The winners of the 2023 European Film Awards were announced live from Berlin, Germany on Saturday 9th December, with Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall receiving a number of major accolades, including Best European Film.

The European Film Academy announced 11 different films from as many as 10 different countries as winners across a wide range of categories, whilst also honouring a number of individuals for their contributions to the form. English actress Vanessa Redgrave was honoured with the European Lifetime Achievement award, with Spanish film director Isabel Coixet being rewarded for European Achievement in World Cinema.

Anatomy of a Fall was the most celebrated of the stacked line-up of films, winning the award for Best European Film over fellow nominees Fallen Leaves, Green Border, Me Captain and The Zone of Interest, as well as picking up awards for European Director, European Screenwriter, European Editing, and European Actress, the latter of which was won by Sandra Hüller who was nominated twice in the category for Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest.

The awards ceremony was streamed live and in full via the European Film Awards website, with replays still available.

The winners of the 2023 European Film Awards (EFAs) are as follows:

European Film – Anatomy of a Fall
Fallen Leaves
Green Border
Me Captain
The Zone of Interest

European Young Audience Award – Scrapper
Longing for the World
One in a Million

European Discovery – Prix Fipresci – How to Have Sex
20,000 Species of Bees
La Palisiada
Safe Place
The Quiet Migration
Vincent Must Die

European Documentary – Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Apolonia, Apolonia
Four Daughters
Motherland
On the Adamant

European Animated Feature Film – Robot Dreams
A Greyhound of a Girl
Chicken for Linda!
The Amazing Maurice
White Plastic Sky

European Short Film – Hardly Working
27
Aqueronte
Daydreaming So Vividly About Our Spanish Holidays
Flores Del Otro Patio

European Director – Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall)
Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves)
Agnieszka Holland (Green Border)
Matteo Garrone (Me Captain)
Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

European Actress – Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall)
Eka Chavleishvili (Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry)
Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves)
Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex)
Leonie Benesch (The Teachers’ Lounge)
Sandra Hüller (The Zone of Interest)

European Actor – Mads Mikkelsen (The Promised Land)
Thomas Schubert (Afire)
Jussi Vatanen (Fallen Leaves)
Josh O’Connor (La Chimera)
Christian Friedel (The Zone of Interest)

European Screenwriter – Justine Triet, Arthur Harari (Anatomy of a Fall)
Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves)
Gabriela Lazarkiewicz-Sieczko, Maciej Pisuk Agnieszka Holland (Green Border)
Johannes Duncker, Ilker Çatak (The Teachers’ Lounge)
Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

European Cinematography – Rasmus Videbæk (The Promised Land)

European Editing – Laurent Sénéchal (Anatomy of a Fall)

European Production Design – Emita Frigato (La Chimera)

European Costume Design – Kicki Ilander (The Promised Land)

European Make-Up & Hair – Society of the Snow

European Original Score – Markus Binder (Club Zero)

European Sound – Johnnie Burn, Tarn Willers (The Zone of Interest)

European Visual Effects – Society of the Snow

European Lifetimes Achievement – Vanessa Redgrave

European Achievement in World Cinema – Isabel Coixet

Eurimages Co-Production Award – Uljana Kim

Honorary Award of the EFA President and Board – Béla Tarr

European Sustainability Award (Prix Film4Climate) – Güler Sabancı

The European Film Academy has revealed its nominees for the 36th European Film Awards (EFAs), with Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest and Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall being celebrated across most categories.

Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winning thriller, Anatomy of a Fall, is nominated across four categories: European Film, Directing, Lead Actress (Sandra Hüller), Screenwriting. Glazer’s The Zone of Interest has been nominated across the five leading categories: European Film, Directing, Lead Actress (Sandra Hüller), Lead Actor (Christian Friedel), Screenwriting.

British actors Josh O’Connor and Mia McKenna-Bruce were nominated in the acting categories, with the former playing the lead role in Alice Rohrwacher’s drama La Chimera and the latter being the focus of Molly Manning Walker’s acclaimed debut How to Have Sex (itself nominated for 13 British Independent Film Awards).

Aki Kaurismäki’s Finnish drama Fallen Leaves was also nominated across all five eligible categories announced.

The 2023 European Film Awards will take place live from Berlin, Germany on 9th December 2023.

