The New Look, a collection that revolutionized the fashion world. After years of fabric rationing during and after War World 2, clothing conditions were based on functionality, practicality. In 1947 a French designer broke away from the past by setting a new course. Christian Dior introduced a collection based on long skirts flowing from tiny waists. Apple TV+ will stream an original show based on Dior’s pieces as well as examining the creative rivalry with fashion designers Coco Chanel and Balmain. “Wearing clothes by a man who doesn’t know a women, never had one, and dreams of being one”, Chanel’s infamous quote on The New Look.
Starring Ben Mendelsohn and Juliette Binoche, The New Look from Todd A. Kessler streams February 14, 2024. I am looking forward to it.
Photo call and press conference of the film "Shockwaves - Diary of My Mind".
Berlinale 2018.
Berlin, 19.02.2018.
Shockwaves
(Warning: There are spoilers in this review)
Television is having a Golden Period now. Fortunately, quality programs are not exclusive to the United States or Great Britain.
I met a Berlinale film festival colleague for an evening drink. We started talking about the past festival, our dislikes then our few likes. The Berlinale is a festival where you find unintended treasures. I was reminded about one film from the Panorama section there was a screening of a Swiss TV anthology crime drama “Shock Waves”, four stories revolving around young men. Switzerland is not a country associated with violence, when I learned the festival had secured screenings two episodes of an anthology crime show from the Alps, I was skeptical, in my mind I imagined an antiseptic CSI episode of a stolen cow and milking machine gone wrong, causing social havoc came to my mind at the Saturday Press screening.
I was in walk out mode, instead I was rewarded for staying in my chair. A television crime show better than many films at the festival.
Episode 1.
First name: Matthieu is the brutal story of 17 year old male rape victim Matthieu Reymond.
Lionel Baier (film director and screenwriter). Photo call and press conference of the film “Shockwaves – Diary of My Mind”. Berlinale 2018. Berlin, 19.02.2018.
Director/ Writer Lionel Baier does not go for the easy explicit scenes, instead untangling the story through the victim’s emotional trauma as he, his family, and country come to terms of the sadistic crime. Maxime Gorbatchevsky’s subtle wounded performance stand out along with Ursina Ladi’s as his mother who tries to go about life in denial as if nothing happened.
Based on a true story from a series of murders in Switzerland from 1981 to 1987 committed by a natural born Swiss citizen. “I met the killer in a small room in prison”. He knew he would be caught. He thinks he feels sorry, for himself and family but not able to understand to everything.”
Episode 2.
Shockwaves-Diary of my Mind explores the sudden burst of a violent act in what seemed like a normal existence.
This episode is brutal, as an American, I find the tale more relatable. Director Ursula Meier’s
Fanny Ardant (actress). Photo call and press conference of the film “Shockwaves – Diary of My Mind”. Berlinale 2018. Berlin, 19.02.2018.
70 minute episode feels like watching a live feed on CNN. Why would a middle class young man murder his parents? Could a high school literature teacher have the answer? Fanny Ardant’s stands out as an emotionally wounded literature teacher in perpetual pain mode. Viewed by the police as an enabler of the perpetrator because of a writing assignment. Her closed off world is suddenly shattered by a crime a student’s horrific crime. “We do not know anything about my character. She is alone. No family”, She is at the end of her career, says Ardant. Kacey Mottet-Klein turns in a fine performance as a troubled young man plotting parricide. We spoke about the character, states Meier. We worked together in the past so we know each other.
Production values for the Swiss TV program are top.
Screened in the Panorama section at the Berlinale in January.
Shockwaves can be seen on Arte. Check streaming services.
#Thisberlinale18 sponsored by Canon Camera and Pringle of Scotland
There are different arms races happening here at MIPTV 2017. The first is the battle for content in the form of dramas and formats.
Television viewers are living in a Golden Age of Drama. Producers and Platforms are searching for the next big 52 min show, another Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, or Madmen. Television Productions have stepped up their game with higher quality production values wanting to appeal to international audiences. From Turkey there is The Last Emperor, Japan presented Crisis, Russia, The Day After.
Genre programing is coming to your small screen. The overall trend is Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Mystery plots with twists. Disney continues to mine its Marvel Comics Treasure with a new show titled, Inhumans. airing this September. Another fantasy Genre reworking aimed at Generation Z is a show around killer mermaids. YES! First, Vampires then Werewolves, now Mermaids! Will Shonda Rimes have another hit on her hands with a new legal drama in the works? I would not bet against her.
On the technology front, the battle lines are being drawn. Virtual Reality versus 360 degree formats feel like the Beta-VHS War all over again. The eco systems are not compatible. Potential customers would be hard pressed adapting to multiple viewing technologies on their screens. Which will win consumers hearts? Both systems offer immersion qualities along with a degree of viewer interaction depending on the content. The downside is the hardware is expensive for the average YouTube Producer. Facebook, Google, and Apple have VR platforms.
Long format shows in VR are still questionable but producers are exploring filming short form and teasers using the technology.
The other technology on display is 4K HDR. The picture quality is superb with 400 pixels. I saw this format at IFA in September 2016. The consumer and broadcasting industry is adapting this standard.
Dramas and Virtual Reality are dominating the television landscape at the world’s biggest television fair in Cannes. Is there another Downton Abbey or Game of Thrones on the horizon? A program from Germany has caught the eye of fair, Berlin Babylon, a period crime, mystery period piece set in the Wilmar Republic years of the city. An ambitious 16 episode series production with a large budget, the show centers on the corruption, decadence, and moral decay of 1929 proceeding Hitler’s raise to absolute power told from the point of view of drug addicted Police Inspector Roth played German actor by Volker Bruch.
Babylon Berlin won the Screenings Grand Jury Prize.
Is Virtual Reality the future of entertainment? Tech companies seem to think so. After attending a press event co-chaired by Google I learned Google has a platform for VR content titled Google Daydream. A place where produces can upload new material but mostly geared towards professional makers.
There are two types of immersive VR content; interactive and passive form of entertainment where the viewer is experiences the technology as a virtual voyeur.
I repeat, is VR Technology the future? Although the potential is there, the compelling reason and consumer desire is not. After all, these companies told us wearables are the future. Is anyone out there bragging about their iWatch? Remember Google Glasses? These items have passed into the realm of tech ill relevance.
The equipment is still bulky and expensive. The resolution is not so sharp. Early adapters and tech geeks may love it but the general public may look at this like a hula hoop. VR has been the great could be for decades but never caught the wave. It feels like a product still waiting for the surf that will never come.
Black and Paper at MIP TV Cannes, stay tuned for more reports.
