Normally the name of screenwriter Kim Fupz Aakesonon a Danish film is enough to make my blood freeze. His proletaristic, mind-numbing dialog (mostly consisting of ummmm.... f****... errr s***) is enough to drive me up the wall, and the terribly dull "everyday" (as if people died in car crashes or went insane were everyday things) stories were tiresome. So my expectations for this film were low. Yet I was to be surprised: Director Jacob Thuesen has turned the "everyday" story on it's head, and created a searing critique of the welfare state, the middle class, and society's (particularly the legal system) increasing dependence on experts, and their influence on people's lives.
Troels Lyby is amazing as the father accused of incest, and for once Aakeson's dialogue is fascinating and sharp. For a Danish film it is impressively edited and filmed, and the visual style (especially the unconventional character introductions) is fittingly cold and edgy. The only problem with this film is that it goes on for about ten minutes too long, and the fact that Sofie Graabøl is simply too tried and tested in this sort of film to be anything else than tiresome.
Overall, a greatly underrated movie. I might actually look forward to Aakeson's next film.
Troels Lyby is amazing as the father accused of incest, and for once Aakeson's dialogue is fascinating and sharp. For a Danish film it is impressively edited and filmed, and the visual style (especially the unconventional character introductions) is fittingly cold and edgy. The only problem with this film is that it goes on for about ten minutes too long, and the fact that Sofie Graabøl is simply too tried and tested in this sort of film to be anything else than tiresome.
Overall, a greatly underrated movie. I might actually look forward to Aakeson's next film.