Reviews
Hævnen (2010)
Tragedy can bring people together.
Why does it take tragedy to bring people together? By the end of this movie, this was the only question that stuck in my mind. Many of the central Ideas which surrounded this movie all lead back to tragedy. Although some tragedies were more drastic than others, they were all substantial enough to affect one's life. It was as if tragedy was a revolving door.
This movie had a very cinematic feel to it. Within its budget at least. The camera angles shifts at certain points in the movie which seems to be on purpose. I noticed that the camera would stay still until it is focusing on one person. When it is a face shot of single person then the camera starts to sway back and forth a little bit. You could feel the tension amongst the characters in the movie when the camera did this. In one particular scene (actually the only scene I remember this happening in), Christian finds some fireworks with gun powder in them. As he turns towards Elias to explain what he found the camera dramatically zooms in on Christian. What is weird about this though is that it doesn't zoom straight to his face, the camera zooms in but is still far enough to see his body. It was as if there was no point to this technique, besides making the viewer anxious to wonder what is about to happen.
The actors that stood out in this movie were the two young boys. Elias and Christian both reminded me of the movie "The good son" In the good soon a young boy goes to stay with his aunt and uncle. Throughout this movie the little boy realizes that his cousin is crazy and is trying to bring him along to do bad things with him. While both of the boys seem as though they are friends Christian was turning Elias into a parent's worse nightmare. Christian was a character that I could relate to seeing that I have had many friends with troubled past. I felt sorry for him but if I had kids I would not want them hanging around him. Elias on the other hand I really felt sorry for. His character actually made me feel sorry for him. Whenever I see bullying I am not sure how to handle it, and the bullying that took place in this movie actually felt real.
Not being a fan of Dogme 95 I felt that this movie had a feel to it that was very Dogme 95'ish. I really enjoyed this movie and I know that it was obvious that it was done with a professional camera and broke many of the Dogme 95 rules it could have easily been done within the context of Dogme 95. I enjoyed this movie though because it had a cinematic feel to it but it was not a blockbuster movie. I am not sure how big the budget it must not have been very large, there was only a few areas in which the movie took place, and there was only one car explosion. I really enjoy movies such as this that are very simple but very complex at the same time. It's very Complex in the sense of the story.
Tying together the stories of each characters battle at this point in their lives the director did a good job blending all these stories together as well as keeping it clean so I was able to follow each characters life without being confused.
If there was a message in this movie I believe that it was, life goes on. And while life is going on you have to make the best of it. It was important as an audience to know that and if you go back and watch the movie again you will understand that. This movie was put together very well. It was a movie that can bring people together I believe. It is also a movie that can make someone believe again if they are having troubles in their lives.
Musta jää (2007)
A love triangle to say the least!!!
An explosion of Champaign sets the mood as laughter fills the room, she walks in with piercing eyes and a beautiful smile. She begins to inflate a piece of what seems to be "birthday party décor". As she blows air into the balloon she holds a questionable grin on her face, as this balloon fills with air the audience soon realizes that is not a balloon, but a condom. Using the condom as a metaphor to reveal to her husband Leo and his family that she is aware of the affair that he is having, Saara patiently glared into Leo's eyes with an eyebrow raised expecting an explanation. Throughout this scene the camera switches to a female character spying on Leo and his family. Soon this character is revealed as Tuuli, a student of Leo's and the female that he is also having an affair with. As Saara gains more insight on her husband's betrayal, I could not help but wonder who the victim is, who should be blamed, or who is right.
In many Norwegian films there are common themes which include sex, betrayal, alcohol, and smoking. This film does not shy away from these common themes. These themes I feel as though they are all used as a way to escape what is really going on. Saara, Leo, and Tuuli, all seem to be going through an identity crisis. Leo believes that he wants to be married to Saara, but cannot give up his addiction to other. Tuuli, believes that she is in love with a guy but tries to live around the fact that he is married to another woman. Saara wants to be happy with her husband and tries to achieve this sense of happiness by destroying the life of Tuuli. She fails at this due to her becoming friends with Tuuli and Tuuli learning her true identity. Seeing that this Love triangle was doomed to fail, as an audience you could only expect what each character will do once they realize they are being betrayed by the ones that they trusted. The common occurrences of alcohol and smoking, makes it seem as though each character had their own addictions. In most of the movie you could find Saara with a cigarette in her hand. I found this as a stress reliever for her seeing that she was under pressure the most. Tuuli on the other hand was viewed as a young girl similar to many young students who went to school partied and drank. Leo was the character who I believe was addicted to sex. As long as he could have sex he would be happy. He realized that he was losing Saara but he could not be without sex. In the scene where he and Saara had lunch together he could not restrain himself from staring at the waiters butt. Right after he was caught by Saara, he pleaded for her to come back and be with him.
