Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Bert Huysentruyt, Blanka Heirman, Geert Van Rampelberg, Jan Bijvoet, Johan Heldenbergh, Nell Cattrysse, Nils De Caster, Robbie Cleiren, Veerle Baetens
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Bert Huysentruyt, Blanka Heirman, Geert Van Rampelberg, Jan Bijvoet, Johan Heldenbergh, Nell Cattrysse, Nils De Caster, Robbie Cleiren, Veerle Baetens
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
This Oscar-nominated drama tells the story of the events leading up to the Srebrenica massacre, in which 8372 Bosnian Muslims were killed. It focuses on one U.N. worker who was caught between trying to protect her family, herself, and helping people in need.
The film is as horrific as it is relevant: up until the actual killing starts, people are constantly being assured that everything is under control and that there is no reason to panic. This gives an eerie feeling of resemblance to the tone many minorities in distress receive nowadays.
Still, Quo Vadis, Aida? stops at depicting any of the acts that were committed that day. Instead, it focuses on Aida’s unrelenting race against the clock to save whatever she can.
Genre: Drama, History, War
Actor: Alban Ukaj, Boris Isaković, Boris Ler, Dino Bajrović, Dražen Pavlović, Emina Muftić, Emir Hadžihafizbegović, Ermin Bravo, Ermin Sijamija, Izudin Bajrović, Jasna Đuričić, Job Raaijmakers, Joes Brauers, Johan Heldenbergh, Juda Goslinga, Micha Hulshof, Raymond Thiry, Reinout Bussemaker, Rijad Gvozden, Sanne den Hartogh, Sol Vinken, Teun Luijkx
Director: Jasmila Žbanić
Three guys in their twenties love wine and women but feel incomplete because they are still virgins. Under the guise of a wine tour they embark on a journey to Spain hoping to have their first sexual experience. Unlike most sex romp comedies, this one explores deeper territory: Jozef is blind, Philip is paralyzed from the neck down and Lars is in a wheelchair with a brain tumor. Despite these difficulties, the three protagonists are determined to have their experience and complete this rite of passage.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Charlotte Timmers, Gilles De Schryver, Isabelle De Hertogh, Ivan Pecnik, Johan Heldenbergh, Karel Vingerhoets, Karlijn Sileghem, Katelijne Verbeke, Marilou Mermans, Robrecht Vanden Thoren, Roos Van Vlaenderen, Sheila Sawhny, Tom Audenaert, Veerle Baetens, Xandra Van Welden
Director: Geoffrey Enthoven
Heist movies and TV shows as of late have been trying to experiment with form more than substance. In the case of the Italian series Everybody Loves Diamonds, we're shown the actual heist right from the beginning, as the show then moves back and forth through time to track the investigators right on the thieves' tails, as well as the delicate alliances that hang in the balance if the protagonists don't get away scot-free. There's a lightheartedness in the storytelling (complete with direct-to-camera address) that allows some of the more familiar elements to go down easily, and the more convoluted plot details to feel more like they're just part of the messiness of real life.
Unfortunately, the fact that the series doesn't innovate nearly as much with its actual story eventually catches up with it. At the end of the day, it still feels as if Everybody Loves Diamonds is counting on our being familiar with the heist formula to become invested, rather than giving us more substantial characters with motive. It doesn't help that the performances can't always get on the show's wavelength; many of the actors have trouble locating themselves between the serious and the comedic, which may be just as much a problem with the scripts, too.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Actor: Anna Foglietta, Carlotta Antonelli, Gianmarco Tognazzi, Johan Heldenbergh, Kim Rossi Stuart, Leonardo Lidi, Synnøve Macody Lund
Director: Gianluca Maria Tavarelli