Newsletter NZZ Film: “Dissident”, “Aalto”, “Sami, Joe Onish”, “Songs of My Brothers Teach Me”, “Philly D.

These are our tips and topics: Cinemas open again! “Dissent”, “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” “Philly D.A.,” “Stecil,” and “The Bridge on the River Kwai”.

Raise the curtain! From Monday, shows will be allowed in Switzerland again, and cinemas will open their doors. But what does that mean in practice? What halls are used and what is actually in the program? We definitely have three favorites: Aalto, Police, Sammy, Joe and Me. To the article in “NZZ am Sonntag”.

The most important films and series of the week

“Renegade”: a breathtaking reconstruction of a crime

Everything about this: On the brutal killing of Saudi human rights activist and journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 and the extent of the Saudi crown prince’s involvement in the crime.

Is it worth? Absolutely. Even those who thought they already knew everything about the issue from the media will gain new and shocking insights in Brian Vogel’s documentary. Not only about the exact course of events, but also about the methodology that the authoritarian Saudi Arabia used to suppress any opposition. From April 16 on Myfilm.ch and from April 23 on Blue.ch. To the “NZZ am Sonntag” review.

Songs My Brothers Teach Me: A young man who wants to escape from the lack of opportunities in the reserve

Everything about this: Johnny (John Reddy), who grew up on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, wants to move to Los Angeles with his girlfriend to escape life on the reservation, where alcoholism is rife and there is no possibility of it. But then his father died. Moving away means that Johnny will have to abandon his mother and especially his little sister Jason.

Is it worth? very. In the first Chloé Zhao movie, everything that distinguished Native Chinese cinema was actually laid down. Working with amateur actors who play fictional copies of themselves. Hardship, loneliness and despair in a beautiful and vast landscape. Zhao’s sobriety in staging with a simultaneous sensitivity to her characters. The time when her stories unfold. Your latest movie, “Nomadland,” is the nominee for the Academy Awards. On Mubi.com. To the “NZZ am Sonntag” review.

Philly D.A.: From a street fighter to a prosecutor. Could it be all right?

Everything about this: In 2017, militant attorney and civil rights activist Larry Krasner started in Philadelphia as a prosecutor for reforming the justice system. In 2018 surprisingly he was elected. His opponents describe him as an anarchist, and his supporters hold hope. An exciting eight-part documentary series that accompanies the charismatic lawyer on his way with a (still) open score.

Is it worth? Yeah. The fact that director Ted Basson made short films and music videos in the past and that cinematographer Yoni Brook was working as a photo reporter can be seen in the delicate rhythmic imagery. The filmmakers did a great job putting the narrative arc at the end of each episode in a cliffhanger scene. The world premiere of the entire series takes place on April 24-25 at the Visions du Réel Film Festival in Nyon. To the “NZZ am Sonntag” review.

More movies and series to broadcast

Visions du Réel (15. bis 25. April, Nyon): A year ago, Visions du Réel was the first local film festival to be held as an online event purely due to the pandemic. Now the team is trying a lighter version: A few events from the 52nd edition of this documentary film festival are taking place in Nyon in real life, which are screenings for the school classes as well as for the film and media industries. Many filmmakers are to be expected – at the weekend, for example, French author Emmanuel Carrier as a guest star offers a keynote lesson. Nevertheless, the 142 films from 58 countries, more than half of which are shown at world premiere, are available in public streams: new works are released daily for 72 hours and by more than 500 users in Switzerland. You pay five francs per movie, for 25 francs you can access the entire program. According to reports, since cinemas are allowed to reopen next week, the organizers want to welcome the public over the past four days of April 22. more information: www.visionsdureel.ch, The hotline 022465 44 55. (Urs Buhler)

Liam Gallagher: As it were: Sibling hatred is one of the main drivers of human tragedy. Cain, Abel, Romulus, Remus – and of course, Liam and Noel Gallagher. With their band Oasis, she played a cocky from humble stadium backgrounds until the feud escalated between the two brothers in 2009. This is where “Liam Gallagher: As It Was” comes into play. Liam, who only sang songs of his older brother, tries after the break-up to get his life as an artist and family man back on the right track. The return is difficult and leads through the smaller clubs to the big stages. In fact, it is exciting, especially since Hussam, the sensitive and arrogant one, suffers from discord with his brother. Despite this promising premise, the documentary failed to create psychological depth. Almost all the music plays in the background. It’s a shame, that the filmmakers have had the opportunity to accompany Liam for years. On the arte.ch website (Frank Lord) ★★ ✩✩✩

