300 Best European Stories to Watch (Page 16)

A black and white movie, A Coffee in Berlin is an early Woody Allen reminiscent film with a great emphasis on the emotions it handles.  It flows naturally, telling the story of Niko, a young college dropout in a period of his life where he has to face loneliness and lack of money and success. He goes from observing the people of Berlin to first realizing he is becoming a stranger to them and then lastly deciding to do something about his life. It's a whimsical German film with a lot of heart, as much of a tribute to youth as it is a tribute to the city of Berlin.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Alexander Altomirianos, Andreas Schroders, Annika Ernst, Arnd Klawitter, Ellen Schlootz, Fred Aaron Blake, Frederick Lau, Friederike Kempter, Inga Birkenfeld, Jakob Bieber, Justus von Dohnányi, Katharina Hauck, Katharina Schüttler, Katharina Schüttler, Leander Modersohn, Lis Böttner, Marc Hosemann, Martin Brambach, Michael Gwisdek, Robert Hofmann, Rolf Peter Kahl, Sanne Schnapp, Steffen Jürgens, Theo Trebs, Tim Williams, Tim Wustrack, Tom Schilling, Ulrich Noethen

Director: Jan-Ole Gerster

Rating: Not Rated, Unrated

We Are the Best! is one movie that may be overlooked largely by viewers, though it perfectly captures counterculture, and relates to the misfit young and old. The movie is an adaptation of Moodysson's wife Coco's graphic novel "Never Goodnight". Set in Stockholm, Sweden in 1982, Klara (Mira Grosin) and her best friend Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) are junior high teenage girls who believe in their heart that punk rock is alive and well. With both of their home lives not so pleasant, the girls spend their time at the local youth center while taking up the time slot in the band room to get revenge on the local metal band. That's when they find themselves starting a punk band without even knowing how to play an instrument. We Are the Best! is a fun and deeply sincere exploration of adventure, friendship, love, and betrayal in adolescence.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music

Actor: Ann-Sofie Rase, David Dencik, Emrik Ekholm, Felix Sandman, Johan Liljemark, Lena Carlsson, Liv LeMoyne, Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Peter Eriksson, Sofi Ahlström Helleday

Director: Lukas Moodysson

Rating: Not Rated

This movie is different from a Netflix release about the same events. Actually, it's different from any movie you've probably seen before. Depicting the terrorist attack that took 77 lives in 2011 in an island near Oslo, Norway, it's made to make you feel as if you were part of the attack. It's shot to resemble one take, and the time of the movie is the time it took the attack to unfold (so you're witnessing it in real-time). While closely based on the accounts of two survivors, it follows a fictional character called Kaja who looks for her sister during the attacks. Utøya: July 22 pushes the limits of what you can watch in a movie but serves as a terrifying testament to the atrocity of a terrorist attack of such nature.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Ada Eide, Aleksander Holmen, Andrea Berntzen, Brede Fristad, Daniel Sang Tran, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osbourne, Ingeborg Enes, Jenny Svennevig, Karoline Petronella Ulfsdatter Schau, Mariann Gjerdsbakk, Solveig Koløen Birkeland, Torkel D. Soldal

Director: Erik Poppe

Rating: Not Rated

With a particularly empowering tenderness and resilience, The Divine Order explores a glossed-over chapter in history wherein Swiss women could not vote until 1971. The hillside Swiss farming village in which Nora Ruckstuhl lives seems picture-perfect. But under the village’s close-knit and idyllic surface, change is stirring. When an emerging sense of autonomy pushes Nora to question her identity beyond being a complacent housewife, she publicly declares herself in favor of women’s suffrage and draws attention from both outspoken opponents and quiet supporters.

As Nora discovers herself—what she does and doesn’t like; what her body looks like; what pleasure feels like—she also uncovers a yearning for better, for more: who is she not just as a spouse and mother, but also as a friend, a member of a greater community, an independent woman?

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Bettina Stucky, Ella Rumpf, Finn Sutter, Ingo Ospelt, Marie Leuenberger, Marietta Jemmi, Marta Zoffoli, Maximilian Simonischek, Nicholas Ofczarek, Noe Krejcí, Peter Freiburghaus, Rachel Braunschweig, Sibylle Brunner, Sofia Helin, Steffi Friis, Therese Affolter, Urs Bosshardt, Walter Leonardi

Director: Petra Biondina Volpe

Let me just preface this by saying The Best of Youth is 6 hours long. Yes, that's 358 minutes of run time, and it puts off a lot of people. But if you're into unusual movie premises like me and up for the challenge - the reward is tremendous. The Best of Youth tells the story of four friends through a period of 30 years; what they go through how they develop their personalities, their worldviews, etc. And because it spans such an extended period of time, it acts as a highlight reel of moments from the characters' lives (so the long run-time actually feels short). It wouldn't be an understatement to say that you'll probably never know characters of any movie as well as you will in The Best of Youth. A perfect illustration of the genius of Italian cinema that gave us The Great Beauty and other amazing movies.

