The Berlin film festival, which finished the showing of all its competition movies on Friday, has been swept by a wave of strong feelings for human connection, often with drastic confrontations with the deaths of the loved ones.

 

In Cherry Blossoms-Hanami by German director Doris Doerrie, a grieving old man goes to Japan to see for himself the cherry blossoms, which symbolizes beauty and transience, in an effort to follow the dreams of his lost wife.

 

In Italian director Antonello Grimaldi's Quiet Chaos, a previously very career-engaged father tries every effort to help her daughter overcome the sudden death of her mother by waiting outside his daughter's school for the entire day.

 

Chinese Director Wang Xiaoshuai's Zuo You (In Love We Trust) features a divorced and separately remarried couple tries to save their mutual child suffering from Leukemia, by being together again. Their morally controversial reunion is aimed at giving birth to a new baby as a bone marrow donor, which is the only alternative to save their sick child under their circumstance.

 

In I've Loved You So Long by French director Philippe Claudel, a woman tries to be emotionally reconnected with her sister who spent 15 years in prison almost without any family contact. She happened to find out later that her sister, who was jailed for murder charges, actually dosed her own son, who suffered an extremely painful illness, purely out of love and mercy.

 

In Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke's Lake Tahoe, a son, who was caught up in a car accident, desperately wanders around the city seeking a spare part to repair his car, only to find himself further away from home as he tries to overcome the grief after the loss of his father.

 

Other movies, such as the documentary Standard Operating Procedure, which tells what really happened in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and There Will Be Blood starred by famed American actor Daniel Lewis, all enjoy high expectations of attaining the big prizes.

 

The Berlin Film Festival will end on Saturday with an award ceremony where the Golden Bear for best movie, as well as the Silver Bear prizes for best actor, actress and director, will be handed out.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2008)