornelia and her son, who, it’s implied in one queasy massage scene, have a seriously over - enmeshed oedipal relationship. the multiple intense standoffs between the two of them never quite add up to a satisfying dramatic arc, and barbu is depicted as so retiring and passive a character that his motives (unlike his meddlesome, needy mother’s) remain impalpable. in some scenes, andrei butica’s medium - shaky handheld camera does the ensemble cast a disservice by focusing a little too fixedly on gheorghiu’s admittedly fascinating face. the whole point of handheld is that it can dart around a scene with the quickness of the human eye, showing you whatever you need to see—which isn’t always the diva in the center of the room, but sometimes the people watching the aria. then again, child’s pose —whose title in romanian might be more accurately translated as “fetal position”—is in large part a film about the terrifying, potentially destructive force of maternal love, so maybe it’s fitting that the camera is powerless to look away .
“child’s pose” is a tale of two lost boys. one is dead, the other merely lifeless. barbu (bogdan dumitrache) is a worthless upper - class loser, the sickening and sickened product of lifelong spoiling by his wealthy mother cornelia (luminita gheorghiu). speeding along in his audi at 90 miles per hour or so, he kills a lower - class boy trying to cross the road. cornelia calls in the fixers, looks for a way to make a deal with police and sets about buying off a witness .
motivation of the jury :
this film presents a captivating slice - of - life, or maybe rather a slice - of - death, portrayal of the taking of someone’s life. the abhorrent, meaningless murder is captured sensitively and sincerely in this energetic film. it’s both a brutal eye - opener and a masterful cinematic achievement. a harsh reminder of the impact slavery has left on our contemporary society. this impressive debut is a must for everyone to see !
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. what a space it opens…
rediscovered footage from an early welles film project, too much johnson, may not be revelatory, but the director always springs surprises. by richard deming .
the hand - held camerawork never stops nervously moving, giving the film more of a budget look than it perhaps needed. though the use of music is limited, gianna nannini ’s joyful song “meravigliosa creatura” is used twice to suggest a brighter future .
motivation of the jury :
the film’s photography lifts the story at the same time undermining both the landscape and the events taking place guiding the viewer along previously unexplored paths. the camera forces us to visit places we have never been, and which we maybe wish we had been spared. however provocative the images are they achieve an unexpected beauty, and come together to create a shattering and comprehensive film .
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the film, directed by calin peter netzer, tells the story of a wealthy mother who uses her connections to try and stop her son from going to jail .
françois ozon’s latest film, jeune & jolie, is a cool, provocative blend of teen coming - of - age drama and belle de jour, overlaid with a françoise hardy soundtrack. the director talks to nick roddick about sex, money and the modern teenager
we' re an independent, family - owned australian film distribution company, representing films across australia and new zealand since 1965, & the sister division of palace cinemas .
quirky canadian entry “vic + flo saw a bear, ” from dennis côte, received the alfred bauer prize, awarded to a feature film that “opens new perspectives. ”
ukrainian lyricism and satire and wellesian beginnings at pordenone’s giornate del cinema muto. by geoff brown .
the question of whether what we’re witnessing is masterful ma­nipu­la­tion or genuine catharsis is just one more mystery to work out in the wake of a compelling, complex, confounding film .
after paulina garcia in the chilean film gloria, and waiting for catherine deneuve to appear in on my w ay, berlin competition serves up another fine tribute to a powerful actress, luminita gheorghiu, playing a middle - aged romanian woman and member of the ruling class. as watchable as daytime drama, child’s pose is an on - target, tragi - comic portrait of a domineering mother who sees a chance to regain control over her adult son when he faces manslaughter charges for reckless driving. though dramatically a little too pat for comfort, the screenplay by razvan radulescu and director calin peter netzer is admirably handled, with wicked moments of humor balancing out a truly dramatic finale. the beta cinema release should have little problem flowing into the niches carved out by quality romanian films in recent years .
