London Tale, Iran Tragedy Lead Berlin Film Charge

Berlin traditionally champions independent, small-budget pictures from arthouse directors that tackle tough issues.

The story of an odd couple coming together in the aftermath of the London suicide attacks of 2005 and an Iranian tragedy about social conventions are among the favorites for the Berlin film festival's top prize on Saturday.

The 11-day annual showcase of international cinema winds up with an evening awards ceremony when the Golden Bear for best picture and Silver Bears in other categories are handed out.

Berlin traditionally champions independent, small-budget pictures from arthouse directors that tackle tough issues.

There are nearly 20 films in the main competition and hundreds more shown in sideline sections, attracting reporters from around the world and hundreds of thousands of cinema-goers.

Although the 2009 competition lineup has been described by critics as disappointing, several films emerged as frontrunners.

They are led by "London River," French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb's tale of a white woman and black man united in their search for two children missing after the 2005 attacks.

Also broadly popular was "About Elly," about middle-class Iranians whose trip to the Caspian Sea turns to tragedy as they seek to uphold social customs by layering lie upon lie.

"The Messenger," starring Woody Harrelson as an army officer assigned to inform next of kin about soldiers killed in combat, won warm praise. Renee Zellweger in the witty 1950s comedy "My One And Only," a late entry, is also in the running.

BIG NAMES FLOP

For other big names the reviews were less kind.

"Mammoth," starring Gael Garcia Bernal, tackles the pros and cons of this year's hot-topic issue globalization, but its aggregate score in a poll of critics fell short of "poor."

Faring little better was minimalist fashion spoof "Rage," in which not even Jude Law playing a cross-dressing model called Minx could save director Sally Potter from a critical mauling.

And "Happy Tears" had a sorry reception, despite Demi Moore and Parker Posey playing the lead roles.

More positively, reviewers said "Gigante" from Uruguay told a simple tale of a supermarket security guard effectively and China's "Forever Enthralled" was a visually sumptuous take on the life of Mei Lanfang, a famous Peking opera star.

Also likely to be on the jury's radar is "Everyone Else," a German entry, "Little Soldier," about a Danish female soldier who returns home after serving abroad, and revenge saga "Katalin Varga," British director Peter Strickland's debut feature film.

Mournful Peruvian tale "The Milk of Sorrow" is seen as an outside bet.

Enough stars hit Berlin's red carpet in 2009 to keep director Dieter Kosslick, and the media, happy.

Zellweger, Moore and Bernal were joined by Keanu Reeves, Clive Owen, U2's The Edge, Kate Winslet, Steve Martin and Leonardo DiCaprio, who was in town for a peace award.

The 2009 Berlin film festival hands out the Golden Bear for best picture at an awards ceremony on Saturday and Silver Bears in other categories.

As well as the main competition of just under 20 movies eligible for prizes, hundreds more are screened at cinemas across the city.

Following are the critics' favorites for best picture.

- LONDON RIVER (directed by Rachid Bouchareb, starring Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyate). An unlikely friendship develops between two parents in London looking for their children who go missing after the 2005 suicide attacks.

- ABOUT ELLY/DARBAREYE ELLY (directed by Asghar Farhadi, starring Golshifteh Farahani). A group of middle-class Iranians head to the Caspian Sea for a break, but the trip turns to tragedy as they desperately try to keep up appearances by hiding the truth about a guest.

- THE MESSENGER (directed by Oren Moverman, starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster). Two army officers are given the unenviable task of telling next of kin that loved ones died in combat. One of them falls in love with a dead comrade's wife.

- MY ONE AND ONLY (directed by Richard Loncraine, starring Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon). Loosely based on the childhood experiences of Hollywood star George Hamilton, the story follows two boys and their mother on a search across America for a suitable replacement for a philandering father.

- GIGANTE (directed by Adrian Biniez, starring Horacio Camandule and Leonor Svarcas). A supermarket security guard becomes obsessed with a cleaning lady he watches on close circuit television. He begins to follow her every move.

- FOREVER ENTHRALLED (directed by Chen Kaige, starring Zhang Ziyi). A homage to Mei Lanfang, one of the country's most famous exponents of Peking opera who became a hero in China for defying the Japanese in World War Two.

- CHERI (directed by Stephen Frears, starring Michelle Pfeiffer). Pfeiffer plays an aging courtesan who falls in love with the son of a rival high class prostitute in a film set in Paris's "Belle Epoque."

- EVERYONE ELSE/ALLE ANDEREN (directed by Maren Ade, starring Birgit Minichmayr and Lars Eidinger). A young couple's relationship is suddenly destabilized when they meet another couple on holiday.

- LITTLE SOLDIER/LILLE SOLDAT (directed by Annette K. Olesen, starring Trine Dyrholm). A female soldier returns to Denmark after serving abroad but struggles to fit in until her father, who runs a haulage company and a prostitute ring, hires her as his driver and minder.

- KATALIN VARGA (directed by Peter Strickland, starring Hilda Peter). Katalin is forced to leave home when her husband discovers he is not the father of her son. She goes in search of the real father, and her quest becomes a bloody trail of revenge for what he did to her 11 years earlier.

- THE MILK OF SORROW/LA TETA ASUSTADA (directed by Claudia Llosa, starring Magaly Solier). Fausta suffers from "the milk of sorrow" which affects women in Peru raped and abused during the political violence of the 1980s. When her mother dies, she does everything in her power to give her a decent burial. Source: Reuters/Screen International