7-20 December

Historic Centre (2012)-5/10-> Kaurismaki isn't anything special, he sticks to his usual recipe (if not a bit colder), which is not necessarily something bad.

Costa is disappointing, starting off with some of his usual picturality and continuing with a meaningless and dull part.

Erice is the most accomplished of all, sending off emotions and knowledge to the audience.

Oliveira has no plot whatsoever and it's there just for the sake of the director, probably.

Fortress (2012)-8/10-> One of the best documentaries I've seen in a while, Fortress is a humourous and also dark account of the Transnistrian country. Beautifully shot, very well made and wound together.

Quitting Smoking By Smoking (2012)-8.5/10-> One of the most honest and revealing films about smoking, Quitting Smoking By Smoking is not necessarily very personally made, which makes it even better to watch.

The Man With The Iron Fists (2012)-1.5/10-> The mix borrowed elements, terrible acting and haywire editing make this a really bad film, if not actually the worst of this year so far. 

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)-7.5/10-> It's mostly predictable, but the film has what not most of the films with teenagers have. It has a heart and an ability to actually capture the struggles of adolescence.

Pieta (2012)-6/10-> You might have seen this story in another form, but that doesn't  necessarily make Pieta a bad film. It's got some originality and the outcome is great.

22 November- 6 December

The Ruined Map (1968)-4/10->It nails an original atmosphere, but The Ruined Map is too incoherent and some moments are either too complex or either too stupid to understand.

Moara Cu Noroc (1955)-7/10->One of the few good adaptations of Romanian literature from that period, Moara Cu Noroc has good acting and a good script which respects the source material, but in my opinion it could have been bigger.

Something In The Air (2012)-8/10-> A powerful film, Assayas's latest is a beautiful piece on the French student movement of the early '70s.

More Than Honey (2012)-5/10->It's too slow and light,but otherwise More Than Honey is a good documentary.

The Details (2012)-5.5/10->A bit inconsistent, but otherwise The Details achieves its' black comedy standard, by becoming more shocking (not necessarily funny) as it goes along. And Maguire is a damned good pick for this role.

L'Enfer (1994)-4.5/10->Unexpectedly predictable and common, L'Enfer works as an OK film about jealousy with a good performance from Cluzet and that's it.

Gerry (2002)-8/10->It's very slow, but ultimately worth it.

EFA 2012: The Films and The Awards

Best Film

Winner: 

Amour

Nominees: 

• Barbara
• Cesare Deve Morire
• Jagten
• Shame 
• Intouchables

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Sure, "Amour" is pure cinema.

The other nominees : Except "Barbara", I didn't like any other film from the nominees for Best Film. I really hated "Intouchables" and the others aren't that bad, but they aren't that good either.

Omissions? : The biggest one is Benedek Fliegauf's "Just The Wind" (which is my favorite film of this year so far) and Paradise:Love.

Best Director

Winner:

Amour

Nominees:

• Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
• Shame
• Jagten
• Cesare Deve Morire

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Seeing the other nominees, yes. Seeing the fact that it also got Best Film, no.

The other nominees : Weak, weak competition for Haneke. I don't even see how "Anatolia" is still eligible.

Omissions? : I stand with the first two films I said in the first category. But I would also add "Holy Motors".

Best Actor

Winner:

Jean-Louis Trintignant for Amour

Nominees:

• Francois Cluzet & Omar Sy for Intouchables
• Michael Fassbender for Shame
• Mads Mikkelsen for Jagten
• Gary Oldman for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Tough competition for Trintignant. But, yes, he gives one of the most compelling roles of the year.

The other nominees : Good actors giving good performances.

Omissions? : Yes. Schoenaerts for "Rust & Bone", Serban Pavlu for "Everybody in Our Family" and Denis Lavant for "Holy Motors".

Best Actress

Winner:

Emmanuelle Riva for Amour

Nominees:

• Emilie Dequenne for Our Children
• Nina Hoss for Barbara
• Margarethe Tiesel for Paradise:Love
• Kate Winslet for Carnage

Did the winner deserve its' award? : I liked Tiesel more, but Riva was just fine.

The other nominees : Good nominees, excepting Winslet.

Omissions? : Lola Creton for "Apres Mai" and Olga Dihovichnaya for "Twilight Portrait".

European Screenwriter

Winner:

Jagten

Nominees:

• Amour
• Carnage
• Intouchables
• Beyond The Hills

Did the winner deserve its' award? : The script is good, but not great.

The other nominees : "Amour" and "Beyond The Hills" are alright, "Carnage" is much lighter than it should be and "Intouchables" is atrocious.

Omissions? : "Just The Wind", "The Exchange" by Eran Kolirin, "Tabu" by Miguel Gomes and "Apres Mai" by Olivier Assayas.

Carlo Di Palma European Cinematographer Award

Winner:

Shame

Nominees:

• Faust
• Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
• Amour
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Yes, the second best part about "Shame" is the cinematography.

The other nominees : "Once Upon A Time In Anatolia" and "Faust" are the most dazzling here, but "Amour" and "TTSS" aren't half bad either.

Omissions? : I don't know if they're eligible, but my favorites for 2012 are "Laurence Anyways" and "Post Tenebras Lux".

European Film Academy Animated Feature Film

Winner:

Alois Nebel

Nominees:

• The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists
• Arrugas 

Did the winner deserve its' award? : No, the film is beautiful visually, but otherwise it's a mess.

The other nominees : Well there's not much of a competition here. "Arrugas" is fine, haven't seen "The Pirates!" yet.

Omissions? : Haven't seen any good animations this year.

European Film Academy Short Film

Winner:

Superman, Spiderman or Batman

Nominees:

• The Ambassador & Me
• Back Of Beyond
• Beast
• How To Pick Berries
• In The Open
• Morning Of Saint Anthony's Day
• Objection VI
• Out Of Frame
• Silent
• Tomorrow It Will Be Good
• Two Hearts
• Two Ships
• Villa Antropoff

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Yes, of course. Not only this one of the best Romanian shorts I've seen this year along with "From Now On",  but one of the best shorts I've seen this year.

The other nominees : I have seen only a few of them; "How To Pick Berries" is pretty, "Morning Of Saint Anthony's Day" is weird,but good, I didn't get "Out Of Frame", "Silent" is a nicely done love story and "Villa Antropoff" is a funny critique on modern society.

Omissions? : No, not really.

(the categories I haven't commented are either the ones I haven't seen nothing from, or the ones I don't really know what to say about)