“good friends should be able to ask each other questions without it going where bethenny’s trying to take it, ” she told viewers. “i’m not bringing this out of the blue. this was just in the papers. let’s be honest, she’s being a [ bitch ] … how ‘real’ can you be, bethenny, if you can’t talk about what’s going on in your life? ”
in a very different vein is abdellatif kechiche’s palme d’or winner blue is the warmest colour, a three - hour long story about a love affair between two young french women which rests on the more traditional virtues of script and performances, but pushes both to great depths through long takes and a relentless search for realism. the film’s explicit sex scenes have been a particular cause for controversy, with some seeing a male perspective. but as kechiche tells jonathan romney: “i find [ that criticism ] really empty. we’re talking about love – it’s absolute, it’s cosmic. ”
on her way out, it was pointed out to frankel how she’s called d’agostino way worse things. but frankel’s real beef was with singer. and it appears they won’t be squashing it anytime soon .
among them are many world premieres, including fred schepisi’s “words and pictures” (which stars clive owen and juliette binoche), arie posin’s “the face of love” (which stars annette bening, robin williams and ed harris), john turturro’s “fading gigolo” (which stars john turturro, woody allen, vanessa paradis, liev schreiber, sharon stone and sofia vergara) richard glatzer and wash westmoreland’s “the last of robin hood” (starring dakota fanning, susan sarandon and kevin kline), kevin macdonald’s “how i lie now” (with saoirse ronan and tom holland), charlie stratton’s “therese” (starring elizabeth olsen, tom felton, jessica lange and oscar isaac) and megan griffiths’s “lucky them” (with toni collette and thomas haden church) .
across four different programs — galas, special presentations, contemporary world cinema and tiff kids — the festival brought its overall film count to just over 200 (see the full list here) .
★★★★ “one of cinema’s most domineering mothers. a powerhouse drama. ” garry maddox, the sydney morning herald
alfonso cuarón’s gravity tries to depict the dangers of spaceflight realistically. but the fantasies of science - fiction cinema and the realities of mankind’s ventures beyond the atmosphere have never been too far apart. by roger luckhurst .
she is watching a classy opera rehearsal when ruta informs her there’s been an accident. her son has run over a child and killed him. without a second’s thought the two women shift gears to crisis mode and take off for an outlying police station, where barbu (bogdan dumitrache) is waiting to sign a statement and be tested for alcohol. their mission is to do whatever it takes to keep him from being prosecuted and serving a three - to - 15 year sentence for manslaughter .
monstrous, but never simply villainous: gheorghiu’s cornelia is one of those maddening but unforgettable characters who, no matter how vile their behavior, you can’t bring yourself to hate. early on, there’s a tough - to - watch scene in the waiting room of the police station where cornelia’s son barbu is being questioned the night of the accident. cornelia and her officious sister - in - law (natasa raab) rush onto the scene in fur coats, ready to protest barbu’s unjust treatment at the hands of the law—only to discover that the only other occupants of the waiting room are the immediate relatives of the dead child. even as we’re disgusted by the women’s entitled behavior, we also perceive the black social comedy of the encounter: cornelia is desperate to pull whatever strings she can to keep her boy out of jail, but also keenly aware of the need to appeal to the victim’s family’s good side by observing the outward protocols of grief and reconciliation (paying for the funeral, paying a condolence visit, etc .) .
a dark piece of neorealism - and a searing indictment of eastern europe' s newly moneyed classes ...
best director went to u. s. filmmaker david gordon green for comic road movie “prince avalanche”, while chile’s paulina garcia was the popular winner of the best actress prize for her turn as a santiago divorcee in “gloria” .
just as gracefully as cornelia’s psyche is exposed through the dialogue, her glittering social world is neatly sketched in a high society party where the nomenclature celebrates her birthday. “i’m 30 but i look 60 – just kidding, ” as she likes to say. she’s also an inveterate liar, making excuses about barbu’s absence to keep up appearances .
starring luminita gheorghiu as an overbearing mother and bodgdan dumitrache as her mollycoddled adult son, the film has been a box office success in romania, where it was released in early march and is still showing .
systematically disturbing. in romanian, with english subtitles. running time: 112 minutes. not rated (profanity, adult situations). at the film forum, houston street between sixth avenue and varick street .
technical innovations also made possible the remarkably immersive leviathan, an abstract nonfiction portrait of industrial fishing off the coast of new bedford, massachusetts. the film’s directors lucien castaing - taylor and verena paravel tell trevor johnston how their work attempts to avoid the point of view imposed by conventional documentary in favour of a more direct experience .
