Battle for Berlinale top honours hots up

Berlin - The Berlin Film Festival entered its final few days on Wednesday slowing shaking off a lacklustre start with a handful of movies that have injected some life into the battle for Berlinale's top honours. It seems even the surprise element of Jude Law in drag, a baby that flies and Dame Judi Dench as a pot-smoking fashionista failed to rescue the first days of what started to look like a very ho-hum movie festival. But with the 10-day festival having passed its midway point, Paris-born Rachid Bouchareb's 'London River' and Israeli-born Oren Moverman's post-Iraq war 'The Messenger' have helped to give some traction to the competition for the Berlinale's coveted Golden Bear. With the Berlinale never prepared to shy away from hard-edged political stories, 'London River' is a compelling story of a Muslim father and a Christian mother searching for their children in the aftermath of London's July 7 terrorist attacks. It stars Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyate. Meanwhile Ben Foster turns in a strong performance as a young US army officer just back from active service in 'The Messenger.' He stars alongside Woody Harrelson as one of two US soldiers assigned to inform families that their loved ones have been killed in the Iraq war. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's Darbareye Elly 'About Elly,' has also emerged as a contender for the Golden Bear. Farhadi's film explores the fine line between truth and lies in middle-class Iranian society after a young woman suddenly vanishes. A seven-member international jury, headed up by Academy Award- winning British actress Tilda Swinton, will decide which films take home the Berlinale's prestigious prizes from a field of 18 movies. Top Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi could also be recognized by the jury for her role as the lover of famed 20th century Peking opera star Mei Lan-fang, in Beijing director Chen Kaige's lavishly filmed 'Forever Enthralled.' However, the race for the Golden Bear remains wide open, with movies such as British-born Richard Loncraine's light-hearted 'My One and Only' and veteran Polish director Andrzej Wajda's 'Tatarak' (Sweet Love)- about an older woman falling for a younger man - still to be screened. But to a large extent the main competition of the world's leading film festivals is about star power and this year's Berlinale has again managed to attract some of the biggest names in the business. This includes Clive Owen, Kate Winslet, Michelle Pfeiffer, Demi Moore, Renee Zellweger, Kate Winslet, Steve Martin, Keanu Reeves and Gael Garcia Bernal. As a result, some of a film festivals' more interesting movies are confined to other festival sections, or the festivals' business side - which screens films for the movie trade. In the case of this year's Berlinale this includes Munich-born director Florian Gallenberger's movie about the Schindler of China John Gabe and 'My Dear Enemy' from Korea's Lee Yoon-ki or Argentinian director Lucia Puenzo's (El Nino Pez) 'The Fish Child.' A gentle witty look at relationships, 'My Dear Enemy' is also a sign of the continuing strengths in the Korean movie business, despite the recent crisis that descended on the industry. 'The Fish Child' is a much darker story about two lesbian lovers who turn to crime to finance their dream of a new life. Despite it all, however, the 59th Berlinale - which is one of the world's top three film festivals - somehow lacks the fireworks of previous years. Last year the festival kicked off with Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones' movie 'Shine a Light' with the members of the legendary British band turning up for the film's premier in Berlin. The gloomy atmosphere prevailing in the European Film Market - the business side of the Berlinale, has not helped the mood at the festival. Indeed, with the economic downturn rapidly gaining around the world, the global film business is bracing itself for a tough year of cost-cutting, lay offs and projects being put on hold. Unusually for the world's top film festivals, the Berlinale opens up its screenings to the general public, and the long queues forming for tickets are a sign that there is no shortage of enthusiasm for the festival among ordinary moviegoers. But film festivals are also about picking a film or a trend, and creating a cinematic 'buzz'. And the risk for the Berlinale is that it has failed in recent years to come up with a winner that has generated much excitement beyond the movie world or among filmgoers. For example, the Golden Bear winners from the last two years - Chinese director Wang Quan'an Tuya's 'Wedding' and Brazilian director Jose Padilha's 'Tropa de Elite' (The Elite Squad) seemed to disappear without a trace.