Polisse (2011)

Directed by: Maiwenn
Country: France

Plot: A journalist covering police assigned to a juvenile division enters an affair with one of her subjects.
Quick comment: A gripping look at the lives of police officers working at the Juvenile Protection Unit. It is very interesting to watch the behavior of these people depending of the situation that might appear. Sometimes stern, sometimes frivolous, they just have to deal with all types of complaints and requests. The movie successfully shows the difficulty to separate such stressful work situations from private lives. A tense movie, relying on natural acting and unfolding harsh conclusions.
Relevant awards: Jury Prize (Cannes).

Get The Gringo (2012)

Directed by: Adrian Grunberg
Country: USA

Plot: A career criminal nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a 9-year-old boy.
Quick comment: “Get the Gringo” brings back Mel Gibson to the action genre. Gibson also wrote the screenplay, together with director Adrian Grunberg and Stacey Perskie. All the clichés are there. The plot isn’t so much of interest and wasn’t so keen as it looked at the beginning. When everything is achieved so easily in a plot, it is normal for me to lose interest in it. In this particular case, we can see its slow fall.
Relevant awards: -

The Raid: Redemption (2011)

Directed by: Gareth Evans
Country: Indonesia

Plot: A SWAT team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
Quick comment: This vibrant movie from Indonesia was a surprise, delivering intense battles between a cop squad and drug dealers inside an old labyrinthine building. I was impressed by how the physical fights were so accurate. The big issue with this movie was the use and abuse of detailed scenes of violence. Fortunately, there’s more here than just fights and shots, with the story revealing some surprising twists. Exhausting, but also an ebullient action movie.
Relevant awards: Best film (Dublin); people's choice (Toronto); silver screen award (Amsterdam).

Avalon (2011)

Directed by: Axel Petersen
Country: Sweden

Plot: Janne, a 60 year old party promoter is arranging a nightclub at the annual tennis week in the small coastal town of Bastad...
Quick comment: A look at the Swedish underworld is what Alex Petersen has to offer in his first feature film. We are before some interesting character studies in a very dark tale. In some moments we can really feel the strength and potentiality of this story. In others, we are convinced that it could have been better explored. Deliberately or not, everything on this movie was unemotional, which makes the viewer to keep some distance from what’s happening. However, the boldness showed in direction has sharpened my curiosity about Peterson’s future works.
Relevant awards: Discovery Prize (Toronto).

Eva (2011)

Directed by: Kike Maíllo
Country: Spain

Plot: A shy genius is employed by his former university to design robot software.
Quick comment: “Eva” didn’t make a significant impression on me. The story lingers too much in its first part. When finally tries to raise the levels of interest… it is too late. The rhythm, mood and even the special effects didn’t grab my attention. Very futuristic, although completely out of balance and predictable.
Relevant awards: Best first film (Saint Jordi, Turia); best new director (Goya); best special effects (Goya, Sitges).

Michael (2011)

Directed by: Markus Schleinzer
Country: Austria

Plot: A drama focused on five months in the life of pedophile who keeps a 10-year-old boy locked in his basement.
Quick comment: Markus Schleinzer doesn’t conceal the influence of Michael Haneke’s filmmaking, with whom he has been working as casting director. “Michael” is a compelling portrait of a monster, whose sick mind is hidden within an apparently normal life. The subject of this film is particularly strong by itself, but Schleinzer proved to have hands for direction and counted on flawless acting performances. Haneke’s influence don't suppress its merit of being a very well made movie. Cold and disconcerting.
Relevant awards: Best feature (Viennale); best actor (Dublin).