★★★★ “one to remember. netzer has taken compelling acting, psychological insight and an unerring sense of drama – even melodrama – to create a film with a deep sense of humanity. ” lynden barber, sbs films
the announcement - - possibly the first for the best foreign language category - - will pitch the film against scores of others from around the world that will compete at the awards, scheduled for march 2, 2014 .
golden bear for the best short film went to “la fugue, ” (the runaway) from jean - bernard marlin, while stefan kriekhaus won the jury prize silver bear for “die ruhe bleibt” (remains quiet) .
fairfax media’s phillipa hawker interviewed director peter calin netzer about his sharp and sometimes harrowing story of class, power and control .
at moksha yoga uptown in toronto, manager jen blanko says variations in class size make it difficult to regulate humidity - which is supposed to be at 40 per cent .
if we have a class of 10 people, it' s one thing. if it' s 55 people, it' s a totally different environment in there ,
she says .
australian kim mordaunt’s laos - based film “the rocket” received the prize for best first feature; it had already picked up a crystal bear from the youth - centric generations section. crystal bears also went to kasia roslaniec for “baby blues, ” and to short films “rabbitland” from ana nedeljkovic and nikola majdak, and “the amber amulet” by matthew moore .
the motivation of the jury :
for evocative and compelling photographic portraits that move through time and space, combining the countryside’s innocence with the feeling of an ominous external world. with an enigmatic and highly personal narrative, the director recurs to the subjectivity of the memory in a society destined for change. 1 km film 2013 goes to john skoog .
, this film has some exquisitely horrible glimpses into bureaucracy and corruption. the story' s premise is a noir standard: a wealthy and overbearing mother, cornelia (luminița gheorghiu) has a stormy relationship with her spoilt grownup son barbu (bogdan dumitrache). when he gets into some serious trouble, his mum has to step in and square things with a word here and a payoff there. vlad ivanov – renowned for his chilling performance as the abortionist in cristian mungiu' s
the silver bear for best script went to iran’s jafar panahi and kamboziya partovi for
pardé
( closed curtain). panahi is prohibited by iranian authorities from travelling or making movies due to his involvement in election protests in 2009. “closed curtain” is a poetic documentation of his artistic isolation and desolation. speaking at the awards event, partovi, who co - directed with panahi and stars in the film, said “it’s never been possible to stop a thinker and a poet. ”
we watch as attitudes get warped, compassion removed, and grief' s all - consuming power possess victim and perpetrator alike .
in 1947 ingrid bergman wrote a letter to roberto rossellini – and one of cinema’s great partnerships was born. by nick pinkerton .
sympathy struggles with mockery in the abrupt, defeated conclusion of horace ové’s drama about black power in britain. by ashley clark .
welcome to the globe and mail’s comment community. this is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and globe staff .
while frankel shot back at singer about her insinuation, singer insisted she was just trying to show interest in her friend’s life .
motivation of the jury :
bold, courageos, funny, provocative. återträffen (the reunion) is a well - crafted story, and navigates a mix of genres intelligently. we find ourselves in a labyrinth of mirrors where the viewer is confronted with questions about power, loneliness and bullying at every turn. the film does not present any answers, but but leaves one with a lot of rewarding questions. this is a film with strong artistic integrity .
propelled by gheorghiu’s towering, tour - de - force performance and a razor - sharp attention to class and generational resentments, netzer’s engrossing film lays bare the moral bankruptcy of upper class, post - ceaușescu romanian society and its institutions in expert fashion. disquieting but also compassionate, this examination of guilt and the crippling effects of loss became a national talking point upon release in romania last year (breaking 20 year - old box office records) and makes for a fascinating, unforgettable cinema experience .
that was the final straw for frankel. “i’ve just been called a witch and wicked. i’m going back to the house, ” she told radziwill, leaving. “no one’s going to call me a witch and wicked. that’s not going to happen. ”
60 - year - old cornelia (the phenomenal luminita gheorghiu) leads a life of privilege, social power and abundant material wealth in contemporary bucharest, but life is not perfect. more than anything in the world, she longs for her 34 year - old son barbu (bogdan dumitrache) to reciprocate her unreserved devotion. but the pair barely speak, something the domineering cornelia blames on barbu’s live - in girlfriend, who has a child from a previous relationship .
the industry: saving mr. banks; the return of woody allen; funding children’s films; lars jönsson, producer of lukas moodysson
in italy the title was re - written with a typo in it (' il caso kerenes' instead of the correct spelling of the family name keneres) and the film was advertised on posters and published on dvd with this typo there .
directed by calin peter netzer; written by razvan radulescu and mr. netzer; director of photography, andrei butica; edited by dana bunescu; production design by malina ionescu; costumes by irina marinescu; produced by mr. netzer and ada solomon; released by zeitgeist films. at film forum, 209 west houston street, west of avenue of the americas, south village. in romanian, with english subtitles. running time: 1 hour 52 minutes. this film is not rated .
abdellatif kechiche’s blue is the warmest colour has caused no small amount of controversy since winning the palme d’or in cannes – not least because of a perceived male slant to its depiction of a lesbian love affair. but, says the director, you might as well tell him he has no right to film the life of an airline pilot because he can’t fly. by jonathan romney .
