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Du levande (2007)
A "tragicomic" account of the human experience
"Be pleased then, you the living, in your delightfully warmed bed, before Lethe's ice-cold wave will lick your escaping foot."
This opening quotation by Goethe speaks to director Roy Anderson's quest to expose the human condition of the living through a series of absurd and whimsical vignettes. Although the film lacks an overarching linear narrative, these vignettes all speak to unique human experiences in the at times crazy world that the living occupy. Through the character's bizarre interactions and comedic confessions, You, The Living opens the viewer to see the world and its workings in a novel way.
One important theme of the film is the role of onlookers. These scenes explore how we don't realize how entangled we are with the bystanders that frequently surround us. Many of us go on our day-to-day business without considering the experiences of others. For example, there is one scene where daughter is trying to communicate with her mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's, while an unaddressed nursed sits daftly in the background. In a more obvious way, the large depressed woman who humorously wails that nobody understands her blatantly ignores her devoted partner and his tiny dog, who try to care for her. Ignoring the people around us comes to serious detriment to the businessman in the restaurant, when his oblivion allows a man sitting nearby to swipe his wallet out of his pocket whilst the rich man boasts to his friend about his wealth on his cell phone. At other times, the film shows what happens when the world simply ignores us. A man must endure the rain when a crowded bus stop denies him a place to stand, and another must take the stairs. These scenes capture the film's carefully balanced tone between humor and tragedy in its exploration of the world's forgotten or overlooked.
Another interesting aspect about the film is that there are several occasions when the actors directly address the camera and audience. This often occurs when characters are describing their dreams to the viewer. The effect is humorous but poignant. For example, during one scene a man caught in traffic leans out the car window, looks into the camera, and begins to describe a dream where he is sentenced to the electric chair for breaking a family's precious china during a magic trick gone wrong. We see the dream played out, then return to the car inching along the screen. Although the content of the dream is certainly absurd and humorous, his story reveals complex emotions and human insecurities. Likewise, when a lovesick girl addresses the viewer and recounts her dream, we get a personal glimpse of her wild but lighthearted passion for guitar player Mikke. In one of the most visually compelling scenes of the film, Mikke plays the guitar in their moving house, while a crowd of supportive fans wish them the best as they continue on life's journey. The girl's recounting of the dream expresses her deep desire to be supported and loved.
One criticism of the film is that because there is no real plot development or overarching resolution of conflict, the film does seem to drag on towards the end. Each vignette is entertaining in and of itself, but without a narrative to tie them together some may find the film too long to captivate the viewer's attention throughout the entire length of the film. However, the filmmaker does make several attempts to subtly connect the characters in unexpected ways. Fore example, all of the characters find themselves in a torrential thunderstorm midway through the film, and their shared experience of the dark deluge unites their stories. Likewise, there are some characters who we revisit from time to time throughout the film, notably the lonely Mia, and the lovesick girl who pines over Mikke the guitar player. We also often find ourselves at the seedy bar. The monotony of day-to-day life is explored in the bar, as every day the bartender ceremoniously rings a bell and shouts for the people to come order their last drinks. Although these connections and patters do unite the story as a whole, the film would probably be improved if the director has pared down the vignettes and omitted a few of the scenes to make the story move faster.
Although this film is a clear deviation from Hollywood narrative style, the raw human experiences explored through the characters and scenes is a wonderfully comedic cinematic journey through the life of you, the living. It is no surprise that the film has won a host of awards across the globe, and an overall positive international response. The film cover's description of the film as a hybrid of "Bergman meets Monty Python" is not far off base: it adopts the famed Ingmar Bergman style of revealing the deep emotions and underlying psychology of the characters while also using hilarious timing and dialogue to explore these themes. Overall, this "tragicomedy" explores what it means to be a human in a refreshingly enjoyable way.
