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Reviews
Heftig og begeistret (2001)
Lost in Translation
In Cool and Crazy, we meet a group of Norwegian men who are all a part of the men's choir in a little town called Berlevåg in Finnmark. In between their performances, we get to hear some of the members talk about their lives and how they ended up in the little isolated town that has about 1,000 inhabitants. We get to follow them on a tour to Murmansk in Russia, where they seem to be very popular. The director Knut-Erik Jensen's unique way of portraying the individual characters, themes, and culture in this documentary makes it an enjoyable experience for someone that appreciates the northern Norwegian way of life.
The characters in this movie all have their own individual characteristics; however, they all share the stereotypical northern Norway attitude. They speak what's on their mind and they have a way with words that makes them come off as a little obnoxious. To an outsider, this behavior can be frightening or unpleasant, but this is a part of the culture and should not be taken personally. I think their unique humor and behavior is a huge part of this film that will disappear if the movie is watched with subtitles.
I would say the main theme in this movie is solidarity. One of the members in the choir claims that he would not be living in Berlevåg if it weren't for the choir. To me, living in a town only because you are a member of the choir requires some strong bonds. There is also a big gap between the oldest and the youngest person in the choir, and the older men show gratitude towards the treatment they get from the younger members. My experience with people from northern Norway is exactly that: they stick together and take care of each other. Solidarity is a key word in Norwegian culture and this movie illustrates the importance of this value.
This movie does a really good job of portraying the culture of a small town and the atmosphere of isolation in northern Norway. There is an eccentric vibe that is a result of the positive attitude to life that is typically found in this particular part of the country. The landscape is beautiful and by contrasting it with the grey and rocky landscape in Murmansk, Jensen is able to highlight the extreme environment that Finnmark offers. Most places in Norway are strongly influenced by other cultures; however, this movie proves that, due to the characters' traditional lifestyle, the influence has not reached all parts of Norway.
Jensen, originally from Finnmark, does an extremely good job of portraying the northern way of life. We get to see the choir perform songs in places that aim to emphasize the scenery in Finnmark. In between the performances we see personal interviews with some of the choir members. The filming during these interviews is very natural with a hand-held camera, which give the viewer a feeling of being present at the filming. In contrast, the performances were filmed with artificial light and a steady camera that made it look very professional. Jensen's use of close ups and varied camera angles allows the viewer to get personal with the characters they recognize from the interviews. Jensen's approach of portraying his message in this documentary is not the typical BBC approach. Instead of illustrating with facts, he lets the audience experience for themselves how the people in Berlevåg live their life.
Cool and Crazy is a documentary that seeks to capture the mysterious atmosphere of a small town in northern Norway. I think Jensen manages to do exactly that by getting personal with the characters and letting them talk freely about the aspects of life that interest them. Personally, I enjoyed the movie; however, I feel like it would have been hard to capture the detail around the special dynamics and atmosphere if I were unexposed to the northern Norwegian culture. Even more so, if I did not speak the language and were unable to pick up on the dialect and the unique humor and behavior that comes with it, I think I would have had a hard time sitting through it. Losing this aspect of the movie would make a huge difference.
deUsynlige (2008)
A movie that will stick with you!
'Troubled Water', directed by Erik Poppe, is a movie filled with emotions and honesty. We meet Jan Thomas, who is getting out of jail and trying to adapt to the life outside the bars. Accused for kidnapping and killing a young boy, Jan Thomas is trying to hide his past. It catches up to him when Agnes, the mother of the boy that was killed, shows up in the church where Jan Thomas is working. Jan Thomas plays the organ in the church, and develops a close relationship to the pastor, Anna, and her son. Throughout the first half of the movie we follow Jan Thomas and see his flashbacks from the incident where the boy was killed. However, half way through the movie there is a change and we start fallowing Agnes, who has been an invisible shadow in Jan Thomas' narrative.
By presenting two sides of the same story Poppe makes it hard for the viewer to pick sides. This is easy to relate to; our sympathy shifts after hearing a different side of a story. As a viewer, one gets the feeling of being a judge in a courtroom with two skilled lawyers presenting their clients' stories. This type of a split narrative is original; however, extremely hard to do effectively. Poppe does only a decent job in my opinion; it is not that we get the story twice, but the fact that he builds up to a climax and then breaks it up by changing the main character and start the story from the beginning, which makes the audience lose focus. When the story catches up again and the two stories are combined, a part of the tension that was build up is gone.
The main theme in 'Troubled Water' is forgiveness and relationships. Agnes needs Jan Thomas to tell her what actually happened with her son in order to forgive him, and Jan Thomas is desperately seeking forgiveness in order to move on in his life. The crime committed is very extreme, yet so real, which, combined with great acting, creates the feeling that you are standing in both Jan Thomas's and Agnes' shoes. There are many other relationships portrayed in this movie. The most interesting one is probably between Jan Thomas and the pastor's son, Jens. When they meet, Jens is wearing an almost identical shirt as the boy that was killed. Jan Thomas is scared in the beginning, the boy reminds him of the boy that died, but he learns to love Jens and overcomes his fear.
