Berlinale 2019: read our reviews of the winning films

Synonyms first look: Nadav Lapid muddies the dreams of an Israeli in Paris

Nadav Lapid’s boldly unsubtle allegory unsettles the audience’s understandings almost as aggressively as he does the political binaries of his young expat protagonist made over in a supposedly cosmopolitan Europe, says Giovanni Marchini Camia.
Friday 15 February 2019

By the Grace of God first look: François Ozon delineates a triptych of church trauma cases

François Ozon tamps down his natural filmmaking flair to tell the urgent, ripped-from-the-headlines story of Lyon’s Catholic Church abuse scandal, writes Jamie Dunn.
Saturday 16 February 2019

I Was at Home, But… first look: an elegantly radical mystery

Classically composed and gorgeously immersive, the new film from Angela Schanelec is a bizarre, mystifying work that is oddly comforting despite its many puzzles, writes Jessica Kiang.
Wednesday 13 February 2019

So Long, My Son first look: brooding around the decades of China’s one-child policy

Sixth Generation veteran Wang Xiaoshuai returns with an epic melodrama that hops across the tail-end of the 20th century, charting a complex if cumbersome emotional history of the country’s population-planning programme, writes Nick James.
Saturday 16 February 2019

Piranhas first look: tracing the rise of a Napolitan criminal whippersnapper

Another gripping Saviano adaptation, from the Gomorrah writer’s latest book, Claudio Giovannesi’s film is an authentic account of Naples’ Littler Caesars, writes Geoff Andrew.
Saturday 16 February 2019

Berlinale first look: Out Stealing Horses recounts a golden summer touched with tragedy

Hans Petter Moland merges Buddhist philosophy with postwar nostalgia in this evocative tale of a childhood remembered in old age by a lonely Stellan Skarsgård, writes Caitlin Quinlan.
Wednesday 13 February 2019