We asked our colleagues to write us a little review of the movies they liked at his years Berlinale. Here is what they had to say:
1) Leonie: Late Shift
Leonie Benesch plays nurse Floria Lindt in Late Shift (Heldin) and once again pays tribute to a professional group that deserves much more of our honoring.
The film starts right at the beginning of Floria's shift: - we learn that one of her colleagues is sick, so the infirmary is one nurse short. This doesn't come as a big surprise for Floria (or the audience) and is therefore presented in a completely undramatic way as the general shortage of nursing staff is unfortunately widely known.
The camera follows Floria closely throughout her shift and it feels like a real-time thriller. There's no time to breathe. With every patient Floria encounters, she has to re-structure what seems like a million priorities. Whenever there's a glimpse of a free second, she gets interrupted right away by an incoming call or an emergency that doesn't allow deferring. And yet, Floria remains focused, professional and, above all, empathetic towards her patients, because what we see might be an exceptional situation for us, but it's her everyday life. To underline the physical stress and the huge responsibility, director and writer Petra Volpe fortunately dispenses with unnecessary subplots. In the tight 92 minutes, “Late Shift” single focus is the main character, which Leonie Benesch once again embodies as naturally as if she had never done anything else in her life - and that is suspense enough.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2) Patricia: Blue Moon
Linklater's Blue Moon is a breath of fresh air compared to your typical biopic, at least for me. Instead of dragging us through a person's entire life story, he zooms in on one pivotal evening for lyricist Lorenz Hart – March 31, 1943 at Sardi's bar.
What really makes this film pop is Ethan Hawke as Hart. I've never seen him perform like this before! His delivery is razor-sharp, witty, and poetic – firing off lines at such a pace that you're afraid to blink in case you might miss something brilliant. This rapid-fire dialogue actually makes the limited, theatrical setting work perfectly. The bar becomes a stage where characters enter and exit as if they were in a play.
I'm usually not big on biopics (they tend to drag), which is why I love this approach. By focusing on just this one day, Linklater digs deeper into Hart's character than a sprawling life story could. It probably helped that I didn't have a fixed image of Lorenz Hart before watching – I only knew his hits.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3) Robin: Reflet dans un diamant mort
A retired spy is confronted with his past and fears being hunted by his old, undefeated arch-enemy. With shots reminiscent of a Sergio Leone western, this surreal action thriller drifts off into the memories and visions of its protagonist. A fusion of colorful Nouvelle Vague, gritty New Hollywood and casual agent series of the sixties. With the structure of a David Lynch and the laconic, dynamic humor of a Quentin Tarantino. Pure cinema. Highly recommended.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4) Celine: Lesbian Space Princess
I went into this movie pretty blind, only knowing that it was an Australian (love), animated movie and that it was gonna be very gay (LOVE). I watched this with my girlfriend on election day and it was actually perfect that way. To sit in a sold-out auditorium at 10 am with a bunch of queer people, watching this absolutely hilarious, witty, colorful and unserious movie was amazing and somehow managed to give me a little bit of hope on that otherwise very dark day. 10/10 Twilight reference.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5) Ricardo: Miscellaneous Impressions
My two favorite movies were Blue Moon and What Does That Nature Say to You.
I've seen one Hong Sang-soo movie in almost every Berlinale edition I've attended. His movies are always funny, wise, and well-observed. What Does That Nature Say to You is one of his best.
Blue Moon had great performances, witty lines, and a crew member with the role "Height Wizard".
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars for both
Some other Ricardo observations:
- Many stories took place over half-day or less, with narratives that felt like real time.
- Several movies seemed to be obviously trying to evoke the look/texture of film stock. Maybe with all the technical advances, filmmakers are considering analog film to show authenticity?
6) Marvin:
MICKEY 17
Bong-Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson prove to be a dream duo in a perfect blend of what makes Joon Ho’s English-language films so great – I had a blast and Mark Ruffalo is just killing it!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Rose Byrne is such a fantastic actress with great comedic timing and yet it’s been so incredible to see her return to a more dramatic role. She carries the film and the weight of her character’s world on her shoulders in an insanely physical performance. If this doesn’t get her at least a 2026 Oscar nomination, I don’t know what will.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
