The Berlinale Competition section was perhaps the most unusual for some years - its wide variations in selected films reinforce the idea of cinema as a truly diverse terrain but also dispelled notions - promoted by most film festivals - as to what is a "competition" film.
Even in the days of the Cold War, Berlin's competition section has always been a mixture of the pragmatic, political and the opportunistic. That may not be too difficult from other festivals but in this sprawling festival - where films are spread across the board like the city itself - the films seem even more varied.
LAKE TAHOE from Mexico is the second feature by Fernando Eimbcke (his first DUCK SEASON showed in Cannes in 2004). Shot in long, langurous takes that capture perfectly the oppressive heat of the small town where the action takes place. The film begins with a teenager crashing his mother's car which leades him on a trek around the town looking for a mechanic and the necessary part. He meets an array of characters including a yhoung mechanic who would rather be practising kung fu and watching Bruce Lee movies than fixing cars.
The film has the wit and charm of early Jim Jarmusch with deadpan humor hiding deeper, darker vicissitudes. In a Jarmuschian spirit, it's one big ironic joke that it takes a car crash to send our protean hero on a voyage, sort of road trip around his home town, a circular, zen-like journey that does not lead to Lake Tahoe, but to a realization of self.
