Hard Candy

Plot:

Young girl meets older man through the internet.

Preview:

This film is something that I had been wanting to watch for a while. The premise and plot of it sounded very enticing and I also appreciate Ellen Page's general acting style. A general theme on this blog, besides the films, is that of the human mind and expectations, and how it can dramatically change your experience of said films. I had, whether I liked it or not, painted a picture in my head about how this film would be, to a certain degree. It did not correspond with how I actually perceived the film and sometimes that's a good thing. It wasn't, this time.

Ellen Page plays the 14 year old girl Hayley who is exploring the fascinating internet and its possibilities. She chats with older men online and finds Jeff ( Patrick Wilson ) interesting for a particular reason. Hayley is the driving force behind them meeting up and she flirts shamelessly with him until they end up at his apartment. Jeff works as a photographer and shows her some of his work and Hayley is fast on picking that up as a subject that "defines" him. She is also very interested in getting on camera for him. In the meantime they have gotten themselves drinks and this is where the film takes an interesting twist.

This film deals with some large themes and without spoiling anything its very easy to take the perpetrator's side in all of it, which is quite uncommon, for obvious reasons. It's also about the constant battle of the sexes and power. So in conclusion I would say some parts of this film are good and some parts are really bad. You are therefore left with a sort of schizophrenic impression.

I usually like films that take an unexpected turn and are in themselves non-predictable but overall I didn't really like where this was going. It became the offspring of a tv-movie and a crim-show on television. Very poor acting, especially from Patrick Wilson, and I felt like it didn't really made an impression on me. It dabbles in the psychological thriller department somewhat, which has an element of "interesting" in it, but I expected more from this.

I 

Trailer:

c

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Die Welle

Plot:

The re-enactment of a very interesting psychological experiment based off historical events.

Review:

The german teacher Rainer Wagner (Jurgen Vogel ) brings up the subject of autocracy to his students and engages them in an experiment. He wants to instill in them that autocracy is still and will always be a threat to democracy, even though his students are highly sceptical of that. They believe we have learned our lesson, so to speak.

As time passes he introduces uniforms, specific salutions and titles. The students, being quite disinterested at first, start to take a liking to the bonding experience they share. His experiment was inspired by what a class in California did in the 1960's which revolved around the individual and the collective as a whole.

This film is thought provoking and raises questions rather than answer them, making this a film worth watching. Its an interesting view into group-psychology and how we are, after all, social beings. And how we also may lose our values and "minds" when we are in a group, the group becomes more important than anything else.

We also get to follow some particular individuals up close aswell as the teacher and how he personally deals with it. The movement they form is called Die Welle which means the Wave in english. Dennis Gansel is the producer here and he is making his second Nazi-related film.

Trailer:

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Fish Tank

Plot:

15 year old aspiring dancer finds herself in a strange situation when her mom finds a new boyfriend.

Review:

I heard good things about this one and had been wanting to see it for quite a while. I dont see alot of british film, perhaps because its, overall, low quality films or perhaps because it gets pushed away by the monster that is Hollywood. I'd like to think its a combination, but mostly the latter. It just seems so much easier for an american film to make it everywhere, I suppose its not  really surprising, but why that is is subject for another post.

Katie Jarvis plays the role of Mia, who is quite a lonely and troubled teenager. She responds to the, in her view, hostile world with hostility. The way she has been brought up and the family life she finds herself in has certainly added to her sense of misery. Her mother ( Kierston Wareing ) almost seems to be an involuntary mother and lives on her life the way she did before she got children. Mia discovers alot of things that any teenager do in that age, but with a big carelessness. One day her mother brings home a new boyfriend ( Michael Fassbender) and it complicates Mia's life even more.

The only real goal and motivation in life Mia has is to become a dancer. Ergo, the timeless theme of breaking free from the negative shackles, that you did not ask for, to become "free". It is still a refreshing look at the dreams of a young individual, perhaps because its a so called "kitchen sink" drama. It juggles the everyday life and the dreams, at the same time, in a good way. Meaning there are nuances and subtleties, unlike most Hollywood films.

The dialogue is very interesting and well thought out. I read somewhere it would give Pulp Fiction a run for the money. I dont know if I would go that far, but there certainly is some great lines in this one aswell. Katie Jarvis is doing a great job acting and is the shining star in this film but I really like Michael Fassbender and he is always doing a good job even though he has a supporting role. 

