Meet Mr. Karma

Guessing the award winners of the annual Berlinale Film Festival is a prognosticator’s dream – but not because the selections are obvious or easy. No, quite the opposite. The announcements that come at a grand ceremony on the penultimate evening of the event can be so random that no one – critic or casual observer – can be faulted for failing to see it coming. “Example?” you might ask, channeling your inner Samuel L. Jackson. Well, just like John Travolta replied, in Europe, it’s the little differences. Last year, the International Jury could have chosen between two eventual Academy Award nominees: The Grand Budapest Hotel and Boyhood for the Golden Bear for Best Film. Instead, the nod went to a rather average Hitchcock wannabe film noir from China, Bai Ri Yan Huo (Black Coal, Thin Ice). (more…)