Here is the full list of 2023 European Film Awards nominees:

European Film
Anatomy of a Fall
Fallen Leaves
Green Border
Me Captain
The Zone of Interest

European Young Audience Award
Longing for the World
One in a Million
Scrapper

European Discovery – Prix Fipresci
20,000 Species of Bees
How to Have Sex
La Palisiada
Safe Place
The Quiet Migration
Vincent Must Die

European Documentary
Apolonia, Apolonia
Four Daughters
Motherland
On the Adamant
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

European Animated Feature Film
A Greyhound of a Girl
Chicken for Linda!
Robot Dreams
The Amazing Maurice
White Plastic Sky

European Short Film
27
Aqueronte
Daydreaming So Vividly About Our Spanish Holidays
Flores Del Otro Patio
Hardly Working

European Director
Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall)
Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves)
Agnieszka Holland (Green Border)
Matteo Garrone (Me Captain)
Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

European Actress
Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall)
Eka Chavleishvili (Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry)
Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves)
Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex)
Leonie Benesch (The Teachers’ Lounge)
Sandra Hüller (The Zone of Interest)

European Actor
Thomas Schubert (Afire)
Jussi Vatanen (Fallen Leaves)
Josh O’Connor (La Chimera)
Mads Mikkelsen (The Promised Land)
Christian Friedel (The Zone of Interest)

European Screenwriter
Justine Triet, Arthur Harari (Anatomy of a Fall)
Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves)
Gabriela Lazarkiewicz-Sieczko, Maciej Pisuk Agnieszka Holland (Green Border)
Johannes Duncker, Ilker Çatak (The Teachers’ Lounge)
Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Director: James Mangold
Screenwriters: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp
Starring: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ethann Isidore, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Mads Mikkelsen, John Rhys-Davies

What does an 80-year-old globe-trotting archaeologist with experience of the occult, religious phenomena, ancient aliens and fighting Nazis have left to fear? Time.

42 years have passed since Harrison Ford first donned the fedora and stepped onto our screens as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). If you were to go back 42 years from the release of that first adventure, you’d be in 1939, months away from the Nazis invading Poland and plunging the world into its 2nd World War. He may not move quite like he once did, but his eyes still glimmer the same. Harrison Ford is still Indiana Jones.

In 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, it’s 1969 and the United States is about to land a man on the moon – a mission Indiana describes as ‘a pointless endeavour to a world of nothingness’. He’s characteristically grumpy, upset by his personal circumstances, and frustrated by being pushed into retirement from his work as a college professor. His joints are a little sore and he needs a break from the noises of modern life. When a voice from his past arrives asking questions of an ancient dial said to predict when and where fissures in time will occur, he is forced into an adventure for one more artefact. One that, of course, belongs in a museum…

The dial is believed to offer the opportunity of time travel to the person who correctly navigates it, though Indiana Jones is quick to dismiss that as “magic, not science”, adding the caveat that he has seen things he can’t explain. “Sometimes,” he says, “it’s not about what you believe, but about how hard you believe it.”

It is no coincidence that the ultimate MacGuffin of the 2023 version of Indiana Jones is time itself. Forty-plus years on from his debut, and in the twilight of his life, time is the greatest fear of all. The possibility that he might be able to control it is enticing, and the fear that someone else could wield it is potentially world-shifting. The latter is even more monumental when those chasing it are Nazis. “Why is it always Nazis?”

The Nazis, the MacGuffin, the title itself… it’s all very Indiana Jones, all very nostalgic. In this respect, Dial of Destiny is very in-keeping with the recent Hollywood trend of maximising Intellectual Property (IP) by restoring interest in the legacies of their most famous characters. It’s a shrewd streaming-era business move that attempts to bring eyes to the original films on Disney Plus almost as much as it aims to make its own money. And yet, while Dial of Destiny can certainly be seen through this lens, the film offers more than the neglectful offerings available elsewhere, incorporating legacy into its narrative not to simply celebrate an IP a studio wants to freshen up, but to offer a timely and important commentary on the preservation of old film techniques, to warn against the dissolving of film preservation, and to pay homage to the classic cinema that paved the way. Yes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a film about films.

The movie opens with a sequence directly ripped from the 2nd half of Buster Keaton’s monumental silent-era action-comedy The General (1926), complete with train surfing, bad guys shooting at other bad guys by accident, and water pumps proving to be inescapable obstacles. Almost 100 years on, it remains as exciting and effective as it ever was. We are subsequently launched into a first act in which Jones is woefully underestimated, a sure comment on how the current era of studio filmmaking underestimates the masters. Dial of Destiny of course pays tribute to the films within its own franchise, and specifically the moments that made us fall in love with it, but it’s in Indiana’s supporting characters Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Teddy (Ethann Isidore) that the message of the film is truly illuminated.

