- For director Ursula Meier, there’s no place like HOME, even if it’s off a busy highway.
The 2012 Berlin Film Festival, which starts today, is something of a reunion venue for several of the most distinguished filmmakers whose work you can find on Fandor. Christian Petzold and Benoit Jacquot will unveil their new films in the prestigious Golden Bear competition, and there’s new work as well by Guy Maddin, So Yong Kim and Denis Cote. Also competing for the Golden Bear is Sister starring Lea Seydoux and Gillian Anderson, which is the second feature by Ursula Meier, one of the most exciting women directors working today. (Her first film, the award-winning Home starring Isabelle Huppert, is available here.) This video essay on Home is based on an insightful review written by Fernando F. Croce for Slant Magazine.
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NOTE
Watching this video of Home and reading the Berlinale program description of Sister, several similarities emerge: Both are set in remote but idyllic locations and feature strong female leads contending with strange family dynamics. It seems that with only two features, Meier has established a distinctive voice.
Special thanks to Fernando F. Croce and Slant Magazine.
Kevin B. Lee is Editor in Chief of IndieWire’s PressPlay Video Blog and contributor to Roger Ebert.com. Follow him on Twitter.