I just noticed there are, what could be seem as Hollywood flaming, in this review. That's not really my intention, but im just calling it like I see it. I think its a shame that films are not more provocative, interesting, strange et.c. than they are. Its a goddamn shame.

Trailer:

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Uncle Kent

Plot:

Middle aged man and his lonely life.

Review:

This low budget film with no recognisable characters and filmed with a Flip Cam (!) made it to the Sundance festival which obviously gave it big attention. The low-key and non pretentious vibe always sparks my interest with films so I thought I'd review it for you.

The somewhat conventional theme with a lonely 40 year old man is being carried up by the unconventional script and directing in this film.  Kent Osborne ( Kent Osborne ) works as a freelance animator and spends most of his life being on the internet and smoking marijuana. He is not really happy with his situation and actually manages to meet someone on Chatroulette. Kate ( Jennifer Prediger) is a New York resident, works as a journalist but is actually already taken but the boyfriend is distant. She decides to go meet Kent on the other side of the country all the way in Los Angeles. Kent and Kate finds theirselves at a party and the circumstances that unfold is something that comes as a big surprise.

I read somewhere this film had a greater message : That the internet/video generation are waiting for life to happen to them instead of vice versa, that indidivuals in this generation grab a hold of life. That's one way of looking at it although it didnt strike me at first. The passivity of the younger people in society is probably a correct observation though.

I found this to be a humorous film and something that alot of people can relate to, not necessarely just if you are a 40 year old male. It speaks to everyone, I find, simply because its a quality film. I wish more films like these were made. The only reason this made it in to the viewing spectrum so to speak was probably because of the aforementioned film festival. I wonder how many other gems you miss?

Trailer:

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Oslo, August 31st

Watch it.

Trailer:

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Sebbe

The first Swedish film on this blog.

Plot:

The life and times of a bullied boy.

Review:

The movie industry is interesting in that its very hard not to be affected by Hollywood and the common way of making a film. Sometimes the swedish film industry get carried away and just copy the american way of making films but most of the time, atleast the swedish films I see, stay away from that. And by stepping away from the american way of making films, you get very unpredictable and interesting films. Just by stepping away from the "how to make films manual" you distance yourself from the majority of the films made and you automatically become very different. Sebbe is not necessarely a completely unique film, in any sense, but it does something very rare, atleast up until the very end. But to speak of it would be to spoil the film.

Sebbe is a socialrealistic drama that centers around some heavy themes including poverty, alcoholism, bullying and general misery. ( Misery is something swedes do great on film, it comes as no surprise. ) Sebbe ( Sebastian Hiort af Ornäs ) is a young boy who lives with his mother Eva ( Eva Melander ) and they have a very strained relationship. Sebbe's father has left them and Eva is struggling to make ends meet and is handing out infomercials at night as their sole income. Sebbe has become the number one bully victim in his class and finds no peace in school and his presence there is declining. His main interest has become building mechanical and technological devices of different kinds and in doing this he atleast gets to be alone. 

Sebbes mother Eva has a love/hate relationship for her son and often finds him to be a nuisance in this already somewhat grey and wretched world. His problems seem to pour over into her life and this is something she seem to find painful with her already having her own problems. Eva is also, perhaps because of this, an alcoholic. Her temper is quite irate and she often takes it out on Sebbe. 

Babak Najafi is doing his feature film debut with this film and has also by this time made the sequel to another praised swedish film Snabba Cash. Babak has then obviously already proven to be one of the best contemporary swedish film makers. Phenomenal acting from both Sebastian and Eva, although very strong acting all across the board. Many of the actors are actually making their debut acting, including Sebbe, and are new "faces" to the audience, which I believe was crucial to a film like this ( And to films in general, I really support new faces ).

Sebbe is a very unpleasant film to watch and this is something I appreciate, when a film can actually have some sort of effect on you, even if it is a very "negative" effect. This obviously comes from the theme in the film, but also from the very real display of human interaction that all people involved have created. Its strength is also the ability to stay on the subjects of which it has taken upon itself to display. It does not shy away from going deep and exploring all the dark sides of our society. 

Trailer:

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