Helena and Teddy each undergo character arcs that transition them from heartless capitalists looking for a quick buck and a quick exit to loving people willing to risk it all for those who risked it for them, an early line from Waller-Bridge dismissing theft with the claim, “that’s capitalism”, being fantastically juxtaposed by a later act of kindness. In the face of time-pursuing Nazis, they develop into a poignant mirror to the Nazi villains led by Mads Mikkelsen’s Jürgen Voller, a group defined in this movie not by their racist ideologies but by their fierce dedication to exploiting the past for personal gain. They pursue the dial so they can change the past, their intention to restore Nazi dominance, just as the studios use their ownership of artefacts of cinema to revisit the past and create new avenues of revenue to re-establish their dominance with, or politicians revisit past colonialist ideologies and psychological techniques in an attempt to seize power and control over the populace – even if that might be of detriment to everyone, including themselves.

Indiana is, as a result, a beacon of hope. A hero we look to as a means to restore our faith that filmmaking can be more than exploitative nonsense. Just as Top Gun: Maverick reassured us in 2022 of how better action films can be made away from the CGI norm of the 21st century, and how the old masters still have important contributions to offer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny attempts to reassure us that good filmmaking ought not to suffer at the hands of exploitative business practices. It isn’t as well-made – its heavy reliance on computer generated imagery a better-than-expected 8 out of 10 but still not as whirlwind nor revolutionary as its 2022 brethren, and so much of the film is very dark (likely too dark for a family watching on Disney Plus to enjoy during the day time) – but if there was a hero to remind us of why we need movie stars and why we need movies, Indiana Jones is the one. A film franchise built on the back of paying homage to filmmakers from eras gone by, brought back to remind us of the power of the filmmaker even in a corporate world looking to constantly rinse every property of its last drop of quality and appeal. It feels right.

And why always Nazis? Homage to the rest of the franchise, sure. But also because they’re the ultimate representatives of strict and damaging ideological practices. And mostly, because we’re still fighting them in real life. This is 2023, and the far right is more prevalent than it has been for decades – they’re still here.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena is perhaps the best of the new additions to the cast, her character being everything you’d want from a well-travelled, brave and intelligent archaeologist but without any of the objectification or perfectionisms of previous women heroes in male-dominated franchises. She is positioned within the narrative as a relative, a parent figure, a fish out of water, but never an object. She is cunning but she is also excitable. She is, simply, a well-written character, and a fulcrum around whom many of the film’s biggest character developments occur.

The writing team of Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and director James Mangold must be commended for the depth of their allegories and the consistency of their message. And Mangold must, as the first director of an Indiana Jones movie that isn’t the legendary Steven Spielberg, be praised for ensuring so many of these allegorical elements, character arcs and titbits of excitement and interest remain present in his completed vision. There are moments where Mangold lets the action go for a little too long, and others where he abandons absolute realism in a way you couldn’t foresee early-era Spielberg doing, but this looks and feels every bit as much an Indiana Jones film as the others, while expertly navigating its new territory. The collective work of Mangold and the screenwriting trio isn’t perfect, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny isn’t a perfect film, but it is good. And it is Indiana Jones.

Reassuringly scored by the old master John Williams, and starring a suitably sparky Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny feels in many ways like a last hurrah for those who got so many of us into the magic of the movies. It pays homage to the history of American cinema, to the origins of the Indiana Jones franchise, to the very idea of cinema itself in the streaming age. And as Indiana Jones himself suffers from being too attached to the past, from being shunted to the edges of society and let go by the culture he lives within, we are poignantly shown just how much we need him, and how much we should cherish him.

There are some who will say that Indiana Jones belongs in the past. That he’s too old, that the ideas are overplayed. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny proves that those people are wrong.

Score: 18/24

Recommended for you: Indiana Jones Movies Ranked

Doctor Strange (2016)
Director: Scott Derrickson
Screenwriters: Jon Spaihts, C Robert Cargill, Scott Derrickson
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins

One of the major problems with launching new films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that a lot of the characters from Marvel comics have essentially the same origin story. “Arrogant jerk becomes selfless hero” is almost as omnipresent as DC’s “grief gives hero guilt-driven purpose”. Stephen Strange’s story may not be all that far removed from that of Tony Stark or Thor, and the first act of Doctor Strange might feel very familiar to anyone who has seen Batman Begins recently, but the rest of the film offers so much that is new on a visual and conceptual level that you don’t really mind.

