Kino in Oz ©Bedneyimages — Freepik.com

For #kinoinoz, Brisbane-based film critic Sarah Ward takes a closer look at German films screening down under. Here you'll find everything from film reviews and interviews to release information.

Calendar

Western (2017)© Western

MIFF 2017
Western: Earning its genre and title

Contemporary cinema may be deep into a phase of emphasising western-like aspects in everything from horror to action movies, and fashioning revisionist takes as well; however, at the heart of this fascination sits the timelessness of the genre’s core elements. [more …]
Margarete Kreuzer's documentary 'Revolution of Sound: Tangerine Dream' is a chronicle of a band creating the soundscape of the future from West Berlin and a tribute to their influence© Revolution of Sound: Tangerine Dream

MIFF 2017
Revolution of Sound: making music, making history

"This is rotten religious music!” Salvador Dali reportedly once yelled while Tangerine Dream played. It was the ‘60s, the surrealist painter was famous for his celebrity-filled garden parties, and the German synth-rockers had been invite to perform. [more …]
In the documentary 'The Song Keepers' directed by Naina Sen indigenous women gather to sing choral hymns © The Song Keepers via MIFF

MIFF 2017
The Song Keepers: Joyous ode to cross-cultural collaboration

While the idea of Australia’s remote indigenous populace crooning centuries-old German tunes may come as a surprise — in fact, the practice nearly died out decades ago — Naina Sen’s documentary ‘The Song Keepers’ wonders don’t stop there. [more …]
Werner Herzog's film 'Salt and Fire' shows scientist Laura Sommerfeld (Veronica Ferres), who is sent to South America by the United Nations and corporate executive Matt Reilly (Michael Shannon) © Salt and Fire

GOMA RETROSPECTIVE
Salt and Fire: Imbued with burning desire

In ‘Salt and Fire’, two passionate figures come face to face: scientist Laura Sommerfeld (Veronica Ferres), who is sent to South America by the United Nations to investigate an ecological catastrophe; and corporate executive Matt Reilly (Michael Shannon), whose company is responsible for the situation. [more …]
In the documentary 'Beuys: Art as a Weapon' filmmaker and documentarian Andres Veiel points out that provocation and challenge were as much Beuys’ tools of his trade as the items and objects he turned into sculptures and installations © Beuys: Art as a Weapon

MIFF 2017
Beuys: A portrait of an artist making a statement

Staring at the lens, unblinking eyes gleaming beneath his ever-present felt pork pie hat, Joseph Beuys asks the question that every artist has contemplated: “the anonymous viewer is back there, yeah?” [more …]
In the Danish-German-Swedish-Norwegian effort 'A Conspiracy of Faith' a stranger lures child victims and silences the parents left behind © A Conspiracy of Faith

Scandinavian Film Festival 2017
A Conspiracy of Faith: Cold cases break boundaries

In this Danish-German-Swedish-Norwegian effort — a European co-production like its predecessors ‘The Keeper of Lost Causes’ and ‘The Absent One’, with the series’ multi-country origins also evidence of its lack of care for traditional bounds — the concept of belief is thrust into the spotlight. [more …]
The Untamed title= © The Untamed

MIFF 2017
The Untamed: Bleak reality made otherworldly flesh

This Mexican, Danish/French/German/Norwegian co-production’s two titles inspire images of wild lands, unrestrained entities refusing to hew to the world’s rules, and of feelings urges roaming free. [more …]
Manifesto title= © Manifesto via the Melbourne International Film Festival

Melbourne International Film Festival 2017
Bringing Germany to Australia

When the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) takes over the city’s cinemas in August, movie magic isn’t the only thing it’ll be offering. For cinephiles eager for an international experience without leaving the comfort of their chairs, however, it also provides a window into the world around them. [more …]
In the Fade title= © In the Fade via Sydney Film Festival

Film review
In the Fade: History’s influence cuts both ways

It has taken Diane Kruger nearly two decades to star in a German-language film; however ‘In the Fade’ was worth the wait. Gracing the screen in writer/director Fatih Akin’s exploration of terror, grief and vengeance, she turns in one of the finest performances of her career. [more …]
Risk title= © Praxis Films 2016

Film Review
Pain and gain: Risk

Assange is a well-known name in much of the world for a plethora of reasons, and while Laura Poitras’ latest documentary isn’t the first attempt to delve into his exploits, it is the most personal. [more …]
The Young Karl Marx title= © The Young Karl Marx via Sydney Film Festival

Sydney Film Festival 2017
A feast of German cinema

For the past 64 years, Sydney Film Festival has celebrated the latest and greatest in international cinema. The city’s major movie-focused showcase, it brings together an enormous program highlighting the breadth and depth of film as an art form. [more …]
Happy End title= © Happy End via Sydney Film Festival

Sydney Film Festival 2017
Happy End: Where Happiness is relative

Perhaps the greatest trick Michael Haneke continually pulls is his most obvious one. 28 years and twelve features into his filmmaking career, the Munich-born Austrian director has perfected the art of bleak portraiture. [more …]
Axolotl Overkill title= © Sydney Film Festival

MIFF 2017
Axolotl Overkill: Not that kind of movie

Tales of youthful excess often start at a low point, wade through raucousness and revelations, and arrive at their conclusion with a protagonist ready to face their encroaching maturity. ‘Axolotl Overkill’ is not that kind of movie. [more …]
Austerlitz title= © Imperativ Film

Sydney Film Festival 2017
Austerlitz: Humanity in the face of horror

How does humanity cope in the face of unspeakable tragedy? A question pondered by Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa in his documentary 'Austerlitz' which is screening at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival. [more …]
Werner Herzog filming Into the Inferno 2016 on Yasur Volcano, Tanna Island, Vanuatu. title= © Photograph: Professor Clive Oppenheimer / Image courtesy: Netflix

GOMA Retrospective
Experiencing the wrath and reveries of Werner Herzog

Herzog’s voice, both uttered aloud and infused in the fabric of his films, will echo throughout Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art between June 2 and August 19. For nearly three months, their Australian Cinematheque plays host to a feast of his cinematic efforts. [more …]
Café Waldluft title= © Café Waldluft

Café Waldluft
There’s no place like home

Perched high on a hillside in the Bavarian Alps, in the shadow of Germany’s third highest peak, 'Café Waldluft' looms large over Berchtesgaden. In the documentary that shares the hotel’s name, first-time feature writer/director Matthias Koßmehl ponders the changes from picturesque vacation destination to welcoming safe haven for asylum seekers. [more …]
Teresa Parker as Clare in 'Berlin Syndrome'. title= © eOne Films

Cate Shortland
An Australian filmmaker’s visions of Germany

Cate Shortland’s resume may only boast three features to date; however her most recent two efforts share a location that’s far from typical for Australian filmmakers: Germany. [more …]