Sitting at the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end of this movie, chills flowed through my body making my heart pound in nervousness and mind flow with confusion. I was not sure what I was feeling throughout this movie, and I was not sure if I was supposed to know how to feel throughout this movie. Although I felt sorry for Saara, and somewhat understood Tuuli, I could not help but to hate Leo seeing that he was the reason all of this happened. When his body was found froze in the woods I could not help but to think that this is where he belonged and this was what his character role was for.
Intense is just one of the many words that can be used to describe how this film is. Entertaining to say the least this movie was worth the hour and thirty minute airing time. Convincing actors, quality picture and sound fits in great with a masterpiece story that will grab and hold your attention and having talking about it through the next couple of days. As I Stated in the tittle a love triangle of heart breaking betrayal is to say the least.
Festen (1998)
A common occurrence in our society!!!
"This family is Kaput" words uttered by the character Michael while he nearly beat his father to death. Kaput meaning destroyed is not only how I would explain this family, but also how I would explain the quality of this film. Although this film was done in 1998 the camera angles and quality of the film made it feel as though it dated no further than 1970. Although the story eventually grasped my attention it was hard for me to forgive the minor issues with the camera.
For starters the actors in this film are very believable, believable to the point that I had to keep reminding myself that I was not watching a home video and that I was watching a movie. In the beginning of the movie I angrily sat there staring at the screen, wondering what the hell was going on. I found Michaels character to be a little over the top seeing that he let his family walk to the hotel for the simple fact that he wanted to speak to his brother about something. That did not sit too well with me. As the movie progressed though the characters came along painting different parts of the story which eventually fit its self into one piece at the end.
This movie is very unique in the way that it is brought along. The topic of rape is a very touchy subject, and when you add a parent molesting their children for many years then it becomes a topic that no one wants to hear about. This movie builds you up to think that this family gathering is going to be somewhat odd, but then it throws a curve ball at you showing that this family is not just very odd, but very disturbing as well. The phrase "skeletons in the closet" would have little meaning to this family. What is interesting about this gathering though is how everyone seemed so calm although the situation which was presented on numerous occasions throughout the dinner. This is what threw me off. How could all of the guest stay at that table singing and clapping and laughing when they were in the presence of a child molester? Not only did they still go along with all of the festivities, they did not leave and they woke up the next morning to have breakfast and act as though nothing ever happened. I don't know what though were more confusing, the guest and them partaking in this matter as though nothing happened, or the father/ masters of ceremonies letting all of this go on knowing that his son was telling the truth.
Although I would not prefer a movie such as this one, I could not help but to think about how good this movie was overall. When I eventually figured out how off this family was I was very angry at how the mother and father could not only do this, but also how they could let this go on. By the end of the movie though I felt very sad for the family as though they were real. Although what the father did was unforgivable and what the mother allowed to go on was unforgivable I felt sorry for them because they were hopeless. They both had a disease which allowed them both to not protect their children and let them grow up in a world where they are never going to feel comfortable or safe, seeing that they could not be comfortable or safe in their own home. This may happen in places all across the world which this movie helped me realize but there is nothing a lot of us can do about it. This movie made the audience feel like that as well. Although Christian but this situation to light what happened in the past could not be changed and that has brought one of the children of this twisted family to her death.
This movie leaves you to think about is this happening around you and it also leaves you to think about how powerless the rape victims are when these things are happening to them. With that being said this movie was a very sad and unfortunate movie in which you wish could not be true. I thought this movie was great though when it came to acting and the story. The movie eventually came together although it took time but I would recommend it to most people who like a movie filled with drama!