Bong Joon Ho's 'Mickey 17' steals the spotlight at Berlinale

The Berlin Film Festival will award its prizes on Saturday. Nineteen films and documentaries will compete for the top Golden Bear prize.

After 10 days of premieres and screenings, AFP reviews the highlights and talking points of the 75th edition of the Berlinale.

Pattinson appearance

Acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon-ho chose Berlin to unveil his new big-budget film "Mickey 17" out of competition, traveling to the German capital with British lead actor Robert Pattinson.

The darkly comic sci-fi movie critiques tech billionaires like Elon Musk and their interplanetary space travel ambitions. It features a villainous character resembling Donald Trump.

It has a positive 88-percent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but The Hollywood Reporter's reviewer was among several critics who struggled with the "chaotic plotting."

Director Bong Joon-ho and Robert Pattinson attend the screening of the movie "Mickey 17" at the 75th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany February 15, 2025. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen

Pattinson was one of only a handful of A-listers at Berlin's festival, which traditionally draws fewer big names than its rivals in Cannes or Venice.

Timothee Chalamet brought some stardust to the red carpet when he wore a pink tracksuit on Valentine's Day to promote his new film "A Complete Unknown."

Offstage politics

Organizers had expressed hopes beforehand that the films would do the talking this year rather than politicians or commentators.

The 2024 Berlin festival was overshadowed by a row about Israel's bombardment of Gaza after several directors spoke out against the war in the Palestinian territory, leading to accusations of bias from German politicians.

This year, US President Trump was a constant talking point, with the American film industry waiting to see how the former reality TV star will seek to influence their cultural output.

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"It is an appalling moment that we're in right now that will take every bit of energy to resist," Berlinale jury president Todd Haynes told AFP.

German domestic politics could also crop up at the awards ceremony, with the country going to the polls on Sunday for a national election that is expected to see a surge from the far-right AfD party.

Contenders

Among the top contenders for The Golden Bear is a highly low-budget film shot in 10 days on an iPhone by European arthouse favorite Radu Jude, who hails from Romania.

Jude won the Golden Bear in 2021 for a film about revenge porn called "Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn."

His latest, "Kontinental '25," is a quirky, powerful story about a guilt-stricken bailiff who works for real estate developers.

A more mainstream option for the top prize would be "Blue Moon" by independent US director Richard Linklater, who teamed up with long-time collaborator Ethan Hawke on a drama about troubled 1930s Broadway writer Lorenz Hart.

Brazilian drama "The Blue Trail" by Gabriel Mascaro -- portraying a dystopian vision of the future in which old people are forced into housing colonies -- is seen as another strong challenger, according to Screen magazine.

"Dreams," a film by Mexican director Michel Franco starring Jessica Chastain, is politically relevant and contemporary. It recounts the story of an undocumented Mexican ballet dancer who travels to California to be with his lover.

Motherhood

Films laying bare the strains and difficulties of modern motherhood were prominent in the main competition.

The most star-heavy of a trio of women-directed productions was "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You", starring Australia's Rose Byrne ("Damages", "X-Men"), as well as former late-night TV host Conan O'Brien and rapper A$AP Rocky.

Austrian-made "Mother's Baby" spotlights a mother who struggles to bond with her newborn baby before descending into post-partum depression and paranoia, lending the film the feel of a psychological thriller.

"Hot Milk," directed by British director Rebecca Lenkiewicz, is a story of sexual awakening set in Spain, overlaid with a fraught mother-daughter relationship.

Unexpected arrival

Ukrainian director Kateryna Gornostai is seen as an outside bet for the Golden Bear. Her touching documentary, Timestamp, is about life inside Ukrainian schools during the war.

The pregnant filmmaker missed the premiere, however, and all her media interviews after giving birth to her child earlier than expected.

"Our baby, expected a few weeks after Berlinale, decided to join us at the festival last night," she said in a message on Thursday. "Please bear with me for focusing on my addition to the next generation of Ukrainians now."