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Sunday, May 25, 2014

European Films

The 39 films representing the 13 European Nations taking part in the 2014 Movie World Cup have been selected. The three films from each nation follow the following criteria:

Film 1: previously seen film from 2005 - 2013
Film 2: unseen film from 2005 - 2013
Film 3: film from 1960 - 2004

Belgium

Film 1: The Referees (2009, Yves Hinant/Eric Cardot/Delphine Lehericey)
Film 2: Eldorado (2008, Bouli Lanners)
Film 3: La Promesse (1996, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)

Bosnia: Two films by Danis Tanovic make the cut

Film 1: Cirkus Colombia (2010, Danis Tanovic)
Film 2: Belvedere (2010, Ahmed Imamović)
Film 3: No Man's Land (2001, Danis Tanovic)

Croatia

Film 1: Buick Riviera (2009, Goran Rusinovic)
Film 2: Karaula (2006, Rajko Grlic)
Film 3: Witnesses (2003, Vinko Bresan)

England

Film 1: Trishna (2011, Michael Winterbottom)
Film 2: Two Years at Sea (2011, Ben Rivers)
Film 3: If...(1968, Lindsay Anderson)

France

Film 1: Holy Motors (2012, Leos Carax)
Film 2: Bastards (2013, Claire Denis)
Film 3: L'Argent (1983, Robert Bresson)

Germany

The only nation to have three different formats for its film selection: fiction, documentary and TV Series.

Film 1: Everyone Else (2009, Maren Ade)
Film 2: Gerhard Richter - Painting (2011, Corinna Belz)
Film 3: World on a Wire (1973, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

Greece

Film 1: Unfair World (2011, Filippos Tsitos)
Film 2: Dos (2011, Stathis Athanasiou)
Film 3: Ghost of a Chance (2001, Vangelis Seitanidis)

Holland

I have decided to put all the eggs in one basket by selecting all 3 films from Alex van Warmerdam. It could prove to be a costly mistake.

Film 1: Borgman (2013, Alex van Warmerdam)
Film 2: The Last Days of Emma Black (2009, Alex van Warmerdam)
Film 3: The Northerners (1992, Alex van Warmerdam)

Italy 

Film 1: Le Quattro Volte (2010, Michelangelo Frammartino)
Film 2: The Great Beauty (2013, Paolo Sorrentino)
Film 3: Il Posto (1961, Ermanno Olmi)

Portugal

Film 1: The Strange Case of Angelica (2010, Manoel de Oliveira)
Film 2: Centro Histórico (2012, Pedro Costa/Manoel de Oliveira/Víctor Erice/Aki Kaurismäki) Film 3: Ossos (1997, Pedro Costa)

Russia

Film 1: Alexandra (2007, Aleksandr Sokurov)
Film 2: The Edge (2010, Aleksey Uchitel)
Film 3: Stalker (1979, Andrei Tarkovsky)

Spain

Film 1: In the City of Sylvia (2007, José Luis Guerín)
Film 2: Blancanieves (2012, Pablo Berger)
Film 3: The Red Squirrel (1993, Julio Medem)

Switzerland

The only nation to have a short film in the competition. We Are The Faithful is such an appropriate film for a Movie World Cup that it was hard to ignore.

Film 1: Das Fraulein (2006, Andrea Staka)
Film 2: We Are The Faithful (2005, Michael Koch, short film 9 minutes)
Film 3: Signer's Suitcase (1995, Peter Liechti)

On paper, France, Italy, Portugal and Russia appear to be the strongest European representatives. Although, Belgium still have an excellent chance to go far. Picking three films from the Dardennes would have ensured Belgium a genuine chance at the Movie World Cup title but The Referees is present on merit as it finished #1 in my 2010 Year End List.

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