Selects: XLVIII

For our 48th instalment, we got in touch with Pavel Brenner, an LA-based director, and cinematographer.

Below are Pavel’s selects and what he had to say:

Co-directed and scored by Tom Tykwer this is a masterclass in atmosphere and world-building. I discovered Tom’s work as a teenager with ‘Run Lola Run’, which came out around the same time as ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’.

Even though ‘Babylon Berlin’ is a series, the two first seasons were shot as a long feature split into parts. Besides being a masterpiece, this is essential viewing for anyone who pays attention to today’s politics. The ambition and the scale of the project with a relatively modest budget are quite inspiring. The cast is top-notch. I recommend watching ‘Babylon Berlin’ in original German with subtitles to preserve the performances.

One thought voiced by Tom in his interview about the show stood out to me – episodes of a TV show should not have the same runtime; if we would compare episodes to chapters in a book it would be strange if all the chapters would have the same page count.

SERIES

Amazing film, blends a lot of emotions. It has one of the most memorable scenes I’ve seen with Takeshi Kitano in it.

FILMS

Created by a French production Fortiche, Arcane is one of the best animated films I’ve seen. Many still treat game-based content as B-rated and I strongly disagree with that. Masterfully structured with fleshed-out characters, this show is a thrilling ride.

The film is split into three chapters and each of the chapters is split into three episodes. The creators of the series analyzed successful shows to understand what makes an engaging story in a long-form film. In my opinion, they succeeded. The world-building is perfectly executed. The characters are memorable and diverse, without it feeling forced.

SERIES