Berlinale FILM FESTIVAL reviews of movies in competition by David Katz: Queen at Sea & Rose

In A Whisper is a compelling film in competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, exploring themes of identity, repression, and societal expectations. Lilia, a Tunisian engineer residing in France, returns to her homeland for her uncle's funeral at the family's elegant home. As she listens to a conversation between her mother (Hiam Abbas) and her aunt (Feriel Chamari), Lilia uncovers unsettling details surrounding her uncle's death. Officially reported as a heart attack,

Like Pasolini’s Teorema , another key Italian film of the 60’s, the basic outline and themes of Marco Bellocchio’s explosive debut Fists in the Pocket  are ripe for reworking. The bleak tale of a young, mentally disturbed young man committed to murdering his bourgeois family, Bellocchio was inspired by his main intellectual commitments of Marxism, Catholicism and Freudianism, yet moving the story half a century ahead to the present day, as Karim Aïnouz’s Rosebush Pruning doe

The Berlin Film Festival 2026has once again proven its role as a platform for bold storytelling. This year’s lineup stands out for its fearless exploration of pressing global issues, using satire as a powerful tool to engage audiences. The films create a complex and vivid picture of today’s world, blending humor with critical insight to challenge viewers’ perspectives. Satire as a Lens on Global Challenges Satire has a long history of exposing social and political flaws by mi

Berlinale reviews - No Good Men opening movie & Yellow Letters competition movie by David Katz