The noir classic NIGHTMARE ALLEY from 1947 (D: Edmund Goulding) is the inspiration of Guillermo del Toro‘s most recent film. The material, with its nesting of real and psychological interior spaces, betrayal, self-deception, psychoanalysis and charlatanism was practically made for del Toro. The remake, which is quite true to the original, has Bradley Cooper play prowler Stan Carlisle who lands in a carnival as a temporary employee, quickly working his way up. Stan feels comfortable amongst the freaks, the small-time criminals and the homeless who don‘t ask him about his past. Fortune ... more

There are different rules in the countryside, that much is certain. And not everyone is made for it. Christin (Saskia Rosendahl) is also having problems with settling for a life amongst cherry liquor and a cow barn. Especially because her relationship with her boyfriend Jan (Rick Okon) hasn‘t been what it once was for a long time. The two of them live together yet separately in his parent‘s farm in the Mecklenburg province and don‘t speak to each other. They‘re barely in their mid 20s, but not much more will happen if she doesn‘t get out now, at least that‘s what Christin thinks. ... more

In a coronation ceremony that a billion people all around the world followed on TV and the radio, Diana Spencer became the Princess of Wales in 1981. At just 20, she had to deal with the constant gaze of the public. There was not a moment where she was not being watched. No retreat to privacy could evade the paparazzi cameras. The images are saved in the collective memory. They show a vulnerable, shy woman and the tragedy behind her sudden death. In his film, Chilean director Pablo Larraín reverses the perspective. He brings to life the inner life of a young woman to the screen who threatens ... more

19 year old Linnéa has come to California to become the next porn star because “the Swedes are boring,“ as she tells her colleagues after her very first shoot. Director Ninja Thynberg has delved into the porn business and shoots at many original locations with a lot of protagonists from the field. The impressive protagonist Sofia Kappel wasn‘t an actress or a porn star before this film. She plays Linnéa aka Bella Cherry as an inexperienced but brave, curious and ambitious person. During her first shoot she is about to quit and the crew takes a break. But when she encounters the ... more

The wind howls and something is breathing heavily. Horses emerge from the winter fog, look at something and flee. Something invisible seems to have invaded the sheep pen. The radio invites you to a Christmas mass. A couple is lonely and sad in a house. A sheep is pregnant. That‘s the prologue of LAMB, Valdimar Jóhannsson‘s unconventional Icelandic folk horror film that received a lot of awards in genre film festivals last year but also won the award for originality in the “Un certain regard“ section at Cannes.

The couple, Marie (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason), ... more