The AFI EU Film Showcase concluded with a strong roster of films. In all, 49 movies from 25 countries played over the three weeks. (Sorry Luxembourg, Malta, and Sweden. Sweden’s Becoming Astrid did screen just before the festival, but its release date made it impossible to include in the festival proper.) If European movies interest you, and you happen to be in the Washington DC area next December, look for the 32^nd installment of this outstanding collection – which may or may not include the U.K. We shall see.

Stan & Ollie by Jon S. Baird (United Kingdom)

Baird’s loving tribute to the famous comedy duo follows them on their final tour through Great Britain and Ireland. They were both in their 60s at this point and well past their glory days, which are referenced in a short opening prologue from 1937. Oliver Hardy’s health was failing, and long-simmering feuds would percolate as crowds for their shows were less than expected. Yet despite the downward slide, stars Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly reveal the magic that still resided in a couple of hard-working comics, and it is really a joy to watch such a carefully crafted recreation. Common wisdom has it that Stan Laurel was the genius of the group and Hardy a nimble fat man who got lucky. But Baird’s portrait goes deeper, and Coogan reveals the heart underneath Stan’s genius while Reilly shows the common-sense wisdom at the core of Ollie’s jovial simplicity. Nice support from Nina Arianda and Shirley Henderson as the boys’ wives, who, sort of like their husbands, initially appear as exaggerated caricatures, but grow over time into poignant characters in their own right.

Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor) by Florian Henckel von Donnesmarck (Germany)

Von Donnesmarck’s debut film, The Lives of Others, won major awards all over the world (including the Foreign Language Oscar) back in 2006. He followed it up a few years later with an American thriller, The Tourist, starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. That movie, though successful at the box office and enjoyed by some, was a mess. Von Donnesmarck had crafted The Lives of Others over many years. He came to The Tourist after several other directors and stars had been involved, and ended up rewriting and filming the intricate story in a couple of months. That was back in 2010. Film fans have waited eight long years for his third feature, to see whether The Lives of Others was a fluke. Happy to report that his third movie, based on the life of an artist who grew up in Germany under Nazi rule, and then came of age in post-war East Berlin before finding his true muse in Dusseldorf, is a very strong return to form. At 188 minutes, von Donnesmarck can be accused of excess, and the opening sequences, which jump several years at a time as lead character Kurt Barnert grows from a boy to young adult in and around the war years, can feel a bit drawn out. But the story rarely lags and once Kurt is grown and begins confronting his role as artist, and falling in love, and coming to terms with past tragedies, Never Look Away becomes a taut examination the meaning of art and the nature of memory, filled with sharp characters and a powerful melodramatic storyline. Tom Schilling is excellent as the adult Kurt (who is loosely based on German artist Gerhard Richter), and The Lives of Others star Sebastian Koch, takes on a very different role here as Kurt’s father-in-law. Germany’s submission for this year’s Foreign Language Oscar.

Lemonade by Ioana Uricaru (Romania)

Uricaru’s debut feature certainly shows the influence of producer Cristian Mungiu, Romania’s most highly acclaimed director. There are undeniable similarities to Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days in its observational depiction of the uphill battle fought by economically impoverished women. But Uricaru also puts her own clear stamp on Lemonade. For one thing, the movie is set in the USA, and much of it is in English. Though there are references to life in Romania both before and after the revolution (which Uricaru experienced firsthand before coming to the USA to study and then work), Lemonade focuses on the American dream, demonstrating the corruption inherent in even the most desired of situations. Mara is a young health aid from Romania who has traveled to the USA on a temporary work visa. As it about to expire, she marries one of her patients, Daniel, who appears to be a godsend. He even welcomes her 8-year old son Dragos. But despite her marriage and a little bit of cash from the sale of her Romanian house, Mara is a highly marginalized person. As she awaits her green card, she is at the mercy of any number of entities, all of whom seem to relish their power over the powerless. Her encounters with immigration officers and police and even with her own husband always teeter on the edge of nerve-racking trauma. As Mara, Malina Manovici brings a splendid blend of frailty and grit to the lead, and she is ably supported, especially by child actor Milan Hurduc as Dragos. The immigrant experience has been a hot topic in international cinema of late, and Lemonade is a powerful member of that club – an entry that marks Uricaru as a director to look for in the years to come.

