svenbremberg Reviews

Hope (2019)

A true love unveiled

[8/10 · 7 November 2020]

At the centre of the film is a middle-aged couple, Anja (Andrea Bræin Hovig) and Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård) who had lived together in 20 years. The crisis develops when a mortal brain metastasis is detected in Anja. Up to this point, they got children together but both had lived independent lives on their own. Anja had been a successful ballet dancer and had felt she had taken the responsibility for the children herself while Tomas' energy had been occupied by his role as a leader of a theatre. Several times Anja had been on her way to separate from Tomas while Tomas said that he always wanted to stay with Anja. Thus, their relationship did not seem to have been much alive. When Anja got her death sentence the core of their relationship was unveiled. For Tomas that was apparent not in is words but in his gaze on Anja. Neither was Tomas grief expressed in words but instead in his gaze on Anja. So their deep love was apparent. Due to the excellent performance of Anja and Tomas, I as a viewer I was able to sense their true relationship.

Barn (2019)

Lack of confrontation means unresolved guilt

[8/10 · 5 November 2020]

In my mind, the film deals with a Norwegian way of handling a difficult situation. Being av Swede, a neighbour of Norway, I think that the film is also relevant for my own country. In our countries, people in problematic situations try to be kind, try not to be too emotional, and try to avoid the crucial question. In the film, one of the teachers was expected to guard at the break at the moment when Lykke killed Jamie. He did not do that. That was, however, not revealed until the end of the film. This remarkable delay was a consequence of the non-confrontational way of communication between the people in the film. Another aspect was the handling of the very causes of events. Obviously, Lykke had hit Jamie in a way that resulted in his death. We do not learn in any detail how this implausible event could happen. The was obviously due to a lack of any serious investigation. That, in turn, was due to regard to Lykke as a person who still was a child. An investigation would not result in any legal action. In the film, many people felt guilt. Due to the lack of clear common understanding of what had happened some people felt guilt unnecessarily. And for those that had actually contributed, the guilt could not be resolved since it was no common understanding of what had happened. So in my understanding, the avoidant way of handing a difficult situation, more people will be left with unresolved guilt.

Ode to My Father (2014)

The Father as the organising principle

[8/10 · 14 April 2020]

I was moved by this valuable film. I was especially affected by the core idea of the film: a few words from Deok-soo's father that patterned Deok-soo's whole life. Since I myself have grown up in a individualistic Nordic country the very idea that a father should form my life as a son seem very foreign. Yet, it's not that simple. Also in the Western tradition the idea of a "Father" (God) is a prominent organising principle. The Western "Father" is, however, quite abstract. This "Father" is far from some actual spoken words from a biological being. In understand that in the Western antiquity, people actually perceived gods that spoke to them. These gods called them to carry out specific tasks. This is very different from the present situation. Most people today, at least i NW Europe, reject the very idea of any "God". Therefore the "Father" in the film Gukjesijang presents an potential model that does not presuppose any supernatural figures and is relevant both i the East and the West. The film is highly recommended.

Turneja (2008)

No clear line between fiction and reality

[8/10 · 20 March 2020]

The film blurs the line between fiction and reality. The actors perform made-up plays with no connection with the grime reality they confront in the war that just had started. Yet, in a crucial sequence, when one of the actors performs a Greek tragedy for a colonel, she saves the real lives of the whole group of actor. Thus, fiction affects reality. And the other way round, the poet Ljubic seems to be fully occupied by his own fiction. Yet, his words and his imagined ideas of the origin of Serbs contributed to the very real start of the war.

In several scenes it appeared that the soldiers did not understand what was the difference between them and their opponents since the opponents often were their very real neighbours. Thus, the war built on fantasised ideas. Visual blurring was notable in the latter part of the film which took place in a snowy landscape enfolded in fog. These scenes reminds me of passages in Angelopoulos' Eternity and One Day. Angelopoulos also blurs the line between fiction and reality.

The Red Colored Grey Truck (2004)

Contrast between the external chaos and calm simplicity.

[8/10 · 10 March 2020]

The main theme is the contrast between the unemotional stiff male Ratko and the brisk expressive Suzana. It is true that the unorganised setting have references to the Balkan filmmaker Kusturica. Yet in my understanding Ratko is modelled on the roles in films by the Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki. The use of elementary colours are important for both Koljevic and Kaurismäki, e.g. in this film, the bright red truck. There is a contrast between a chaotic situation (war, ex con, stolen truck) on one hand and at the other hand Ratko's unemotional attitude and the elementary colours. In a way the contrast between Suzana and Ratko corresponds to the contrast between the external chaos and Ratko's simplicity. Ratkos calm comes from within himself and not from the exterior situation. In the film there is some action that is provided by the truck odyssey. Yet, the film is a still life picture since no real changes take place.

The Teacher (2016)

How people behave under an authoritarian regime.

[8/10 · 5 March 2020]

We all know that our opinions and behaviour are largely affected by other people. That is true both in democratic and authoritarian societies. A classical film that work out this theme is Sidney Lumet's film "Twelve Angry Men". In this Slovakian film the scene is not a jury but parents in a school class. The detestable acts have been carried out by the children's teacher who is a leading member of the communist party. The film supports our hope that is possible to withstand the power elite - yet the outcome it is far from clear.

In America (2002)

A film that in subtle way makes me feel ill at ease

[7/10 · 14 November 2004]

The film left me with a discomforting feeling which puzzled me. The story in my mind is quite ordinary to come from an Anglo-Saxon filmmaker. A family with two parents and two nice kids. True, a number of problem to drive the story but not exceptionally many. Warm relationships. What affected me was slight displacements that gave me a feeling of something dreadful lurking beyond the overt story. E.g. when the family is interviewed by the customs officer at the border to USA the answers are given with a slight delay as if the family has something hideous to conceal – more than the death of one of their children. The older daughter all the time using her cam-corder to distance herself from what is actually happening - since it is too hideous. Repeated delays in the answers from the father to his children, including the scene when to younger daughter does not recognize her father. I scanned previous comments but did not find anybody commenting on this point which dominated my own impression. Someone recognizing what I am talking about?

H (2002)

A rich film describing a core male dilemma

[8/10 · 23 October 2004]

The frame is a thriller with victims and chasers. Yet, the content is richer. The description of females vs. males is especially intriguing. The main female characters Detective Kim Mi Yun and Dr. Chu Kyung-sook are both more intelligent than their male counterparts and they both stay cool while the males are either easily aroused or do not understand. It is true that all the victims are females. Yet, the killings are connected with the reproductive capacity of the females that the males do not possess and can not control. A main motive is the pregnant women's ability to kill their (male) foetuses. The most influential male character, Shin Hyun, murderer now in a prison, has a non sexual foetus like aura. The killings are carried out as revenge on the women for this ability, obviously and totally in vain. Thus, the film describes a core dilemma true for all males. However, I am not aware of a comparable open description in European literature of film. Yet, I have seen it in Japanese films (e.g. Shindo's Onibaba). – A most interesting film.