Brilliant but arrogant neurosurgeon Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is brought crashing down to earth when a car accident leaves him barely able to use his hands. In a desperate search for a miracle cure, he travels to Tibet and comes under the tutelage of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who leads an order of sorcerers who protect time, space and reality itself from inter-dimensional threats. Will Doctor Strange put aside self-doubt and reach his full potential in time to stop renegade sorcerer Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) from performing a dangerous ritual that will open the door to the “Dark Dimension”?

From the film’s first sequence – an eye-popping magical heist and chase through London – director Scott Derrickson is making a bold aesthetic statement. Christopher Nolan, who may have been influenced himself by Steve Ditko’s imagery from the original “Doctor Strange” comics, ain’t got nothing on this. From entire cities flipping and folding, shards of reality punching through our field of vision, an elaborate fistfight inside a reversing timeline and some good old-fashioned psychedelic mind-melting, this is easily one of the most unique visual offerings of the MCU so far. An argument could certainly be made that the benchmarks of distinctive modern visual effects used to portray reality misbehaving are Dark City and The Matrix, Inception and now Doctor Strange.

As much of a bold choice as Joaquin Phoenix (who turned down the role) would have been, Benedict Cumberbatch was born for this and makes surgeon Strange a strutting Sherlock. He is an endearingly inept magic user at first, but never above using his previous arrogance and competitive streak to try and get ahead in his new and unlikely profession. Chiwetel Ejiofor hints at a lot more going on below the surface of his calm and collected but pained Mordo, whilst Mikkelsen brings deadpan humour to Kaecilius’ interactions with Strange, and Rachel McAdams’ Dr Palmer refreshingly reacts to strange goings on like a real person would and doesn’t instantly forget her ex was a terrible person when he rocks up in a snazzy new uniform. Swinton is convincing as an ageless bastion of knowledge and generally justifies her casting over the highly stereotyped image of the Ancient One in the comics, but they could always have made her odder to really tap into Swinton’s skillset. 

It helps that Marvel is committed to keeping things light where needed, notably a pleasing recurring gag that has Strange comparing formidable arcane librarian Wong (Benedict Wong) to the endless list famous mononymous music stars. Even the most intense action set pieces get punctuated by a few slapstick gags, especially when Strange is still a novice and tends to win more by fluke (or very protective sentient cloak) than through skill.

The sheer visual onslaught is at times a bit much. It seems churlish to compare this (one of the best blockbusters of 2016) with Duncan Jones’ Warcraft released earlier the same year (which…wasn’t), but both do encounter the same problem in that human beings can only process so much information via our eyeballs at once. The opening set piece works, as does the concluding sequence for its sheer ballsinesss, but there is so much going on in the scene that ends the film’s second act where Strange and Mordo chase Kaecilius through the highly malleable “Mirror Dimension” that it’s a real challenge to keep up.

Doctor Strange may not be the most thematically demanding movie out there, but it has got imagination in abundance and personality to spare, and it’s very easy to enjoy it on a wild, pure escapist level. The way the Marvel Universe(s) are left at the end of all this certainly offers up some interesting narrative and character possibilities for the MCU’s future, and those possibilities have certainly started to bear fruit in over the past couple of years. Whereas once we might have feared how Strange joining the wider action in the MCU would remove any tension given that his powers are essentially limitless, post-Thanos those fears have proven unfounded. Besides, there are other formidable (and colour coded) magic users sharing this universe who have had a pretty bad time in their appearances of late and who could conceivably abracadabra even Strange into oblivion without much effort should they wish to…

19/24

The big winner of the night was Albert Dupontel comedy Adieu Les Cons (Bye Bye Morons), which earned both the Best Director and Original Screenplay awards for Dupontel, as well as the Best Film award. It also had wins in the Cinematography and Supporting Actor categories. Adieu Les Cons follows a seriously ill woman trying to reconnect with her long-lost child, enlisting the help of a blind archivist.

In the International Film category, Sam Mendes’ first world war epic 1917 was pipped to the post by 2021 Oscars International Feature front-runner Another Round, a dark comedy turned drama from Thomas Vinterberg starring Mads Mikkelsen.

Controversial coming-of-age drama Cuties, distributed in the UK and North America by Netflix, was also an awards winner, Fathia Youssouf earning the award for Best Female Newcomer.

More controversial still was a moment when actress Corinne Masiero (Louise Wimmer) removed all of her clothing whilst presenting the award for Costume Design. The act, done in support of France’s art workers, was broadcast live to the world via leading French broadcaster Canal+.

