The 59th Berlin International Film Festival, Berlinale, has opened in Berlin, where 18 films will compete for the top prize, the Golden Bear, this year. The festival opened with Tom Tykwers new thriller The International about the dark side of banking, and critics already name films by Francois Ozon, Bertrand Tavernier and Mitchell Lichtenstein among the favorites. Two Russian films shown out of competition also draw special interest.
The 59th annual Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlinale, has opened in Berlin. This year, 18 films will compete for the festival’s top prize, which in Europe is considered second in importance only to Cannes. The winner will be announced on February 14.The honor of opening the festival for the second time was bestowed on German director Tom Tykwer (previous films: Run Lola Run and Perfume). This time, Tykwer presented to the jury the suspense thriller The International, devoted to the dark side of the banking business.
The film’s main character - an Interpol agent played by Clive Owen - exposes the criminal business of a major international bank linked to arms trafficking and money laundering.
According to critics, the films with the best chance of winning the festival’s top prize - the Golden Bear statuette - are Ricky by François Ozon, In the Electric Mist by Bertrand Tavernier, and Happy Tears by Mitchell Lichtenstein.
Two Russian films - Boris Khlebnikov’s Help Gone Mad and Pavel Bardin’s Russia 88 - will be shown at the Berlinale out of competition.