One can’t help wondering about the name of the monstrous sphere, Melancholia. We are used to our planets bearing the names of, say, mythological gods—Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Juno—not those of human moods or conditions. Could it be that Melancholia, blue in color as it happens, is in fact an illusion, a nightmare depiction of what deep depression is like? Could the deep, steady, rumbling sound be that of our shattered subconscious

Mozart’s elder sister had French director René Féret wonder: what if Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia, affectionately called Nannerl, been as gifted a musician as her younger brother, Wolfgang Amadeus? A product of her time—second half of the eighteenth century—she grew up on music as did her entire family, goaded by the formidable Leopold Mozart. She played the harpsichord, the piano, and almost certainly the violin. She probably sang. Mozart’s letters

Don’t expect the Ides of March to overturn the established wisdom regarding politics, i.e., anyone entering that world do so at their own peril--this is still the dirtiest game in town. The optimistic hopey-changey Hollywood message died with “Mr. Smith goes to Washington.” Nowadays, disillusionment and a hardening of both heartstrings and arteries are bound to occur. But despite not delivering anything new, the film carries

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References to Iran appear throughout this year’s Biennale. Filmmakers in exile Amir Naderi from New York and Marjane Satrapi from Paris present films in the competition and in sidebars. Italian journalist Monica Maggioni who was already on the Lido last year, with her documentary Ward 54 about returning war veterans, is back with another documentary, Out of Tehran, shown in Controcampo Italiano, the section showcasing new cinema trends.

Renée (superbly played by comedienne, actress and director Josiane Balasko) is the fifty-something short, squat and always grumpy super of one of those buildings in Paris qualified as “standing,” meaning of understated luxury. Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic) is a precocious, nerdy and observant twelve-year-old who lives in that building. Determined to commit [existential] suicide on her thirteenth birthday,