The film portrays a young female soldier back home from a peacekeeping mission. She struggles to cope with this difficult experience. By showing how her father draws her back into his violent world, Little Soldier illuminates the issues of gender, father-daughter relations and trafficking. While not offering an easy resolution, the narrative depicts a move towards freedom. Visual reticence about her wartime experiences combine with excellent performances to enliven the film. The unstated memories of violence forged in a foreign war resonate with the hidden but very real violence in European societies.
59th Berlin International Film Festival
04.02.2009 to 15.02.2009
Berlin
Members of the Ecumenical Jury, left to right: Guido Convents, Jes Nysten, Charles Martig,
Waltraud Verlaguet, Joachim Valentin, Jolyon P. Mitchell
More information:
www.berlinale.de
www.signis.net
Awards of the Ecumenical Jury
Little Soldier
Kleiner Soldat
Directed by:
2008
Directed by:
2009
This film, directed by Algerian Rachid Bouchareb, brings together for the first time a Christian mother and a Muslim father who fear that they have lost their children in the 2005 London bombings. The story skilfully explores how prejudices can be overcome and mutual respect developed in the midst of tragedy.
Auf der Suche nach Mr. Right
Directed by:
2009
Based on a true story, this road movie set in 1950s USA combines humour and existential questions intelligently. How do you find your way and what do you need to be happy? The Ecumenical Jury particularly appreciated the elegant lightness of touch which brings life and laughter in the midst of yearning and loss.
Grenze der Hoffnung
Directed by:
2009
This is a story about the search for love. Marion has left Simon and they are tumbling towards a divorce, while Bilal endeavours to be reunited with the love of his life Mina. Bilal has walked from Iraq only to be blocked by the police in Calais. He takes lessons from Simon in order to swim unaided across the channel. Simon's generosity towards Bilal highlights a new perspective. Through the engaging narrative, the film convincingly shows that love between two persons needs to include concern for others.
Directed by:
2008
At the heart of this Korean film are two young children, abandoned by their Mother, and deposited with their alcoholic aunt. They are left to fend for themselves in a world that overlooks their vulnerability. By telling the tale from the children’s perspective Treeless Mountain skilfully illuminates the effects of parental absence, abdication of responsibility and economic marginalisation. This is well balanced by the understated depiction of the gentle care of an aged grandmother, firmly earthed in the natural world, who gives them a most precious commodity: her time.
