Best & Worst Films at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival
One of international cinema's most prestigious annual events, the 67th Berlin International Film Festival (commonly known as the Berlinale) wrapped up this weekend, with Hungarian drama On Body and Soul earning the top award from a jury led by director Paul Verhoeven.
Below, we sample the reactions from film critics to that and other notable films premiering at this year's festival (including the upcoming X-Men film Logan, new features from Oren Moverman, Sally Potter, and Agnieszka Holland, and more).
Hungarian writer-director Ildikó Enyedi's first feature film in 18 years won the Golden Bear for best film at this year’s festival. A love story set at a Budapest slaughterhouse, the film “seduces, distracts, intrigues, but ultimately doesn’t pack the visceral, spiritual impact that one might expect,” writes Zhuo-Ning Su of The Film Stage.
While the film also took home the FIPRESCI (international critics) prize for best film, it certainly wasn't the best-reviewed entry at the festival. Some critics found the film a bit too long at two hours, but Screen Daily’s Jonathan Romney believes “delicate psychological insight, a strong aesthetic signature and two affecting, restrained performances by Alexandra Borbély and Géza Morcsányi overcome any familiarity, as well as occasional hints of preciousness.”
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