Himlens hjärta (2008)
the darker side of love and marriage
Although the sets, cinematography, and action in Heaven's Heart are subtle, the complex characters and story create an intriguing drama about finding and losing love and marriage. Ultimately, this subtlety is provocative and telling of the true nature of each character. The film centers around the marital dynamics of two middle aged upper class couples, Lars and Susanna and their close friends Ulf and Ann. Both have been married for many years. As the story unfolds, we learn of their infidelity and the relationships that develop outside of their marriages.
The temporal setup in the narrative is carefully crafted to capture the viewer's attention. The film begins in a disjunct scene in a lawyer's office where we learn that Susana and Lars are to be divorced. They do not look at each other, but rather stare somberly off into the distance. Melancholy piano music emphasizes the dark nature of the events to come. However, we move not forward in time but backwards, and the story that follows is one that explains the events to come. The narrative is intriguing in this way, for from the initial scene one could assume a fairly run-of-the-mill divorce. However, we learn through the flashback of the complex relationships that have developed between the two couples, turning each marriage on its head. The dark tone of the opening scene is carried into the past with a continuation of the somber music. Despite the fact that Susanna and Lars seem happy, because the viewer knows what will ultimately occur in their marriage, we are eager to see how their marriage spirals into disarray.
After the somber tone of the film is set in the first scene in the lawyer's office, as the flashback begins the dialogue in the first dinner party scene is critical in how we learn about the characters. Dialogue is carefully crafted so that we learn about the characters sets us up for rest of story. In the initial scenes, we witness private conversations between the men and women that set. We learn that Anna is disgusted by physical intimacy, but Susanna appreciates it and seems to be in a healthy relationship. Through the men's discussion, we learn that Ulf has considered having an affair, but that Lars is incredibly against the idea in his own marriage despite his apparent unhappiness. These conversations are meant to prime the viewer's expectations of each character before the main plot of the narrative moves forward, and is done so expertly so that we may understand just enough about each character to be surprised by the event that follow.
As the plot develops, cinematography plays a critical role in conveying our understanding of the events in the narrative and the characters in the story. Throughout the film, characters are framed by dark hallways and spaces, such as when Lars first breaks down to tears in front of Anna. This further perpetuates the somber tone of the film. Especially important are the extreme close ups of character's faces that occur whenever a serious, intense conversation is taking place. In the scene at the first dinner party when we learn that Susanna and Ulf are not opposed to infidelity in marriage when it is in the name of true love, the effect of the emotional repercussions on each character is felt profoundly by the viewer because of the tight framing of their faces. The close ups show the intensity and weight of this singular conversation in each of characters lives. They signify the fundamental differences between the characters, and the consequences that this conversation will have on each of their lives. The tight framing is only broken when the Susanna leaves the room and the conversation is at an end, but returns in various other points in the narrative when discussions are involved and important.
Although the setup of the film is relatively simple, with only two main locations and four actors, the complex cinematography and dialogue create an extremely compelling story. In fact, the lack of superfluous details serves to further highlight the story. This is reminiscent of other well-known Nordic styles, such as the profound realism and emotion in the films of Ingmar Bergman and even the intense starkness of the raw stories, characters, and emotions in Danish Dogme 95 films. In particular, many elements of Heaven's Heart parallel Vinterberg's The Celebration in that the main events of both stories occur in confined, familial gatherings that quickly go awry. Both films emphasize the inescapable nature of these conflicts through their respective cinematographic styles. Although some elements of this previous trend are carried over into Staho's work, the film overall does not read like these films, rather, it more has the feel of a theatrical production.
Overall, the subtle realism of the film serves to profoundly convey the heart wrenching dynamics of two disastrous marriages. It is no surprise that both actresses were nominated/selected for the Swedish film awards, the Guldbagge. With its stark, raw emotions and moving storyline, Heaven's Heart serves as a compelling look into the darker side of love and marriage.