Here is the full list of 2021 César Awards winners: 

BEST FILM – Adieu Les Cons

Adolescentes

Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes

Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Summer Of 85

BEST DIRECTOR – Albert Dupontel (Adieu Les Cons)

Maîwenn (DNA)

Sébastien Lifshitz (Adolescentes)

Emmanuel Mouret (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

François Ozon (Summer Of 85)

BEST ACTRESS – Laure Calamy (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes)

Martine Chevallier (Two Of Us)

Virginie Efira (Adieu Les Cons)

Camélia Jordana (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

Barbara Sukowa (Two Of Us)

BEST ACTOR – Sami Bouajila (Un Fils)

Jonathan Cohen (Enorme)

Albert Dupontel (Adieu Les Cons)

Niels Schneider (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

Lambert Wilson (De Gaulle)

BEST FOREIGN FILM – Another Round

1917

Corpus Christi

Dark Waters

The August Virgin

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Emilie Dequenne (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

Fanny Ardant (DNA)

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (Summer Of 85)

Noémie Lvovsky (La Bonne Epouse)

Yolande Moreau (La Bonne Epouse)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Nicolas Mairé (Adieu Les Cons)

Edouard Baer (La Bonne Epouse)

Louis Garrel (DNA)

Benjamin Lavernhe (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes)

Vincent Macaigne (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER – Fathia Youssouf (Cuties)

Mélissa Guers (La Fille Au Bracelet)

India Hair (Poissonsexe)

Julia Piaton (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

Camille Rutherford (Felicità)

BEST MALE NEWCOMER – Jean-Pascal Zadi (Tout Simplement Noir)

Guang Huo (La Nuit Venue)

Félix Lefebvre (Summer Of 85)

Benjamin Voisin (Summer Of 85)

Alexandre Wetter (Miss)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – Albert Dupontel (Adieu Les Cons)

Caroline Vignal (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes)

Emmanuel Mouret (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

Filippo Meneghetti and Malysone Bovorashy (Two Of Us)

Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kerven (Effacer L’Historique)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – Stéphanie Demoustier (La Fille Au Bracelet)

Olivier Assayas (Wasp Network)

Hannelore Cayre and Jean-Paul Salomé (La Daronne)

François Ozon (Summer Of 85)

Eric Barbier (Petit Pays)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Alexis Kavyrchine (Adieu Les Cons)

Antoine Parouty and Paul Guilhaume (Adolescentes)

Simon Beaufils (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes)

Laurent Desmet (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

Hichame Alaouié (Summer Of 85)

BEST EDITING – Tina Baz (Adolescentes)

Christophe Pinel (Adieu Les Cons)

Annette Dutertre (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes)

Marital Salomon (Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait)

Laure Gardette (Summer Of 85)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN – La Bonne Epouse

Adieu Les Cons

Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

De Gaulle

Summer Of 85

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – Adieu Les Cons

La Bonne Epouse

Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

De Gaulle

Summer Of 85

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – Josep

Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary

Little Vampire

BEST DOCUMENTARY – Adolescentes

La Cravate

Cyrille Agriculteur, 30 Ans, 20 Vaches, Du Lait, Du Beurre, Des Dettes

Histoire D’Un Regard

Un Pays Qui Se Tient Sage

BEST FIRST FILM – Two Of Us

Garçon Chiffon

Cuties

Tout Simplement Noir

Un Divan A Tunis

BEST SCORE – Rone (La Nuit Venue)

Christophe Julien (Adieu Les Cons)

Stephen Warbeck (DNA)

Mateï Bratescot (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes)

Jean-Benoït Dunckel (Summer Of 85)

BEST SOUND – Adolescentes

BEST ANIMATED SHORT – L’Heure De L’Ours

BEST SHORT FILM – Qu’Importe Si Les Bêtes Meurent

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Riders of Justice (2020)
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
Screenwriters: Anders Thomas Jensen, Nikolaj Arcel
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Lars Brygmann, Andrea Heick Gadesberg, Nicolas Bro

“Nothing is for certain,” says an old man to his granddaughter, convinced that her wish for a new bicycle will come true. Little does she know just how right he is as her simple wish will spark a series of increasingly ludicrous coincidences that will form most of the plot of Riders of Justice, the latest black comedy from Danish writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen.

