Of all the Dogme films I've seen, this is the least offending and also, sadly, the least affecting. Both Celebration and The Idiots (and mostly the latter) shocked, and thus had great impact. Neither were true masterpieces but they did leave you with something to think about once you left the theatre. Mifune, on the other hand, plods along at an easy pace. We know how it's going to end (though I'm not going to give that away), and we know how the characters are going to act. It's nothing we haven't really seen before, and nothing we haven't seen done better (e.g., Leaving Las Vegas).
I may now be misleading you, because I didn't at all think this was a bad film and it gripped me from start to finish. This was due to some superb acting and some inventive direction something that's attracted me to each and every Dogme film. Jesper Asholt is impressive as the retarded brother of the main character. His performance was believable and understated, where it would have been so easy to over-act. Emil Tarding was also a joy to watch as the young son, Bjarke. Compared to many young actors he held himself well and wasn't overshadowed by his older counterparts.
The style of Dogme gives realism to any film but couldn't save this one from being, for want of a better phrase, Hollywoodized.' I guess I was just expecting something a little bit more challenging when I approached this as a Dogme film. This made me slightly disappointed when the credits rolled. However, the meandering of the plot and the rich multitude of characters made for an entertaining film. This it where it differed from a typical Hollywood film; the characters didn't always serve to move the plot onto the next page. Something perfected in the modern masterpiece, Pulp Fiction.
While an entertaining film, this lacked any real punch, separating it from both The Idiots and Celebration. For those that care, I gave this film 7/10.
I may now be misleading you, because I didn't at all think this was a bad film and it gripped me from start to finish. This was due to some superb acting and some inventive direction something that's attracted me to each and every Dogme film. Jesper Asholt is impressive as the retarded brother of the main character. His performance was believable and understated, where it would have been so easy to over-act. Emil Tarding was also a joy to watch as the young son, Bjarke. Compared to many young actors he held himself well and wasn't overshadowed by his older counterparts.
The style of Dogme gives realism to any film but couldn't save this one from being, for want of a better phrase, Hollywoodized.' I guess I was just expecting something a little bit more challenging when I approached this as a Dogme film. This made me slightly disappointed when the credits rolled. However, the meandering of the plot and the rich multitude of characters made for an entertaining film. This it where it differed from a typical Hollywood film; the characters didn't always serve to move the plot onto the next page. Something perfected in the modern masterpiece, Pulp Fiction.
While an entertaining film, this lacked any real punch, separating it from both The Idiots and Celebration. For those that care, I gave this film 7/10.