How good has 57th edition of Karlovy Vary festival been?
The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival comes to a close on Saturday night with the traditional glitzy awards ceremony. But what have been the best films in the main Crystal Globe competition? And what has been the overall standard of the festival this year? I spoke to iRozhlas.cz film journalist Kristina Roháčková.
We’ve already seen all the 11 films in the main competition. What for you have been some of the most impressive?
“I have to mention Blaga’s Lessons, a Bulgarian movie about a 70-year-old former teacher. She is the victim of a telephone scam and that leads her into this downward spiral of crime of her own. It’s a really impressive social drama. It’s quite stark – and it really stands on the main actress’s back and shoulders.”
There are two Czech films in the main competition: We Were Never Modern and A Sensitive Person. What was your take on those?
“A Sensitive Person is, I think, the one that’s going to distress the audience the most. It’s going to split the reception, because either you find a way of sort of connecting with the story of this really chaotic road movie – about a father connecting with his two young sons – or maybe you plain old hate it all through, and it’s quite a long film. I don’t think it’s going to be a cinema hit, so the festival is going to be the peak for it, I think.
“And We Will Never Be Modern – the English title says it all, I must say. It’s a thriller with a detective storyline and it’s about a woman of science, a rational person I would say, and a country [1930s Czechoslovakia] that’s supposed to be leaning forward when in essence the thinking is backwards.”
Generally speaking, what are your impressions of the 57th edition of Karlovy Vary? Has it been a good year?
“I think it has. But I keep feeling like I’m seeing three-star movies, and there’s nothing bad about that. I think when you keep seeing four-star and five-star films it’s quite hard. If you see these strong, powerful things that move you, it can be quite tiring. So I think watching four three-star movies a day is perfect for a film festival.”
I’m going to put you on the spot – what is the best film you’ve seen here this year, Kristina?
“Yes, I definitely have one and it’s no surprise; it’s the winner of the Palme d’Or from Cannes, Anatomy of a Fall. It’s a really hard-hitting and very authentic and real-feeling drama about a trial about a husband losing his life. We really don’t know if he was murdered or just fell out of a window.
“But there’s a fall – there’s a fall in the title – and there is an incredible performance by Sandra Hüller. She’s German actress but in this movie she’s only speaking English and French, so that alone is really impressive.”