Otto and Lennart (Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Lars Brygmann) are two slightly hapless scientists working on an algorithm that can predict the chaotic nature of cause and effect. Every moment, Otto explains, was caused by a near infinite number of other moments, which in turn have their own infinite causes and so on. It’s a map of the universe that would be impossible for a human brain to process, which is why, so far, he and Lennart have only been able to successfully predict that rich people buy expensive things and poor people buy cheap things. Unceremoniously fired for providing this useless piece of information, Otto takes an earlier train home. There, he meets Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg) and offers his seat to her mother. A mere second after they swap, the entire right-hand side of the train (including Mathilde’s mother) explodes in an apparent freak accident. Otto, however, is not convinced that it is an accident. Determined he has found a pattern, and the people responsible, he and Lennart connect with the grim and grieving Markus (Mads Mikkelsen), father of Mathilde, and hatch a plan for revenge.

As convoluted and disparate as these story elements are, Jensen’s script is well judged. All the characters are well developed and each have very believable reasons for behaving as they do. So much so, that we start to imagine we can see this chaotic pattern that should otherwise be impossible to process.

The nature of coincidence and interconnection has been covered plenty of times already, perhaps most famously in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, while Dan Fogelman has written at least two films and one TV show about it. Riders of Justice uses the idea to first develop its sense of humour and then to reveal its surprisingly poignant themes.

Markus is a highly skilled soldier and a virtual powder keg of rage and supressed emotion, but he finds himself stuck with a random group of whining, bickering outcasts. Watching him trying to keep a level head while he has to deal with a French-horn playing hacker, Mathilde’s overly familiar and irritatingly socially-conscious boyfriend, or a shy Ukrainian prostitute pretending to be his daughter’s au pair, leads to some screamingly hilarious scenes, each made all the better that they’re not played for laughs. Though each of these people have their own pig-headed sense of morality, their goal is united, but how to achieve it is constantly up for debate. The various definitions of justice collide together until the previously simple definitions of right and wrong become more muddied and confused. Initially no one wants to back down from their opinion, but eventually the chaotic nature of their clashing egos brings all of them to a new perspective.

Whilst Mikkelsen’s talent has never been in question, it’s undeniable that he’s on a roll at the moment. After his excellent performance in Druk (Another Round) last year, he turns in one of his funniest roles (despite never once cracking a joke) to date. As Markus, Mikkelsen remains stoically tight-lipped but manages to say more with every exasperated pinch of the nose or passive-aggressive drag on a cigarette while his comrades squabble ceaselessly. Newcomer Gadeberg is also a highlight, managing to hold her own with Mikkelsen, and whose well-intentioned naivety is funny and infuriating in equal measure. Most of the supporting cast are made up of Jensen regulars and it’s a testament to their performances that a film which juggles so many ideas makes complete sense and never slips into ridiculousness.

It is this key element which makes the film as successful as it is. Despite dealing with the very nature of chaos, the film remains laser-focused on what it’s trying to say. Often when films discuss coincidence and fate, they raise questions which have no answers and end ambiguously, but Riders of Justice knows from the beginning that finding an answer to everything is impossible; that singular people with singular minds will only ever end up getting lost. While there may be no rhyme or reason to their coming together, you can leave satisfied knowing that each of the Riders of Justice have been improved by finding each other. It may be the only thing that is certain in this world.

18/24

Written by Jack Cameron

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The 2020 event was due to take place from Reykjavík, Iceland, but was instead moved to a television studio in Berlin, with the nominees discovering their fates via Zoom call. Heading up the competition for Another Round on the night were the Oscar-nominated Corpus Christi and the critically lauded Martin Eden, with German films Undine and Berlin Alexanderplatz each featuring prominently.

New Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt, 2012) film Another Round was the winner in each of the ceremony’s most celebrated categories, earning wins for European Film, European Director, European Screenwriter and European Actor.

Here is the full list of winners from the 2020 European Film Awards:

EUROPEAN FILM – ANOTHER ROUND (DRUK)
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Corpus Christi
Martin Eden
The Painted Bird
Undine

EUROPEAN COMEDY – THE BIG HIT
Advantages of Travelling by Train
Ladies of Steel

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY – SOLE
Full Moon
Gagarine
Instinct
Isaac
Jumbo

EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY – COLLECTIVE
Acasă, My Home
Gunda
Little Girl
Saudi Runaway
The Cave

EUROPEAN ANIMATED FILM – JOSEP
Calamity
Klaus
The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks

EUROPEAN SHORT FILM – ALL CATS ARE GREY IN THE DARK
Genius Loci
Past Perfect
Sun Dog
Uncle Thomas, Accounting for the Days