Collaborator (2011)

Directed by: Martin Donovan
Country: USA

Plot: A playwright whose marriage and career are in a free fall has an explosive run-in with his former neighbor, a right-wing ex-con.
Quick comment: Martin Donovan, an experienced actor who has participated in more than 70 movies, including some of Hal Hartley’s best works, have his debut as director. “Collaborator” can be seen as a private little “war” that starts growing slowly between two men who know each other from childhood but happened to have different lives. Left wing vs. right wing; rich vs. poor; success vs. failure and acting vs. reality, were some of the battles fought. Some originality is shown.
Relevant awards: FIPRESCI Prize and best actor (Karlovy Vary).     

Between Two Fires (2010)

Directed by: Agnieszka Lukasiak
Country: Poland/Sweden

Plot: A young mother with her daughter escapes Belarus just to end up in a refugee camp in northern Sweden.
Quick comment: A distressful story about a mother and her daughter, trying to escape from Belarusian Mafia to avoid sexual and physical abuse. Once in Sweden, hoping to be given permission to stay, they will not rest as expected. The film centers on the refugee’s problems in a legit way. But in the other hand, it’s frustratingly invariable in its suspenseful moments and lingers too much over sex scenes. You will not be disappointed, but you will not be asking for more either.
Relevant awards: -

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen (2011)

Directed by: Lasse Hallstrom
Country: UK

Plot: A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik's vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert.
Quick comment:  A meek script, without any complex situations that may require further analysis. Some scenes seemed to be reckless and ridiculous in someway, like when Sheikh Muhammed's life is saved by Dr.Jones's fishing rod. Right after that, they just start laughing at the situation. Definitely, it showed not to be a significant achievement. It just guarantees a minimum of entertainment, somewhere between light romance and regular comedy.
Relevant awards: -

The Arbor (2010)

Directed by: Clio Barnard
Country: UK

Plot: Portrayal of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar and family.
Quick comment: Heavy documentary based on a mournful story, which sometimes becomes difficult to watch. Motherhood is the topic. The life of British playwright Andrea Dunbar and her daughter Lorraine were analyzed. Some theatrical road scenes were added to recreate Andrea's writings. Even taking this in consideration, the power of words was enough to keep our interest focused on this true and shocking story.
Relevant awards: best documentary (Tribeca); best british newcomer director (London).

Margaret (2011)

Directed by: Kenneth Lonergan
Country: USA

Plot: A young woman witnesses a bus accident. That fact will change her life.
Quick comment: 11 years after his fantastic debut with “You Can Count On Me”, Kenneth Lonergan returns to direction. “Margaret” depicts the trauma of a young girl, who felt responsible for the death of a woman ran over by a bus. The story is ok, especially in what concerns to family relationships, but often loses its track in its subplots, becoming a bit messy. Among a luxury cast, there was an admirable performance by Anna Paquin.
Relevant awards: -

Being Flynn (2012)

Directed by: Paul Weitz
Country: USA

Plot: Working in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet.
Quick comment: “Being Flynn” gathers one more time director Paul Weitz and actor Robert De Niro, after they have worked together in “Little Fockers” (2010). Once again, the result wasn't fruitful. From start to finish, this story has no surprises, just drags itself. Incapable to bring any emotions to the surface, we conclude that some “seasoning” was needed here - we just can’t blame DeNiro for that.
Relevant awards: -

Extraterrestrial (2011)

Directed by: Nacho Vigalondo
Country: Spain

Plot: Julio wakes up in a strange apartment after a night of partying and discover a giant flying saucer hovering above the city, which is now deserted.
Quick comment: I didn’t like the script. Boring and without life, it wasn’t capable to take me out of my lethargy. Even its atypical dialogs or the tensions of a forbidden love affair, were not able to deliver good results. The indifference felt when watching this movie, made me realize about the wasted time on it.  Not a movie from another world, just a very basic terrestrial one.
Relevant awards: -

Midnight Son (2011)