Genre: Drama, History, Romance

Actor: Adriana Asti, Alberto Pozzo, Alessio Boni, Andrea Tidona, Angelo Costabile, Antonello Puglisi, Camilla Filippi, Claudia Fiorentini, Claudio Gioè, Danilo Maria Valli, Dario Veca, Domenico Centamore, Enzo Marcelli, Fabio Camilli, Fabrizio Gifuni, Fausto Maria Sciarappa, Giorgio Crisafi, Giovanni Martorana, Giovanni Scifoni, Giuseppe Gandini, Jasmine Trinca, Juana Jimenez, Kristine M. Opheim, Krum De Nicola, Lidia Vitale, Luigi Lo Cascio, Marcello Prayer, Maria Grazia Bon, Mario Schiano, Massimiliano Petrucci, Maurizio Di Carmine, Maya Sansa, Michele Melega, Mimmo Mignemi, Nanni Tormen, Paolo Bonanni, Paolo De Vita, Patrizia Punzo, Riccardo Scamarcio, Roberto Accornero, Sonia Bergamasco, Stefano Abbati, Valentina Carnelutti

Director: Marco Tullio Giordana

Rating: R

This Danish film which was the country's submission to the Oscars is about a delicate subject. A lawyer who specializes in defending children, and who is used to developing closeness with her clients including meeting with them in her home, starts having an affair with her teenage step-son.

There is inherent tension to this obviously very explicit plotline: how would a serious, non-erotic (or not-only-erotic) movie like this one portray such attraction. And of course, afterwards, what are the implications?

Genre: Drama

Actor: Carla Philip Røder, Elias Budde Christensen, Ella Solgaard, Frederikke Dahl Hansen, Gustav Lindh, Liv Esmår Dannemann, Mads Knarreborg, Magnus Kreppe, Magnus Krepper, Marie Dalsgaard, Mathias Skov Rahbæk, Nessie Beik, Preben Kristensen, Silja Esmår Dannemann, Stine Gyldenkerne, Trine Dyrholm

Director: May el-Toukhy

This is a movie with which you can easily connect. I have never experienced such deep connection and feelings towards characters. Seven friends get together for a dinner, and they decide to share every text message, email, and phone call they receive. The difference we all have to some degree between our public selves and private lives is the same one that comes out and threatens the balance between these long time friends. The film may feel a bit claustrophobic for some but that same feeling allows you to laugh, to shiver, and to even feel the deepest sorrow alongside the characters. For me this is a must watch.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Alba Rohrwacher, Anna Foglietta, Benedetta Porcaroli, Edoardo Leo, Elisabetta De Palo, Giuseppe Battiston, Kasia Smutniak, Marco Giallini, Tommaso Tatafiore, Valerio Mastandrea

Director: Paolo Genovese

Rating: N/A, Not Rated

This Danish thriller is about a man who gets into a car accident with a woman and, upon visiting her at the hospital, gets mistaken for her boyfriend by her wealthy family.

The man in question is Jonas, a family guy with two cheerful children who is also going through a text-book case of mid-life crisis. So when he realizes that Julia lost her memory and that she shows interest in him, he steps into the role of her boyfriend.

Things escalate very quickly, both as Julia starts to get some of her memory back and her actual boyfriend arrives. If you like Scandinavian noirs like Headhunters, you will love this.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Actor: Anders W. Berthelsen, Bent Mejding, Charlotte Fich, Dejan Cukic, Ditte Hansen, Ewa Fröling, Fanny Leander Bornedal, Flemming Enevold, Jannie Faurschou, Josephine Raahauge, Karin Jagd, Karsten Jansfort, Lin Kun Wu, Niels Anders Thorn, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Rebecka Hemse, Rolf Rasmussen, Rune Klan, Thomas Chaanhing, Timm Vladimir

Director: Ole Bornedal

Rating: Not Rated

A fun science fiction movie from the UK,  Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel stars Chris O'Dowd and Anna Faris. The plot centers around two geeks and their cynical friend who go out for a couple of pints and end up having a night they won't soon forget. To go any deeper would court spoilers, but suffice to say there is time travel, witty banter, hilarious scenes and just an all-around good time.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction

Actor: Anna Faris, Arthur Nightingale, Chris O'Dowd, Dean Lennox Kelly, John Warman, Marc Wootton, Meredith MacNeill, Ray Gardner

Director: Gareth Carrivick

Rating: Unrated