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR – THOMAS VINTERBERG (ANOTHER ROUND)
Agnieszka Holland (Charlatan)
Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi)
Maria Sødahl (Hope)
Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden)
François Ozon (Summer of 85)

EUROPEAN ACTRESS – PAULA BEER (UNDINE)
Ane Dahl Torp (Charter)
Natasha Berezhnaya (Dau. Natasha)
Andrea Bræin Hovig (Hope)
Marta Nieto (Mother)
Nina Hoss (My Little Sister)

EUROPEAN ACTOR – MADS MIKKELSEN (ANOTHER ROUND)
Bartosz Bielenia (Corpus Christi)
Viggo Mortensen (Falling)
Goran Bogdan (Father)
Elio Germano (Hidden Way)
Luca Marinelli (Martin Eden)

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER – THOMAS VINTERBERG & TOBIAS LINDHOLM (ANOTHER ROUND)
Costa-Gavras (Adults in the Room)
Damiano D’Innocenzo & Fabio D’Innocenzo (Bad Tales)
Martin Behnke & Burhan Qurbani (Berlin Alexanderplatz)
Mateusz Pacewicz (Corpus Christi)
Pietro Marcello & Maurizio Braucci (Martin Eden)

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY FILM AWARD – SAUDI RUNAWAY
Another Round
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Corpus Christi
Slalom

EUROPEAN VISUAL EFFECTS – THE PLATFORM

EUROPEAN SOUND – LITTLE GIRL

EUROPEAN SCORE – DASCHA DAUENHAUER (BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ)

EUROPEAN MAKEUP & HAIR – THE ENDLESS TRENCH

EUROPEAN COSTUME DESIGN – HIDDEN AWAY

EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGN – THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD

EUROPEAN EDITING – ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH

EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHY – MATTEO COCCO (HIDDEN AWAY)

EFA AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE STORYTELLING – MARK COUSINS (WOMEN MAKE FILM: A NEW ROAD MOVIE THROUGH CINEMA)

Lucas Film and Disney have collaborated to bring us the first ever live-action standalone feature film from the Star Wars universe and, courtesy of a chilling script from Chris Weitz (assisted by Tony Gilroy) and a similarly startling visual construction from Godzilla (2014) director Gareth Edwards, have provided a spectacular action sci-fi movie that is not only fitting of its ‘Star Wars’ title but may even be as good as movies from the original trilogy. Perhaps this is one film better left to fans of the franchise than potential newcomers, but gosh is it good if you’re already invested.

Taking place just before A New Hope in terms of the Star Wars universe’s timeline, Rogue One centers on the rebellion’s quest for hope against the increasing power and dominance of the imperial army and specifically focuses upon the story of Felicity Jones’ character Jyn Erso as she journeys from innocence to nonconformity and right through to heroism. In this respect Rogue One’s screenplay is that of a typical Star Wars film, but only in this respect. Chris Weitz’s story will undoubtedly have you clutching at the arms of your cinema seat and clenching your fists in bursts of anger, sadness and excitement through methods not often seen in the Star Wars universe or mainstream blockbuster movies in general. The director, Gareth Edwards, must take praise for his visualisation of Rogue One’s themes in correspondence with Star Wars Episodes 1-6 (including his self-professed favourite film of all time, Rogue One’s follow-up ‘A New Hope’ – 1977), something which the director completed with a seamlessness that slotted the series’ incredibly important debut stand-alone feature film alongside those of its main titles. Part of that seamlessness was born out of the director’s use of practical effects, sets and stunt work, all of which occurred despite his industry history as a visual effects expert and his notably CG-clad directorial work, showing an understanding of not only the source material but also his craft. These elements weren’t without notable CG pay-offs however, with sequences of engulfing destruction on a massive scale really helping to drive home the universal risks at stake in the movie, with further use of this CG making for some incredible nods to ‘A New Hope’ and almost unnoticeable motion capture animation.

One of the standout uses of motion capture/CG was in the performance and presentation of K-2SO (Tudyk), a former Imperial droid reprogrammed to assist rebel forces in the fight against his creators. The character slotted in to the movie with an acceptance that came courtesy of his excellently animated robotic skeleton and infectious personality, and was a stand-out of the film not only for the creators’ technological feat but also because of the droid’s combination of comedic timing, physical dominance and its excellent look that made him about as ‘cool’ as any other character.

