Grain (2017)

	Also Known As: La particule humaine
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Semih Kaplanoglu
	Actors: Jean-Marc Barr, Ermin Bravo
	Country: TR, D, F, S, Q
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 16.04.2018, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, English version with German subtitle
Synopsis: In an undefined near future, Professor Erol Erin (Barr), a seed geneticist, lives in a city protected from multi-ethnic immigrants by magnetic walls. For unknown reasons, the city’s agricultural plantations have been hit by a genetic crisis. In a meeting at the headquarters of Novus Vita, the corporation which employs him, Erol hears about Cemil Akman (Bravo), a fellow geneticist who wrote a thesis about the recurrent crises affecting genetically modified seeds. Erol sets out on a journey to find him.
Review: On the paper the story makes sense and sounds interesting (imdb or allocine). By watching just the movie, I would not say it deals with migration, even if some images at the beginning show a border like in Ceuta or Mexico/USA. I would not say it deals with corporation, even if we see people working in Novus Vita who have a controlling view on the biology, like we all suspect about Monsanto, Bayer and Syngenta. I do not really know how to describe the story apart from a guy following another one without much talking and with a kind of untold admiration. A kind of initiation in a spartan and rather ecological way of life. There is no much emotion in the movie apart from what the sceneries gives. Therefore the acting is difficult to appreciate. Having a black&white picture helps a lot in having beautiful sceneries, portraits and picture in general. A poetic movie could have been the result, but it is not by lack of lyrism and of dialogues. Jean-Marc Barr fans may get a poetic impression of the movie because this guy looks peaceful and poetic by himself. The movie may attract many people due to the critics it got, but disappoint them because of the lack of story and of poesie.
Rating: 4 /10

Mediterranea (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Jonas Carpignano
	Actors: Koudous Seihon, Alassane Sy
	Country: I, F, D, USA, Q
	Genre: Drama, Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 25.10.2015, Cinema am Ostertor, Original version with German subtitles
Synopsis: Ayiva (Seihon) and Abas (Sy) leave their town in Burkina Faso to make the dangerous journey from Africa to Europe for a better life. They face hostility and violence all along the trip and this does not stop in the supposed haven of peace.
Review: I wanted to watch that movie because the trailer promised me a lot on the journey while it is mostly on the stay in Europe. For this, we have to remember Biutiful, Welcome and Le Havre. This movie contains many languages, Arabic, French and Italian would be the easier ones. But also many languages from Africa.  It shows how the European infrastructure (states and here in particular Italy) does not work for masses of people who are coming in European peace time. For the Boat people from Vietnam, for the Spanish fleeing Franco, this worked (at least in France) also because every one felt something for these people, the WWII being still close. Now that most people are driven by the consumption and politics are driven by large companies, this solidarity is much lower.  The movie itself is not original apart from the introduction making us travel from the Burkina Faso to Italy being always connected via cell phone to the town of origin. The behaviour of European toward Africans, the accidents, the negligence are things very typical and presented already in many documentaries on the migration.
Rating: 4 /10