One of the area’s most consistently rewarding festivals, the AFI Silver’s European Union Film Showcase has brought Washington the best and most provocative new cinema from the continent for 31 years. With 49 films from 25 EU countries, the 2018 lineup is as varied as ever, but there’s a curious common thread: So many featured titles revolve around man’s best friend that you could build a mini-fest around them and get a fairly good sample of the broad slate. But don’t stop there.
As always, the festival premieres a number of high-profile movies that are likely to be next year’s arthouse favorites. Opening night drama Cold War (Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.), from Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski (Ida) is already getting a lot of buzz, and fans of director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) are excited about the the director’s new crime drama Everybody Knows (Dec. 1 at 7:20 p.m.), starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Other imminent indie hits include the Isabelle Huppert drama Eva (Dec. 14 at 7:15 p.m. and Dec. 16 at 1:05 p.m.), the latest from director Benoît Jacquot; and closing night feature Stan and Ollie (Dec. 15 at 7.30 p.m.), starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly as silent movie icons Laurel and Hardy. DCist previewed a number of festival titles, or you can see the complete schedule here.
Humble dog groomer Marcello (Marcello Fonte, who won the Best Actor award at Cannes for the role) goes through life with his tail between his legs. But since this is a film from director Matteo Garrone (who made the brutal Italian gangster drama Gomorrah), you know this won’t be just a fluffy animal movie. Marcello operates his business in a run-down coastal town south of Naples where he also runs drugs. Unfortunately, his most reliable customer for the latter is local bully Simoncino (Edoardo Pesce), who happens to be the groomer’s best friend, but has a volatile temper that rivals the fiercest pit bull’s. The scrawny Marcello and his lumbering buddy have a relationship that recalls George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men, but with a catch; after the dogman agrees to take the fall for a robbery that his friend pulled off, the dynamic changes, and months of built-up resentment fuels Droopy Dog’s own violent revenge. Fonte wasn’t the film’s only award winner at Cannes: A chihuahua who meets a terrible fate (don’t worry, it’s just for pretend) won the Palm Dog at the festival. Dogman isn’t subtle about its central metaphor of man’s loyal—and beastly—nature, but Fonte, as well as his various furry charges, help make this a thoroughly satisfying tale of inhumanity.
Friday, December 7 at 7:15 p.m. and Tuesday, December 11 at 9 p.m., watch the trailer.
Portuguese soccer hero Diamantino (Carloto Cotta) is brilliant on the field but is more than a little simple-minded. When he’s in the zone, he uses visualization to help him score, but what he imagines isn’t the ball soaring into the net; he pictures giant, shaggy dogs frolicking with him on the pitch. Loosely inspired by star Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo, Diamantino uses sports and puppies as a launching pad for a wacky meditation on science, politics, celebrity, and the European Union, but despite Cotta’s endearing persona, supporting characters such as his wicked sisters are too cartoonish in their villainy, and the movie bites off far more than it can seriously chew. Still, this is one ambitious vision, and it may well be worth it just to witness the spectacle of giant puppies on the big screen.
Saturday, December 8 at 2:15 p.m. and Wednesday, December 12 at 7:15 p.m., watch the trailer.
The future of print publishing in the digital era is the timely theme of the latest dramedy from director Olivier Assayas (whose Personal Shopper was the best film of 2017). Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) stars as Alain, an old school independent publisher who’s reluctant to take on the latest semi-autobiographical novel from an old friend Leonard (Vincent Macaigne). But is Alain’s reluctance to published based on a suspicion that the author is having an affair with his wife (Juliette Binoche)? Chatty and very French (there is perhaps no other country in which a Macaigne-Binoche union would be credible), the film, also known as Double Lives, isn’t Assayas at his best, and some of its lengthy conversations about the nature of publishing may well work better on the printed page—or in a blog rant. But it all works well enough thanks to a reliable ensemble cast, who may have trouble selling some of the script’s ideas but totally sell its sometimes unlikely relationships.
Saturday, December 8 at 8:00 p.m. (with a special reception) and Sunday, December 9 at 2:10 p.m., watch the trailer.
This Finnish black comedy (at least I think that’s how it’s supposed to read) is the dark side of this year’s canine-centric program. The movie tells the story of a middle-aged mechanic (Matti Onnismaa, who had a small part in Aki Kaurismäki’s The Other Side of Hope) who runs a side gig euthanizing animals and charging less than the going rate at a veterinarian’s office. The grim reaper of animals does not take his calling lightly, and when a small-time hood asks to have a perfectly healthy animal put down, the euthanizer refuses, setting in motion an even darker tragedy. If this sounds like unpleasant stuff, it is, and as I wrote in my Spectrum Culture review, “cruel and unusual, it too often feels like punishment.”
Sunday, December 9 at 9:40 p.m. and Monday, December 10 at 9:30 p.m., watch the trailer.
The ancient city of Nicosia, which Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities have kept divided since 1963, is the setting for this political comedy whose plot is set in motion by mischievous terrier. Yiannis (Adam Bousdoukos) is an out-of-work musician getting ready to leave Cyprus for good. But when his ex-girlfriend’s dog Jimi runs into the Turkish occupied part of town, Yiannis must navigate draconian border policies which forbid animals from being transported from The Turkish side of Nicosia to the Greek side. The militarized border at the center of town is played for laughs more than Kafkaesque nightmare, and the scrappy mutt (named for Hendrix, natch) who dares cross that border is clearly supposed to show us that human laws are ridiculous. But this first feature from director Marios Piperides loses sight of the people at the center of the conflict, turning discord into an international crowd-pleaser with a superficially political bent.
Saturday, December 1 at 5:10 p.m. and Wednesday, December 5 at 5:10 p.m., watch the trailer.
Georg (Franz Rogowski) is a German refugee trying to escape Nazi Germany. When he’s mistaken for a subversive author (who wound up dead), Georg’s plans to flee to Mexico are complicated by a series of tenuous relationships, including a mysterious woman (Paula Beer of Frantz) whom he keeps running into. Director Christian Petzold has tackled similar themes of German identity (and mistaken identity) in such films as Phoenix (perhaps it is not coincidental that Rogowski’s cleft palate and tortured persona marks him as a German Joaquin Phoenix). What makes Transit stand out from the director’s accomplished work is that this period drama is staged without period trappings, placing Nazi Germany in the present day with modern dress and accoutrements. While the conceit could have come off heavy-handed, it’s instead disorienting and unsettling, keeping the viewer as off-balance as its characters.
Saturday, December 8 at 4:30 p.m. (with post-screening panel discussion) and Monday, December 10 at 7:15 p.m., watch the trailer.
Armin (Hans Löw, seen in the great Toni Erdmann) is a 40-something freelance cameraman who isn’t very good at his job. In fact, he accidentally turns off his camera at a crucial moment on assignment. He’s not very good with women either, but at least Armin is a good son, helping take care of his ailing grandmother. One day Armin wakes up to find that he seems to be the last man on earth. Can he adapt to this new world order? The answer may surprise you! Director Ulrich Köhler (Sleeping Sickness) doesn’t try to explain what happened to the rest of society, but instead lets Armin and his film slowly reveal a provocative parable of relationships and the apocalypse.
Friday, November 30 at 10 p.m. and Monday, December 3 at 9:10 p.m., watch the trailer.
The AFI European Union Film Showcase runs Nov. 30-Dec. 19. Tickets $13-$15.
