Golden Globes

In 2012 the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi was awarded a Golden Globe for his film A Separation. With this universally acclaimed film Farhadi who started his career in the late 1990’s established himself as a major filmmaker coming out of Iran.

From the moment it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Directors Fortnight, this film was an instant sensation. Shortly after the debut, it was acquired for domestic release in the US and France, and was the talk of the town.

One has to admit that for many Americans the only film from and about Kazakhstan did not even come from that country. It was the satire Borat:Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Director Ryosuke Hashiguchi makes a huge comeback with this critically acclaimed filmThree Stories of Love, considered one of the best movies of the year in Japan. Three Stories follows three interwoven tales of individuals learning how to cope when love slips away.

From its first frame, the look and feel of this film seem strangely familiar: murderous thugs in uniform cruelly torment better looking victims who heroically resist their oppressors in France, Poland, Norway…you name it. One almost hears commands and shouts like “Schnell, schnell!” or “Du Schweinehund”.

Liliana Pereira is returning to her country where she will confront a past that meant persecution, imprisonment and the loss of custody of her son. As many other women victims of systematic violence, Liliana must choose between what her heart demands and what her conscience dictates.

This Tamil language film from India is a work of courage. It is truly daring to tackle a an unpopular subject – the threat of HIV/AIDS – with a film about a small group of people almost exclusively confined to one room in which they are sitting and waiting.

They Call Me Jeeg (Lo Chiamavano Jeeg Robot in the original Italian), the first feature length film by Gabriele Mainetti (known for animation shorts), is a singular object, a blend of superhero fantsy and gritty Neorealism in the mold of De Sica or Rossellini. You could venture to call it Bicycle Thieves with superpowers.

Stefan Zweig was an Austrian author, best know for his novellas  “Letter from an Unknown Woman”, "Burning Secret“, "Beware of Pity“ and “The Royal Game”, and biographies like "Erasmus of Rotterdam“ and "Marie Antoinette“, which was bought by MGM in 1938 and made into a film starring Norma Shearer. "Letter from an Unknown Woman“ was also adapted into a film with Joan Fontaine and directed by Max Ophüls.

A little girl's search for her father is the premise of the Finnish drama Little Wing.   The coming-of-age story follows 12-year-old Varpu (Linnea Skog) who one night steals a car and drives to the other side of the country because she wants to find the father she has never met.