Rimini

Rimini, directed by Ulrich Seidl, is an Austrian film about Richie Bravo, once a successful German Schlager pop star, now scraping by with sparsely attended concerts in hotel nightclubs during the off season in a wintry, deserted Rimini. Richie lives alone in a crumbling villa and supplements his income by sleeping with women in his audience for money; when his mother's death brings him back to his childhood home, his daughter Tessa, whom he hasn't seen in eighteen years, shows up demanding back child support. The film was actually shot as a single production titled Wicked Games and split into two films in post-production; its companion piece, Sparta, follows Richie's brother's story. The film had its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, and lead actor Michael Thomas's performance drew widespread critical praise. Who it's for: anyone curious about the decline of a once-famous pop star, told as part of a film pair split from a single production, bitterly funny and touching in equal measure. Who it's not for: those wanting a warm, hopeful story, since director Ulrich Seidl's characteristic misanthropy is still very much present here.