“it’s almost as if we’re peering at those sacred moments which only take place inside the walls of the home”… blackbook interviews calin peter netzer .
smiling endings, cuts of the wicker man, archiving the silent era, eddie marsan’s tyrannosaur, fainting or dying in the great beauty .
roger luckhurst considers the film, and looks back at the ways in which earlier films have depicted the experience of being in space. “there has always been a strange interplay between the american military - industrial complex and science - fiction cinema”, he writes, drawing on movies from destination moon in 1950 through star wars, capricorn one, 2001: a space odyssey, dark star and apollo 13, and argues that the fantasies of science - fiction cinema and the realities of mankind’s ventures beyond the earth’s atmosphere have never been too far apart .
the 2013 toronto international film festival added over 75 titles to its lineup this morning, including new films from guillaume canet, hayao miyazaki, sean durkin, clio barnard, james franco, johnnie to, alex gibney, john turturro, kevin macdonald and fred schepisi .
winner: fia - stina sandlund. motivation :
a post - modern, metafictional, slightly absurd re - make of strindberg' s miss julie (fröken julie). the film takes place in a contemporary new york apartment in which the actors play heightened versions of themselves. alexandra dahlström (as miss julie) and jens lekman (as jean) meet to reenact the play to lekmans' music .
basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him. riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you. …
when it comes to 1980s period authenticity, andrew bujalski’s computer chess has got it taped, thanks to the magic of old - fashioned video technology: and bujalski’s not alone. is this return to analogue a symptom of nostalgia, a protest against digital – or something more? by calum marsh .
the extreme temperature and humidity in bikram yoga and its less regimented spinoff moksha yoga can be risky for those with heart conditions, as well as for those with low or high blood pressure in the normal range, says nieca goldberg, medical director of new york university' s women' s heart program .
when you first see cornelia — played by the astonishing romanian actress luminita gheorghiu — she’s seated on a sofa, a scowl creasing her face and a cigarette burning in her hand. her bleach job and fussy accouterments telegraph the kind of class privilege that’s grasped bauble by bauble or has come late in life, but these trappings are less showy than the complaints she bitterly recites about a man. while she makes him sound like a lover, he turns out to be her only child, barbu (bogdan dumitrache), which suggests that something is rotten in bucharest, where much of the story unfolds. the more she talks, the more obvious it becomes that the hardness edging her mouth isn’t new .
motivation of the jury :
this year' s rising star is an actor who has already made a lasting impression on screen despite his young age. with great precision and understanding of the craft he portrays a wide range of emotions, from playfulness and humor to vibrating love and deep pain. all these qualities were also present in his most recent film, the critically acclaimed
känn ingen sorg
. the winner is adam lundgren .
bethenny frankel is known for the self - deprecating and biting sense of humor she displays on the real housewives of new york city — often preaching the “zero f—” she has to give about the drama that comes her way. but on wednesday’s all - new episode, the skinnygirl mogul wasn’t laughing when a film from her past — in which she was nude — was brought up in the same context of her 6 - year - old daughter.
child 's pose ( romanian : poziția copilului ) is a 2013 romanian drama film directed by călin peter netzer . the film premiered in competition at the 63rd berlin international film festival where it won the golden bear . it was screened in the contemporary world cinema section at the 2013 toronto international film festival . luminita gheorghiu was nominated as the best actress at the 26th european film awards and the film won the telia film award at the stockholm international film festival 2013 . the film was selected as the romanian entry for the best foreign language film at the 86th academy awards , but it was not nominated . 
child's pose (romanian: poziția copilului) is a 2013 romanian drama film directed by călin peter netzer. the film premiered in competition at the 63rd berlin international film festival where it won the golden bear. it was screened in the contemporary world cinema section at the 2013 toronto international film festival. luminita gheorghiu was nominated as the best actress at the 26th european film awards and the film won the telia film award at the stockholm international film festival 2013. the film was selected as the romanian entry for the best foreign language film at the 86th academy awards, but it was not nominated.
child's pose (romanian: poziția copilului) is a 2013 romanian drama film directed by călin peter netzer. the film premiered in competition at the 63rd berlin international film festival where it won the golden bear. it was screened in the contemporary world cinema section at the 2013 toronto international film festival. luminita gheorghiu was nominated as the best actress at the 26th european film awards and the film won the telia film award at the stockholm international film festival 2013. the film was selected as the romanian entry for the best foreign language film at the 86th academy awards, but it was not nominated.