Berlin film fest maintains edge

This year’s Berlin International Film Festival features competing movies from 18 countries and stays true to its political edge with a spotlight on South Africa’s recovery from apartheid and inequality in Latin America.

The 26-film official program, announced Monday, begins Feb. 5 with “Cold Mountain,” Anthony Minghella’s American Civil War saga, which earned Renee Zellweger a Golden Globe Award Sunday night for best supporting actress.

It’s part of a U.S. contingent that also features Patty Jenkins’ “Monster,” starring Golden Globe-winner Charlize Theron; Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunset,” the sequel to his 1995 film starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy; and Ron Howard’s “The Missing.”

Director John Boorman looks at national reconciliation efforts in South Africa, a decade after the end of apartheid, in “Country of My Skull.” Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche star in the film.