I never thought I'd live to see the day: a Swedish movie that doesn't indulge in depression, doom, gloom, gray scenery, people committing suicide left and right. No vein-cutting, no noose-tightening, no gun-loading in a barely-lit Malmo room, no Bergmanesque self-hatred and despondency. No Liv Ullman crying her eyes out as she begs her husband not to elope with his mistress to a lone island, no Max von Sydow clumsily impersonating a self-loathing womanizer, and no pointless fill-in-the-meaning-yourself scenes full of yawn-worthy gobbledygook..
Yes, NMF has an interesting story. It is exciting, well-acted, briskly paced, hence thoroughly enjoyable.
The most effective of the three stories is "Leyla". In particular Oldoz Javidi, who plays the title character, is the standout in the movie. The only complaint I have about her is her name which is absolutely impossible to remember! (Try it: have fun - and good luck with it!) After a few failed attempts I finally had to paste her name into this text because I kept forgetting it.
The only flaw in the story itself is the cowardice exhibited by the filmmakers in not making the family be Moslems. (Do Christians indulge in "honour killings" of their daughters?... Not that I'm trying to make saints out of Christians either, mind you.) The writers didn't even have the guts to let them speak their own language, which would have been far more logical than always speaking Swedish, considering that most(?) of the family members didn't even own Swedish passports, hence couldn't have been 3rd- or 4th-generation immigrants. It is not even clear which country they're from. Were the filmmakers afraid of ending up like the Dutch documentary maker Van Gogh? If that's all the courage Europeans currently possess, then au revoir Western civilization...
Strangely enough, the mob revenge tale is the weakest of the three, perhaps because that particular subject had been flogged to death in countless TV crime shows and action flicks.
Yes, NMF has an interesting story. It is exciting, well-acted, briskly paced, hence thoroughly enjoyable.
The most effective of the three stories is "Leyla". In particular Oldoz Javidi, who plays the title character, is the standout in the movie. The only complaint I have about her is her name which is absolutely impossible to remember! (Try it: have fun - and good luck with it!) After a few failed attempts I finally had to paste her name into this text because I kept forgetting it.
The only flaw in the story itself is the cowardice exhibited by the filmmakers in not making the family be Moslems. (Do Christians indulge in "honour killings" of their daughters?... Not that I'm trying to make saints out of Christians either, mind you.) The writers didn't even have the guts to let them speak their own language, which would have been far more logical than always speaking Swedish, considering that most(?) of the family members didn't even own Swedish passports, hence couldn't have been 3rd- or 4th-generation immigrants. It is not even clear which country they're from. Were the filmmakers afraid of ending up like the Dutch documentary maker Van Gogh? If that's all the courage Europeans currently possess, then au revoir Western civilization...
Strangely enough, the mob revenge tale is the weakest of the three, perhaps because that particular subject had been flogged to death in countless TV crime shows and action flicks.