Brúðguminn (2008)
Journeys of the sun and heart
Baltasar Kormakur's White Night Wedding offers a compelling glimpse into the pursuit of dreams and happiness through the story of a couple's simultaneously tragic and humorous wedding night. By weaving together stories from different times and perspectives, Kormakur shows the full range of human emotion, from terrible despair and loss to finding new love and dreams for the future. With its expert balance of mainstream film conventions with the realistic and at times blunt nature of Nordic film, the film was generally met with success. It received 7 Edda awards and was also Icland's entry for the foreign-language Oscar in 2009.
The plot revolves around Jon, a 40-some philosophy professor, on the eve of his second wedding. The first scene portrays Jon as apathetic and uninterested in his young bride Thora, as the film progresses his behavior is slowly justified as we learn about the tragic events of his past marriage that haunt him. The film blurs past and present as the scenes alternate between the comedic escapades of the groom's best friend's drunken late-night activities, Jon's conflict with Sisi (Thora's mother), and flashbacks of Jon's struggles with his late wife, Anna.
One of the film's most intriguing aspects stems from the delicate way that Kormakur stretches and obscures the passage of time. The "White Night" of the film's title refers to the day of the year when the dark of night is shortest. This creates a strange visual experience for the viewer: although the primary events of the film occur over the course of night, the constant presence of the hazy Icelandic sun obscures our reference point for the passage of time. Because of the importance of the impending wedding the next day, the viewer feels a heightened sense of discomfort upon this temporal confusion. Additionally, Jon's flashbacks further disrupt our sense of time. The transitions between past and present are subtle, and with significant overlaps in setting and characters, the viewer is not always aware in what time or space the events on the screen are taking place. Overall, this temporal obscurity enhances our understanding of the pervasive emotional turmoil to which Jon, Anna, Thora, Sisi, and many of the other characters are subject.
Obfuscating our sense of time in the film is just one of many ways that Kormakur evokes a strong emotional response from the viewer. There is significant contrast between the emotions of the past and present events portrayed in the film. The humorous exploits of Jon and his friends as they gallivant drunkenly through the town are strongly juxtaposed with vignettes of Jon's past life. We acutely experience Anna's severe depression, the priest's anger and frustration, and Sisi's domineering abuse alongside comedic dreams of a golf course gone awry, the passion of new love, and whimsical mountaintop serenades. Through this juxtaposition, we experience each set of emotions all the more profoundly. The breathtaking setting of the island of Flatey perpetuates these emotions well: a rather garish lighting of the bright island hills somehow fits the essence of both the raw unhappiness of the past and the inescapable imminence of the immediate future. The high contrast between land, sea, and sky captures the high contrast of the character's emotions and our responses to those emotions.
The wide variety of characters in the narrative allows us to experience the full range of human emotions, and is a source of great entertainment and poignancy in the film. Through mere glimpses into the lives of these characters, the audience feels a deep sense of compassion and understanding of each of their walks of life. One of the film's most lovable characters is Lasus, Thora's father. Though dejected by his domineering wife, Lasus find solace in music and entertaining Flatey's visitors. However, Lasus' jovial spirits are bittersweet: he has left behind his dream of becoming an opera singer. A shot of his plump, naked body bobbing alone in the sea as he sings a lonesome folk tune profoundly captures the essence of this emotionally duality. Another highlight of the island's residences is Malla, Thora's delightfully contrary sister. Though Malla is a social misfit and is constantly chastised by Sisi, she too finds a form of love and learns to have the gumption to triumph over Sisi's bullying. This ramshackle bunch of eccentric characters allows us to experience the entire spectrum of human emotion that is so critical in the film. Their wants, desires, and dreams fulfilled and unfulfilled tell a tale of life's many journeys, good and bad. Like the sun's perpetual trek across the sky, we are at times unable to change the course of events that befall us. Love and life is at times lost. However, life is not lived with the arrival or disappearance of night and day, but rather in the spaces in between: in the white night, in the perpetual and unavoidable journey that life itself entails. Overall, White Night Wedding offers a painfully honest tale that wonderfully captures the countless complexities of the human journey.