Anora erzählt von der gleichnamigen Sexarbeiterin (Mickey Madison), die in Brighton Beach gute Mine zum bösen Spiel macht und eine unglaubliche Natürlichkeit und Leichtigkeit ausstrahlt. Sie wird von einer Sekunde auf die andere in eine Tour de Force verwickelt, die sie auf eine unglaubliche Reise durch die Tiefen der russischen Maffia in New York führt.

Was sich auf den ersten Blick konventionell anhören mag, ist es keinesfalls. An jeder Ecke lauern neue Wendungen und man weiss nie, was als Nächstes kommt. Jede Minute des Films ist ein Genuss. Genau so soll Kino sein. Danke, dass es dich gibt, Anora.

This is what I call a pretty perfect movie. Suspense, mystery, high drama, deep feelings and pictures and thoughts that will stay with you for a long time. The plot: After 40 years of absence, Felice returns to his hometown: Naples. He rediscovers the places, the codes of the city and a past that eats away at him.

Naples or Napoli is a city that has remained pretty much the same for the past decade or so. A very beautiful, complicated and yes, depending what your calling is – a very dangerous city.

Pierfrancesco Favone is the protagonist in Mario Martone’s beautiful tale of good and bad and life and death. What does Felice want in Naples after 40 years? Is he just here to visit his mother one more time before she dies or is there more to it?

Well, I won’t tell you but what I will tell you is: Pleas go and watch this movie.

What an actor. Ricardo Darin is not only Argentinian royalty when it comes to acting. In my humble opinion (as they say) he might be the best actor the Spanish speaking world has ever produced. From Nine Queens to Truman – Darin is always unbearably good.

And this time he is better than ever. The plot: A team of lawyers take on the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship during the 1980s in a battle against odds and a race against time. This is beautifully shot and acted. Director Santiago Mitre does an amazing job.

There is not one second in this movie that is wasted. Everything is right where it’s supposed to be. Don’t be fooled by the fact that this movie is a court drama from Argentina. This is high caliber cinema. Argentina, 1985 should be nominated for an Oscar and Ricardo Darin should win Best Actor.

This was a bit of a surprise. The plot is not necessarily too promising: When a prison drama teacher marries one of the inmates, her son begins to wonder if the ex-con is still a criminal, or if he has actually been rehabilitated. Well, it kind of is the plot we have seen and heard before and we think we know where it’s going.

And yes, it kind of is. But director Luis Garrel and a great cast including Garrel himself and the wonderful Nehme Merlant as well as Anouk Grünberg and Roschdy Zem make this an enjoyable ride.

An almost American movie in certain regards but only in the best mixed with a whole lot of French humor. What else do you want if you don’t want to be thinking about too much and just enjoy a movie and having a bit of fun.

The Swimmers is the incredible story of swimming sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini who fled as refugees from war-torn Syria all the way to the 2016 Rio Olympics. Sounds like a fairy tale? Well, it isn’t. This is all true. Brutal and heart warming, life affirming and life threatening, beautiful and ugly.

And yes, there is German super star Matthias Schweighöfer as the coach making it all happen after the sisters arrive in Berlin. Look, I’m not trying to mock this movie. There is so much to like about this inspirational story.

Having said that I was left a little bit underwhelmed by the all too sweet plot and the rather smooth ride they had. Yes, it’s easier that way to make people connect; but a bit more grit would have been welcome.

Azor is this little gem you wouldn’t discover without film festivals like the Zurich Film Festival. Set during Argentina’s Dirty War, Andreas Fontana’s remarkable début feature avoids overt horrors, preferring to coolly examine the inexhaustible human talent for averting one’s gaze. story set in Argentina.

Swiss private banking at its best – or worst, depending how you want to see it. This is the world of very rich people being afraid of losing it all and in the middle of it a Swiss private banker and his wife on a mission not to loose customers as his partner has disappeared.

Being discrete and trustworthy is what it’s all about in this business. Moving within the law and still being dirty is the name of the game.

Without being loud Azor is Andreas Fontana’s door opener to many more things to come. Hollywood and Netflix will have noticed the director and his secure and authentic style.

Go and see this movie. It’s everything you want and more

Joachim Trier is the Norwegian director who gave us the riveting telekinesis thriller Thelma (2017) and the sometimes shocking drug-addiction drama Oslo, August 31st (2011). 

This time his is giving us even more. Swept up in a wave of youthful possibility, a whip-smart medical student named Julie (Renate Reinsve) pivots wildly between careers. First, she abandons medicine for psychology, then psychology for photography. With unlimited passions and unwavering parental support, Julie throws herself between professions, romantic partners, and social scenes. She is noncommittal and uncertain of everything except her unwavering commitment to herself. Though, that too seems to shift and twist on a day-to-day basis.

The reason why this is more than your average coming of age meets romcom meets drama flic ist leading actress Renate Reinste and the magical screen play.

This is a movie for anyone who hasn’t really figured our life yet. And if we are really honest; that’s probably all of us. What a gem of a movie that was screening at the Zurich Film Festival. This is why we live for things like this.

Pleasure is a movie by director Ninja Thyberg centered around a young woman from Sweden wanting to be a mega star in the porn industry. What might sound like a cheap thrill is an in depth look into the world of porn in times of #metoo.

This is an industry struggling to find its place in many ways. We all know that what you see is not what you get or in other words what happened. The heroine Linnea (Sofia Kappel) is only 19 years of age and determined to make it in the City of Angels. She ist self confident, knows how to play the game and does everything to get ahead. But you can pretty quickly figure out that it isn’t that easy and The Valley in Los Angeles isn’t just the valley of dreams but broken dream.

The movie succeeds in not just being a one sided “don’t you ever watch porn after seeing this” piece but much more. One thin is for sure; you won’t see the indurstry the same way after watching this. There are moments when it’s tough to watch; however it’s supposed to be like that. Praised at Sundance and shown at the Zurich Film Festival this is a great movie – for sure.

The movie begins, like so many cautionary tales do, at the end: With two noblemen, Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) preparing to fight to the death for Marguerite’s honor. She’s adamant that Le Gris took her against her will; he’s adamant he never touched her.

The woman in question, Marguerite is played by Jodie Comer. Wouldn’t it be for her; this movie could easily have been a train wreck – a long one to make it worse. But the Killing Eve alumni elevates the return of Ridley Scott to something rather special.

We see the same story from three vantage points. A women being raped in the 14th century. Comer’s emotional range makes this more than just a good old knights tale. Still; with all this said; I wish the running time of The Last Duel would be around 30 minutes less…

In theory this shouldn’t work. We have all watched The Crown and dozens of documentaries about the queen of hearts, Diana. We think that we have seen it all. But boy – we were so wrong.

Spencer centers around a few days over Christmas and Diana’s struggles to fit in and find her footing within the strange world of the royals. Kristen Stewart is just flawless as Diana and deserves every accolade she will be up for.

What makes this movie so special is the fact that Diana could be anyone. She could be you or me or our best friend. This is an emotional roller coster and goes so deep into the psyche of a young woman with all the ups and downs and crazy but lovable and at the same time sad and scary parts of our soul.

Directed by Pablo Larrain we can also admire Sally Hawkins, Jack Farthing and the always marvelous Timothy Spall. Just believe me; even if you couldn’t care less about Diana and the Royals. You have to watch this movie that premiere at the Zurich Film Festival.