Omnipresent (Vezdesushtiyat) by Ilian Djevelekov (Bulgaria)

Bulgaria’s submission for the Foreign Language Oscar boasts a fascinating premise built on the idea of the lack of privacy which increasingly infects the 21^st century. And it builds to an undeniably potent ending. It may wander a bit on the way, which knocks it down a peg or two, but it still offers a great deal to think about. Emil (Velislav Pavlov, a picture of perverted handsomeness) is a highly regarded writer who appears to be managing the creative side of a successful ad company in Sofia. He appears to be running it because we never actually see him working at his job. He leaves that to others as he becomes obsessed with spying on everyone around him. It begins innocently, but soon he becomes addicted to the voyeurism and is setting up cameras and microphones in the most inappropriate places. As Emil notes in his wryly amusing running narration, he knows he is delving into areas that are best left untouched, but he cannot stop. Soon, he is exerting power in both his personal and professional lives, and sinking deeper and deeper into his own private abyss. Djevelekov slyly incorporates footage from public cameras into the Emil’s private collection, suggesting that no matter how godlike his voyeurism may make him feel, Emil is still a mere pawn in the game, subject to the same invasion he delivers to others. The message doesn’t hit with quite the same gut punch terror that Harry Caul feels at the end of The Conversation (1974), but it treads in similar territory.

Winter Flies (Vsechno Bude) by Olmo Omerzu (Czech Republic)

This low key coming-of-age road film is bolstered by a quirky performance by Jan Frantisek Uher as Hedus, a gawky adolescent fond of shooting his bb rifle at anything he can find. He joins up with the slightly more mature Mara (Tomas Mrvik) in a stolen Audi and the boys take off for a trip across the Czech Republic in search of … well, that’s never really clear. Hedus has dreams of joining the French Foreign Legion, and Mara wants to visit his grandfather, who seems to be the only person he cares about. Oh, yeah, and both boys want to get laid. They have a few adventures along the way, and the chemistry between the two makes for a mostly engaging adventure. It looks a bit like a George and Lenny type of story, but that never really develops. In fact, nothing in terms of plot really develops, and you get the sense that director Omerzu knew this because he intercuts the boys adventure with flash forwards to Mara’s interrogation by a policewoman (Lenka Vlasakova) in a Usual Suspects-type of structure. That adds a superficial aura of suspense which is never paid off. Omerzu does well with the slice of life observational sequences showing two immature boys out on a lark, but narrative is so slight that it falls short of movies like Jon Watts’ Cop Car.

Mug (Twarz) by Malgorzata Szumowska (Poland)

Mug spends its first hour profiling Jacek (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, husband of director Szumowska), a long-haired, kind-hearted rebel who dreams of leaving his small Polish town, preferably with his girlfriend Dagmara. He spends his time blasting Metallica from his speeding car and mocking religion. But, like the rest of the town, he is helping with the town’s enormous undertaking – the creation of the largest Christ Statue in the world. Jacek spends a good part of his time working on the massive Christ face, which takes on added significance when a construction accident leaves him disfigured. He survives after a face transplant which upends his entire life. Dagmara withdraws, but his family, primarily his fierce sister (Agnieszka Podsiadlik) pulls in to provide support. Szumowska blends absurdist and poignant touches throughout (the opening sequence “Christmas Underwear Sale” could be lifted right out a Yorgos Lanthimos movie), and Jacek’s plight, though bordering on pathetic, has just enough dark humor to keep it intriguing. Runner-up in the 2018 Berlin Festival.

BEST OF THE SHOWCASE

The AFI EU Film Showcase does not award prizes, so what the hell. I’ll do it for them. Of course, I only screened 27 of the 49 titles, so this is an incomplete list. But you get what you pay for.

Screenplay

Tatiana Ionescu and Ioana Uricaru for Lemonade (runners-up: Marios Piperides for Smuggling Hendrix, Teemu Nikki for Euthanizer)

Cinematography

Lukasz Zal for Cold War (runners-up: Janis Eglitis for Homo Novus, Caleb Deschanel for Never Look Away)

Supporting Actor

Sebastian Kock for Never Look Away (runners-up: Goran Novajec for The Eighth Commissioner, Ozgur Karadeniz for Smuggling Hendrix)

Supporting Actress

Mariam Sanusi for Joy (runners-up: Hannamaija Nikander for Euthanizer, Halina Reijn for Love Revisited)

Actor

Marcello Fonte for Dogman (runners-up: John C. Reilly for Stan & Ollie, Victor Polster for Girl, Matti Onnismaa for Euthanizer)

Actress

Ioana Iacob for I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians (runners-up: Anwulika Alphonsus for Joy, Joanna Kulig for Cold War, Malina Manovici for Lemonade)

Director

Pawel Pawlikowski for Cold War (runners-up: Sudabeh Mortezai for Joy, Ruth Beckermann for The Waldheim Waltz, Christian Petzold for Transit, Lukas Dhont for Girl)

Film

Joy (runners-up: Cold War, Girl, Black ’47, The Waldheim Waltz, Euthanizer, Never Look Away, Lemonade)

Check out the rest of our series on the 2018 AFI EU Film Showcase:

• AFI 2018 European Union Film Showcase: Part One
• AFI 2018 European Union Film Showcase: Part Two
• AFI 2018 European Union Film Showcase: Part Three