Vitally, Edwards’ movie managed to create an excellent cast of characters alongside K-2SO that rivaled any other movie in the franchise man for man (or woman for woman as may be the case), with Wen Jiang’s Baze Malbus, Riz Ahmed’s Bodhi Rook and Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor each bringing their own elements of worthwhile characterisations to the film. It was, however, Donnie Yen’s Chirrut Imwe, a ‘the force’ believing blind man with a knack for beating people with a stick, that was the stand-out side character in the movie. Imwe’s overwhelmingly strong belief in the force created an understanding and identifiability for the extraordinarily gifted martial artist of whom headlined the distinctly unforgiving team of rebel fighters, and harkened back to some of Star Wars creator George Lucas’s original inspirations found in the likes of ‘Seven Samurai’ (1954), thus becoming not only a stick-wielding force to be reckoned with but also one of the main points of investment in the film, making him the coolest of all the cats; the standout character of the bunch.

Ben Mandelsohn’s villain, Orson Krennic, was also a character that demanded interest courtesy of an intricate construction of his persona and a story arc that actually developed (take note other mainstream blockbusters). He was, truly, a despicable villain that somewhat awkwardly connected with the darker sides of yourself that you’d probably not like to admit exist. However, Krennic was also a character that was somewhat subject to knowledge of the other Star Wars films and therefore worked as a reminder that not everything in this movie was as great as it could have been.

Rogue One’s biggest issue was without a doubt its reveling in its own hype; it was the monster of its own filmmakers’ fandom. If you had never seen a ‘Star Wars’ film, or even if you’d only started with ‘The Force Awakens’ (2015), then you’d likely find difficulty in understanding Mandelsohn’s character’s powers or struggles, and you’d therefore likely find less enjoyment in the story as the stakes wouldn’t seem so high. This doesn’t only apply to the villain or his affects either, as much of the film relied upon knowledge of the original trilogy in particular to make any sense, simply because the filmmakers didn’t want to waste any time explaining that which they expected you to already know. Perhaps this was an intentional move to push the ‘universe’ concept the big studios find so valuable, but it will certainly divide the fans of the franchise from a number of newcomers, something which wasn’t helped by the screenplay’s brave and fan-satisfying distancing from the typical cliches of the genre and ‘Star Wars’ in particular.

One newcomer who had little trouble in adapting to the ‘Star Wars’ universe was Felicity Jones who played the film’s central character Jyn Erso with the same hidden bravery that has come to define so many of her more critically acclaimed performances, not least that of her Oscar-nominated display in The Theory of Everything (2014). She was a solid crutch for the entire plot to rest upon, and despite being overtaken by more interesting and elaborately presented secondary characters and performances, was as vital to the success of the film as any other on-screen talent. Hers was a more understated role that was less interesting to watch simply because it was the centrepiece of the movie, and in this respect the film was very typical of its own series as she suffered from her story being told sufficiently enough to satisfy the mythos surrounding the character (and therefore not build any external intrigue with the audience) in much the same way that Mark Hammil and the Luke Skywalker character suffered in the original trilogy.

Some of Rogue One was entirely fresh and some of it so very familiar. It was this mix of old and new that seemed to continue through to the movie’s score, which was not composed by John Williams for the first time in the franchise’s history. Instead, Michael Giacchino, close friend to The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams and the composer of the music in the ‘Star Trek’ reboots, was tasked with merging some of Williams’ original work with some equally compelling and at times daunting musical compositions that would help audiences to reminisce on the old while still ushering in the new. In Rogue One, as much as in Star Trek (2009), Giacchino knocked it out of the park. His work was sensational in all aspects, and certainly completed the composer’s mission of moving the universe beyond Williams with the respect the legendary composer truly deserves. It was of testament to Giacchino that the score was implemented with the same emotive effect that his predecessor’s work was in all seven of the other movies, and a true joy to witness in correspondence to this generally very impressive film.

It is clear, then, that Rogue One was more than just ‘another spin-off’ in our current climate of movie universes and franchises, but it was also a well developed and challenging stand-alone film that honoured its own universe while still creating an intelligent story that demanded more investment from its audience than is typical for movies of its type. From its performances to special effects, direction to score, and particularly through its screenplay, this ‘Star Wars’ movie was as much of an on-screen adventure as one can hope for. Sure, it may be a little challenging for non-fans and there may be one or two divisive moments for fans and non-fans alike, but this particular Star Wars movie is certainly good enough to be compared to the classics of the franchise and there is simply no higher praise than that.

20/24