2024 Berlinale: Festival Review Listing Recap

Before we put our focus on the upcoming edition of the Cannes Film Festival, we look back at our coverage of the Berlinale – a competition that many would agree was subpar and sidebar selections that did indeed offer some gems. Mati Diop’s Dahomey (read review) claimed the top prize and Behtash Saneeha & Maryam Moghaddam’s My Favourite Cake (read our ★★★★review) was the overall critical darling among critics. This year Our Nicholas Bell was also part of filmneweurope.com’s FIPRESCI grid (worth noting that they have a grading system that is less precise and incompatible with our grading system) and we’ve also added Screen Daily’s chart for further comparison – see after the jump below. Here is how our Nicholas Bell vibed with the competition films and beyond:

★★★★
The Devil’s Bath (Des Teufels Bad) (review)
Pepe (review)
Shambhala (review)

★★★½
A Traveler’s Needs (review)
Arcadia (review)
Architecton (Review)
Comme le feu (review)
Matt and Mara (review) (KJ*)
Some Rain Must Fall (review)
Who Do I Belong To (review)

★★★
A Different Man (review)
Dying (review)
The Editorial Office (review)
The Great Yawn of History (review)
Small Things Like These (review)
Vogter (review)
Une famille (review)

★★½
The Empire (review)
Gloria (review)
Langue Étrangère (review)
My New Friends (review)
Reas (review)
Through Rocks and Clouds (review)

★★
Another End (review)
From Hilde with Love (review)
La cocina (review)
My Summer with Irène (review)

★
Black Tea (review)
Suspended Time (review)