We’re already 1/3 of the way as far as the Berlin Film Festival goes. With that comes the Screen Jury Grid which tabulates critics scores for the competition titles. So far, 7 of the 19 films vying for the Golden Bear have been screened. We still have some big names waiting to be shown including Richard Linklater, Radu Jude and Hong Sangsoo.
For now, leading the way is Michel Franco’s “Dreams,” starring Jessica Chastain which has an impressive score of 3.1/4. I used to be a skeptic of Franco’s brand of morose cinema. However, his last two films — “Sundown” and “Memory” —were very good.
“Dreams” stars Chastain as a privileged white woman who involves herself in a forbidden romance with a Mexican male ballet dancer — he also happens to be an undocumented immigrant, illegally installed in the United States, and that ends up complicating their relationship.
Deadline’s review of “Dreams” has Franco “skewer[ing] woke hypocrisy” (whatever that means). It’s obviously a very topical film that will bring in much debate whenever it gets released. Raves are also coming from IndieWire, THR, The Guardian, and Screen. Meanwhile, The Playlist hated the film.
If you haven’t seen some of Franco’s more recent films, then please do. They don’t get talked about enough. Franco’s Haneke-style nihilism and gloomy outlook on humanity isn’t for everyone’s tastes, and he does have his fair share of detractors, but I find he’s been vastly improving these last few years. Yes, Franco has been refining his style, restraining more on the shock value.
UPDATE: Gabriel Mascaro’s “The Blue Trail” is now in the lead with a 3.4