Directed by: Scott Leberecht
Country: USA

Plot: The story of a young man confined to a life of isolation, due to a very rare skin disorder. His world changes when he meets a local bartender and falls in love.
Quick comment: Believe it or not, there still are interesting vampire movies being made. This low-budget film is one of them. Being more realistic than the usual stuff and containing a very chilling ambiance, it pleased me with its contemplative and underground approach. A breath of fresh air is always welcome in a too much standardized theme. Also a scary love story, this is a completely different bite!
Relevant awards: -

Juan Of The Dead (2011)

Directed by: Alejandro Brugués
Country: Cuba

Plot: 50 years after the Cuban Revolution, a new Revolution is about to begin.
Quick comment: A business opportunity arrives for Juan and his crew, after a strange epidemic starts to invade Cuba. It was funny how the movie played with Cuban politics and zombies. The gags and dialogs worked fine. As for the rest, it doesn’t succeed so much. The imagery is similar to other horror movies, trying to impress through its violence and savagery. Clumsy and gradually tiresome, this is a movie of jokes, pretending to be more than that.
Relevant awards: Audience award (Miami); Silver Raven for its sense of humor and lead actor performance (Brussels).

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

Directed by: John Madden
Country: UK

Plot: British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than its advertisements, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.
Quick comment: Everything is taken lightly in "Hotel Marigold". Since the first minutes, we were told  that no matter what happens, in the end everything is going to be all right. Deliberately optimistic in its ideas, this can be a gentle comedy or a kind of soap opera. Everything happens so fast and all people’s problems were solved so quickly here, that if you have any problem in your life, this hotel is the place to go.
Relevant awards: -

Goodbye First Love (2011)

Directed by: Mia Hansen-Love
Country: France

Plot: A chronicle of the romance between Camille and Sullivan, which begins during their adolescence.
Quick comment: This movie is about the difficulty of a young girl to let go her first boyfriend. It took several years of her life.  In some occasions it brought to my head Eric Rohmer’s tales, without the intense dialogs that distinguished them. A very natural acting was fundamental to induce the typical French realism and honesty. But I also sensed that the story, in its slow pace, could have had some more spirit in considerable moments. It is not exceptional nor fundamental, but deserves a good look.
Relevant awards: Special mention (Locarno).

Suicide Room (2011)

Directed by: Jan Komasa
Country: Poland

Plot: Dominik stops going to school and withdraws, drifting into a virtual world where there are no hateful classmates.
Quick comment: Dominik is a lonesome troubled young adult. A couple of incidents at high school and the lack of attention from his dysfunctional family, lead him to join a site on the Internet entitled “Suicide Room”, in order to get help. Unfortunately, this call for help became just a game for the other members. A dark polish tale that leaves its mark, unveiling how harmful this kind of virtual refuges can be. Be aware of the depressing atmosphere.
Relevant awards: Best film (Geneva, Molodist, Polish and Stockholm Film Fests)

The Source (2011)

Directed by: Radu Mihaileanu
Country: France

Plot: A comedy/drama set in a village and centered on a battle of the sexes, where women threaten to withhold sexual favors if their men refuse to fetch water from a remote well.
Quick comment: The awesome landscapes from a small Arabian village in addition with the valuable message that conveys, doesn’t make this a movie to remember. The courage showed is to praise but it opted for a speech that works as a cheap pedagogy about the women’s rights, which in certain moments become annoying. The images should have been enough to "talk" by themselves. Moreover, some scenes tend to be cheesy. Not so consistent but with respectable intentions.
Relevant awards: -

In Darkness (2011)

Directed by: Agnieszka Holland
Country: Poland

Plot: A dramatization of one man's rescue of Jewish refugees in the Nazi-occupied Polish city of Lvov.
Quick comment: Based upon a true story, polish director Agnieszka Holland returns to the World War II disclosures, after “Europa Europa” has achieved wide notoriety when it was released in 1990. Perhaps the movie could have been shortened out of its 145 min., but that fact didn't remove its inspiration. Besides the sharp cinematography, I was touched with one of the most joyful finales seen in a war movie.
Relevant awards: Audience award (St. Louis)