Set 20 years in the future, this stop-motion dystopian comedy adventure film contains anthropomorphic characters (that being dogs) taking precedent over the human and robot supporting characters. On a remote Japanese island that has been quarantined as a result of a "canine flu", Isle of Dogs follows the desperate struggle of five local dogs called Chief, Rex, Boss, Duke, and King. A boy named Atari Kobayashi ventures to the island to search for his companion dog, Spots, and he helps them escape from their isolated existence. In befriending Atari, the dogs in return help to protect the innocent boy from the corrupt Japanese authorities.

Anderson apparently claimed Isle of Dogs was strongly influenced by the films of Akira Kurosawa and the stop-motion animated TV "holiday specials" made by the American Rankin/Bass Productions that screened between 1960-2001 with their visual combination of doll-like characters with spheroid body parts, and powdery snow combined with traditional cel animation to create an animation technique called "Animagic", which was to be subsequently and profoundly influential on later Japanese animation. While it is initially difficult to see the Kurosawa influence (though admittedly the poignant existential line, "Who are we? And who do we want to be?" seems very Kurosawa-like), the latter influence is clearly evident. Among the star-studded cast lending their voice-over skills were recurring/returning actors: Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Bob Balban and Harvey Keitel; and also Murray Abraham, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johannsson and Tilda Swinton, as well as a cameo from Yoko Ono. Anderson also wrote the screenplay as well as co-writing the story and co-producing.

The subsequent competition had many different but also indifferent films which again divided or caused derision from the critics and audience. Coincidentally, taking us back again to the 2014 Berlinale Competition there was an excellent film and often scary film called '71 that was set during the Bloody Sunday Massacre in Northern Ireland in 1971, continuing the celluloid revision of what led to the Irish Troubles following Neil Jordan's 1996 Michael Collins biopic (that premiered at the Venice Film Festival) detailing what happened during the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916. Out of Competition this year, the Lance Daly directed Black 47 goes back even further, to the mid-nineteenth century in order to give another historical lesson as to what eventually brought about the 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland from 1968-1998. After fighting for the British in Afghanistan, Martin Feeney (James Frecheville) goes AWOL in 1847 and returns to his Irish homeland to find his country in dire straits. The potato blight and resulting famine has cost the lives of a million people, including Martin's mother and his brother has been sentenced to death by the British occupying forces. Against numbering odds, he begins a bloody vendetta against the English hierarchy in Ireland and their supporters. The British hire Hannah (Hugo Weaving), who fought with Martin in Afghanistan, as the best man to capture him. A young and ambitious British Officer named Pope (Freddie Fox) accompanies Hannah to find Feeney. Director Lance Daly often uses visual motifs akin to the western along with excellent photography to depict a period in Ireland that has otherwise been rarely documented on the big screen.

The Paraguay Competition entry The Heiresses (Las herederas) is a contemporary window on another world and culture that captivates by its fly on the wall style direction and naturalized acting which soon overrides any perceived triteness or mundane narrative pre-judgment from its premise. The alternative comfort zone of two women being opposing personalities in a relationship of compromise is an equilibrium shattered when one of them has to go to prison for debt. From here, this new domestic situation and focus on the protagonists in parallel time but separate lives provides a panoramic viewpoint on sub-strata metropolitan culture in Paraguay as well as the largely brutal methods of the prison authorities and human rights.

With the road comedy Damsel one might have expected a bit more from David and Nathan Zellner considering that they made some very original shorts and their feature Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014) was deemed worthy enough of a place in the Berlinale Forum and the recipient of two Independent Spirit Awards. Damsel is a comedy western that overreaches and ultimately falls short while suffering from trying too hard when it comes to delivering worthwhile gags and visual humor, so is merely indigestible and grating. Robert Pattinson's character Samuel Alabaster becomes more nauseating as the film progresses as he travels through the American wilderness in search of his future wife who he claims has been kidnapped. At least Mia Wasikowska's Penelope goes some way towards good characterization with her strong-willed and independent persona.

Once again Isabelle Huppert excels in a fine psychological performance but Bertrand's vulnerability, unpredictability and erraticism makes him a suitable on-screen partner. Soon their discreet liaisons became psychological and, at times, Eva gets spontaneously violent when she feels threatened. Ultimately a selfish, arrogant and vain fraudster, set against Eva's soliciting, Bertrand voluntarily takes the trajectory to the cliff's edge.

Like recent years, the Berlinale Competition this year inspired responses ranging from dubious quality to confusion why such films had been entered, given its supposed criteria. One film that certainly exemplifies this perplex ion is Touch Me Not, an English-German production about a woman called Laura who feels uncomfortable being touched tenderly and visits different people like a therapist and a male prostitute to try and better understand her situation. An intriguing film it is, but one may well have considered it a more appropriate entry for the Berlinale's Forum section.

After the complete absence of any Iranian films last year it was welcoming to see a Farsi entry in this year's Main Competition with the black comedy Pig (Khook) by director Mani Haghighi, another director who is no stranger to the Berlinale. His feature films Men at Work (Kargaran mashghool-e karand) and Modest Reception (Paziraie Sadeh) screened in the 2006 and 2012 Forum respectively. A Dragon Arrives! (Ejhdeha Vared Mishavad!) screened in the 2016 Berlinale Competition, and now Pig. The very knowing plot about a blacklisted director called Hasan Majuni (played by Hasan Kasmai) takes many twists and turns as filmmakers in Iran are brutally murdered by being beheaded. Hasan is confused as to why the serial killer hasn't come for him considering that he is the best director in town but is therefore fighting desperately to clear his name as the inevitable suspect.

The freshness and energy of this film provides many laughs and fast entertainment while underlying that Iranian people are fun and multi-cultural (not surprising given that Haghighi studied in the U.S.). There is also light (even titillating) humor in the choreographed musical numbers for the commercials Hasan is making while waiting for his filmmaking ban to be lifted, but will he catch the killer before the killer catches him? Tehran, meanwhile, is portrayed as a vibrant city that contains typically tortured souls, fickleness and betrayal, with postings on social media causing further distress for the out of work director.

From a total of 24 films presented in the Main Competition of the Berlinale this year, 19 of them were eligible for the Golden Bear, with Adina Pintilie's Touch Me Not winning and also scooping best first feature (Intriguingly, the prestigious Screen International jury of critics gave an average score of only 1.5 out of 4 for this film). Of the numerous Silver Bear awards, Wes Anderson won the best director prize for Isle of Dogs with Bill Murray accepting the award on the director's behalf. The Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize for a feature film that opens new perspectives went to Marcelo Martinessi's The Heiresses, with the film's star Ana Brun taking the Silver Bear for best actress. Małgorzata Szumowska's subliminally engaging, astutely cast and compellingly directed Polish black comedy Mug took the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, and The Prayer's lead subject Anthony Bajon won the Silver Bear for best actor in a very realistic and honest depiction of a teenager attempting to come off heroin. Manuel Alcalá and Alonso Ruizpalacios took the Silver Bear for best screenplay with the otherwise lukewarm heist thriller Museum, starring the renowned actor Gael García Bernal. Finally, the Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution went to costume designer Elena Okopnaya for Dovlatov, the portrayal of a period in the life of the Russian-Jewish writer Sergei Dovlatov whose work was banned during the Brezhnev regime. 

Steven Yates