One sidebar of the Berlin Film Festival is its ‘Berlinale Special’ section. Here, contemporary films are showcased at highly publicised gala screenings. This year, the section was especially devoted to historical figures and there were several biopics in the line-up. There was Anton Corbijn’s film on James Dean called Life, Bill Pohlad’s musical biopic Love & Mercy on Brian Williams from the Beach Boys, Ava Duvernay’s important film on Martin Luther King Jr. called Selma, and Simon Curtis’ art restitution picture, Woman in Gold. Also, for the first time, the Berlinale Special section chose to include several episodes from upcoming television shows in its programme, such as Better Call Saul and Bloodline. And most important, or despicable, whichever way you choose to look at it, Sam Taylor-Johnson’s adaptation of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey had its world premiere in Berlin.It certainly helped the festival that almost all these films had major stars, who fortunately attended the screenings as well. Out of all these biopics, I would pick Love & Mercy as my favourite. Brian Williams, who is responsible for hits such as, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, is shown in two time periods, running parallel to each other. The young genius is portrayed by Paul Dano and the older Williams is played by John Cusack. It’s a fresh approach for a music biopic in particular, as Brian Williams’ life is seen both from before his tumble descent into drug abuse and after, but never really during. Dano and Cusack complement each other very well, and the scenes where Williams comes up with tunes seemingly out of thin air are electrifying.Another electrifying film, but for different reasons, is Selma. Every frame screams topicality and Martin Luther King Jr.’s spirit is captured very well by Ava Duvernay and her cast. It’s a retelling of King’s relentless efforts to ensure equal voting rights for blacks and whites during the mid-60s. David Oyelowo, perhaps the most underrated actor working today, gives a career-defining performance as the American activist. He’s English, by the way, and so is Carmen Ejogo, who plays his wife Coretta Scott King. Tom Wilkinson, who plays American President Lyndon B. Johnson, is English too, is Tim Roth, who is cast as Governor George Wallace in the film. The acting by these four Brits is top-notch and much like Love & Mercy, Selma is also an unflinching look at King, and in no way attempts to glorify him. There are echoes of what is happening in America today and that is what makes a film like this all the more important.

Woman in Gold is a rather predictable film, but Helen Mirren is in top form here and that makes it eminently watchable. She plays the real-life Maria Altmann, a Holocaust survivor who took the government of Austria to court to reclaim a famous Gustav Klimt painting. The said painting was a portrait of Altmann’s aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer; the Nazis had confiscated it from her home in Vienna before World War II. Altmann employs young lawyer Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), grandson of composer Arnold Schoenberg, to help her get the painting back. It’s a film that doesn’t need unnecessary thrills, like a chase on foot during Vienna, or sweeping speeches in a courtroom but Helen Mirren is the red thread that holds everything together and she is a joy to watch. As expected, the portrait of Maria’s aunt is recovered and hangs in the Neue Galerie, New York now.

One man who became famous for taking portraits was Dennis Stock. The photographer didn’t just take any portraits, he captured James Dean before the actor became the legend that he is. Anton Corbijn’s Life revolves around this reluctant friendship. Sensing something special when Stock (Robert Pattinson) met Dean (Dane DeHaan) at a party, the former asked the latter whether he would spend some time with him, so that he could do a photo essay on him (for Life magazine, hence the title). Dean wasn’t particularly interested, and generally comes across a bit of a lazy bum here, not interested in acting or fame, but Stock’s relentless pursuit softened him. They eventually got together and some of the most iconic photos of Dean were created, such as the one of him in a rainy Times Square. It’s easy to see the appeal of a film like this, the appeal of exploring a myth when it wasn’t even there. Corbijn himself was a photographer before he started making films, but Life is quite dull. There’s hardly any tension between Stock or Dean and that makes the proceedings a bit uninteresting. Even though Pattinson is quite good as Stock, this film didn’t quite absorb me. Corbijn has made great films before, such as Control or last year’s A Most Wanted Man, but sadly Life isn’t at par with those works.

But still, nothing is as bad as the film, Fifty Shades of Grey. Many critics say that the film manages to salvage the book. But that’s totally besides the point. Possibly it’s better than the book, but it’s still garbage.  And there are no two opinions about that.