“Serpent”: In the mid-1970s, Charles Sobraj kills young hippies in Southeast Asia. He poisons them and travels around the world with their passports tampered with to pursue his fraudulent actions. The police don’t care if a few of these dropouts are lost. But the young Dutch diplomat Hermann Niebenberg is determined to stop the killer. Skillfully thrilling and thrilling action based on real events. On Netflix. (Denise Boucher) ★★★★ ✩

“Silk Road”: In 2011 Ross Ulbrecht (Nick Robinson) founded the Silk Road, “the Amazon for Drugs”, as the libertarian calls his idea. On its website, customers can purchase drugs in the dark web after hate status, pay with Bitcoin, and deliver by mail. Ulbricht is so rich in a very short time, but an undercover cop pursues him using ancient methods. Silk Road is based on a true story, but partly from a fictional perspective. It’s easy to guess where: when cliched secondary characters appear that are present either for illustrative or entertainment purposes, such as the policeman, a dodgy man. In fact, he was the tax inspector Gary Alford Which put the FBI on UIbricht’s trail. On iTunes or Google Play. (Denise Boucher) ★★ ✩✩✩

Balloon: Balloon chronicles the historic escape of two families who fled the German Democratic Republic over the border into Bavaria in 1979 in a handcrafted hot air balloon. The film focuses on the few weeks of planning and execution, which come with a constant fear of being discovered by the GDR system. In some places, the action thriller might be a little over the top, but Michael “Bully” Herbig’s first directorial work outside of the comics field turned out to be a pretty cool piece. On Netflix. (Tobias Seidlemeyer) ★★★★ ✩

“Pink Cloud”: One morning a pink cloud appeared, killing people in ten seconds. Giovanna and Yago find themselves together in quarantine after one night. The cloud makes a couple out of two who, under normal circumstances, would not have fallen in love with each other. The longer the fastener remains, the more complex the situation. Brazilian Iuli Gerbase portrayed this dramatic relationship in a sci-fi setting in 2019, which is why today he looks incredibly prophetic. The story has a few lengths, but the charmingly beautiful visuals help. On the Filmingo.ch website. (Denise Boucher) ★★★ ✩✩

The New Gospel: Titled “The New Gospel,” Swiss theater director Milo Rao accuses the story of emotion of the importance of refugee politics. Born in Cameroon, Yvan Sagnet has slipped into the role of Christ as a secular actor, gathering his disciples to fight the mafia-like exploitation of refugees in agricultural work. What appears to be an ambitious titled compulsory balancing act, despite all intentional breaks, adds to the moving whole, to the throwing of subtle strength and power. On dasneueevangelium-fangelium.ch.(Urs Buhler) ★★★★ ✩

More movies to stream It can be found at Cinefile.chAnd the FlemingoAnd the Artfilm.chAnd the Mubi.comAnd the Myfilm.chAnd the Outside thebox.ch.

We recommend this this week

How did I learn to love “Stesil”: Our writer lives in the same neighborhood in Zurich as many Orthodox Jews. But it did bring it closer to a series worthy of Netflix alone: ​​”Shtisel.” To the article at NZZ.

Realistic New Encounters (Episode 4)

“The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1958): Not many of the classics are highly decorated: the adventure movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai” won seven Oscars in 1958. However, when they met again, the monumental work was not as impressive as it was at the time. And there is still a colonial taste. To the article in “NZZ am Sonntag”.

Do you have a question about the world of cinema, cinema and series? Email this to: [email protected].

This is a news release from NZZ and “NZZ am Sonntag” in cooperation with the Zurich Film Festival, Subscribe here ability. NZZ, “NZZ am Sonntag” and the Zurich Film Festival are part of NZZ, but operate independently of each other in terms of journalism.