Poppe has a unique way of using camera angles and music in order to emphasize and strengthen expressions and emotions. In this movie, Jan Thomas uses the organ to express emotions. Poppe is also paralleling the emotions created through the music with close-up on his expressions of frustration and sadness while playing. These types of effects are very useful in this movie especially because of the type of emotions that needs to be portrayed in a movie that involves the murder of a child.
The title, 'Troubled Water', is an interesting pick. Throughout the movie we see scenes that involves water. The young boy is killed in the water, Jan Thomas is beaten up in jail in water, Agnes escapes reality by swimming in the pool at the school she works at, and the holy water in the church, are examples of the use of water that might be a reflection of the title. This symbolizes how the young boy died and should indirectly remind the viewer of the terrible thing that happened. A direct translation from the original title would have been 'The Invisible' which focuses on a totally different aspect of the movie. It is meant to focus on Agnes' invisibility in Jan Thomas' narrative. These are both important details to the movie and by publishing the movie in a different language, Poppe allowed himself to make the audience clearly aware of both.
Although Poppe is moving into dangerous territory by directing a split narrative, he does it well. The creativeness of music, camera angles, and light used in this movie among with the phenomenal acting made this whole narrative extremely real. The fact that the scenes are filmed close to where I live made this movie stick in my thoughts for a long time after watching it. It is definitely not necessary to be from any of the Nordic countries to enjoy this movie. The unthinkable fear of losing a child and the thought of forgiving, or be forgiven for the crime of killing an innocent boy will catch the attention of anyone.
Brúðguminn (2008)
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Dare to dream!
In White Night Wedding we meet a literature professor, Jon, who is preparing for his second marriage. The wedding is taking place on a small island called Flatey in Iceland that can only be visited by boat. Jon's soon to be wife, Thora, is one of Jon's former students and about half his age. They seem happy together, and everything should be set for a perfect wedding. However, it is not that simple, Jon has a couple of things he needs to take care of before the wedding can take place. He is in debt to Thora's mother, and she is threatening to call off the wedding unless Jon pays her. He is also haunted by memories of his first wife, Anna. In addition to this, he has to deal with his drunken best man.
I believe the most important theme in this movie is dreams. Jon is in a stage of his life where he struggles to find purpose. He is suffering from his first marriage, he is not able to pay his dept to his future mother in law, and he has no job. Jon wanted to become a professor so that he could make a difference in the world; however, when he realized that his job was not what he pictured it to be, he decided to take a break from teaching. If Jon does not get his life together, he will end up as his future father in law, Lasus. Although Lasus is happy on the outside, his decision to sacrifice his dream of becoming an opera singer for marrying Sisi is clearly affecting him. I believe this represents the kind of suffering that Jon will inevitably have to suffer unless he gets his life back on track. At the end, Jon says, "If you're happy for more than ten minutes then you're an idiot." This statement emphasizes his awareness of having a dream and a goal to strive for.
The director, Kormakur, did a phenomenal job representing Jon's memories of Anna in flashbacks throughout the movie. His way of jumping from the present to the past without warning the audience is an original way of portraying a story that is indeed built on the past. He dares to explore new effects that can make the story challenging to follow, but does it with such a perfection that the viewer wants more flashbacks to get a deeper understanding of Jon's actions.
Other main themes in this movie are relationships and greed. We see a relationship that is falling apart in Jon's memories, a relationship with Thora that is insecure in Jon's present life, a forced relationship between Thora's parents, and a starting relationship between Borkur and Mathildur to mention a few. Greed is represented in Sisi. All she cares about is money, and she is determined to get back the money Jon borrowed to build a golf course. Sisi's greed is contrasted in Lasus and Jon whom are not motivated by money at all.
The location chosen for this movie is a great representation of Icelandic culture. The idyllic climate and unpopulated atmosphere on Flatey confirms my stereotypic Icelandic environment. Also the acting in White night Wedding is phenomenal. The emotions brought to life are so natural and honest that you fall in love with the characters one by one. Borkur's passion, Mathildur's honesty, the priest's anger, and Jon's fare are some of the emotions that will bring the viewer on an emotional roller-coaster.
I recommend this movie to everyone that has some interest in Nordic film. The themes of dreams, relationships, and greed are themes we can all relate to, and you will at some level be able to relate to the situations that occur in the White Night Wedding. Kormakur is a world-class director who is not afraid to explore new methods to create movies. Let the actors charm you and let the director challenge your mind. This movie is worthy of all its awards. Dare to see it!