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Reviews
Du levande (2007)
Bleak Film Saved by Comedic Relief
Roy Andersson's film, "You, The Living" ("Du Levande in Swedish) covers the broad topic of humanity with vignettes of many different stories of people in Sweden. Andersson shows many sides of human nature, including loneliness, fantasizing about the future, getting stuck on dreams, and forgetting to appreciate what you have while dwelling on what you think is wrong in your life and your relationships. He gets his message across pretty clearly with the various examples of people from different places in age, society, and life in general.
The lives of the different characters are not very connected as you see in other Nordic films with the same style, but they do typically meet at least once. The film does not have one plot or even a connection that ties all of the characters together other than short meetings and the connection of humanity. The style used to connect each vignette was similar to that of "Paris, Je T'aime", a French film with a similar concept of showing human nature through short vignettes. Although there is not much connection throughout the film, it still succeeds at generally holding the attention of the viewers and getting a message across. With each scene, we learn a little bit more about what Andersson wants the viewers to take away form the film- enjoy life to the fullest while you can. Each character and story displays an example of how humans tend to take life for granted, whether through daydreaming instead of actually living in the now or through literally taking what is good in life for granted. The characters in the film show how humans can miss out on good things because they are focused on the wrong things, such as money or dreams of the future. The one character that shows an attempt to make her fantasy come real is Anna. We are introduced to her with a full view of what she imagines could happen with the musician at the bar. The difference between her and the rest of the characters we see is that she actually acts on her desires and does not lose sight of the present opportunity due to other distractions.
What makes this film unique in the genre of films with many vignettes to get across a single message is Andersson's style. The lighting is natural, but the characters all seem very pale and mundane, like life without the right desires and intentions. On top of having very pale, almost lifeless skin, the characters dress in boring colors such as grey and khaki. The only one who really stands out is Anna and her bright pink boots. It is impossible not to notice Anna's boots right away in Andersson's fictional lifeless world. Her boots are a great example of Andersson's common use of symbolism. Her boots represent her odd ability to go after what she dreams of, unlike the other characters in the film. Furthermore, the music played in the film is used very strategically to enhance many of the actions of the characters. Each song shows some of the quirky characteristics of each character while also emphasizing their own view of the world, whether that be bleak or optimistic. For instance, the song in the opening scene with the woman singing about no one understanding her has a quirky melody, yet demonstrates her focus on the wrong parts of life. Contrastingly, the music played by Anna's new husband at the end of her dream shows a brighter, more beautiful world. The sun comes out and the people gather all because of Anna's willingness to act on her desires and take a risk. The use of color and music in the film to represent life without truly living show Andersson's vision of some of the flaws in humanity. Andersson successfully takes a common theme seen in films and makes it his own with his unique filming style.
Andersson's film is a serious take on the flaws of human nature and how to get what will truly make you happy in life while still having some comedic relief. With Andersson's odd sense of humor, you will find yourself laughing at times that you feel you should not be laughing. This comedic aspect of the film makes it much easier to take in the message that Andersson is attempting to get across and, ironically, take him much more seriously. Without the comedy, the film would be very bleak and pessimistic. However, this film is actually easy to take in most of the time and sends a very strong yet honest message. Andersson does a great job of creating a film with an important lesson that is also entertaining to the viewers, which not many directors do successfully.
Hævnen (2010)
Revenge and Other Ethical Dilemmas
In A Better World is yet another great film directed by the talented Susanna Bier. In this film, the characters deal with many ethical dilemmas and general life issues. The film deals with issues such as revenge, divorce, death, and other things that people deal with daily. The three main characters, Christian, Elias, and Anton deal with these issues differently and each have to figure out their beliefs throughout the film.
Christian is a young boy who loses his mother early in the film. He moves to a new town in Denmark after living internationally for many years. At his new school, he meets Elias and they become good friends. Christian has a lot of anger built up from his mother's death and takes it out very violently. He carries around a knife and knows how to make a bomb. While he only uses this violence against people that he believes deserve it, he definitely takes things too far. This brings up the main theme of the film, revenge, which is also the meaning of the Danish title of the movie, Hævnen. Christian pulls a knife out on another boy who is bullying Elias. The boy deserved to be stood up to, but the knife is pretty extreme for young boys. He then convinces Elias to help him bomb a car owned by a man who was rude to Elias's father, Anton. Yet again, this is crossing the line. Eventually Christian learns his lesson, but this shows the struggles of a young boy lost from losing a parent figure and living in an unstable environment.
Elias is dealing with divorced parents and bullies. He loves his father very much, but he is usually working abroad in Africa. He befriends Christian who teaches him to stand up for himself. As their relationship grows, Elias's values become more and more unclear because of his new friend's influence. It is typical for people to be pushed into situations that make them uncomfortable by the people around them, especially at a young age. Bier does a good job of portraying this common issue and the story is very moving. We know all along that Elias is a nice person and that he knows that he should not be carrying around a knife or bombing cars, but he also has been pushed around for years and is excited to have a friend and to be able to stand up for himself. Without the guidance of his father, he loses track of his values until things go too far. People often lose track of their values as they meet more people and experience things like divorce and Elias is a great example of that. Even people who are good at heart make mistakes, but it is possible to learn your lesson and be reminded of yourself.
Anton, Elias's father, is a good example of the ethical issues that adults have to deal with. He is going through a divorce caused by his own extramarital relationship, yet he is still in love with his wife. Meanwhile, he is working as a doctor in Africa, making it hard to be a good father and to get his wife back. While in Africa, the man causing all of the terror for his patients comes to him for help. Anton must decide whether he wants to help this man who has done many terrible things, or if he can deal with letting him die. Tying the larger world into the lives of the characters in the film is something that Susanna Bier is very good at. This is an interesting way of making films and adds more to the stories of the characters. Africa is a big part of Anton's life and it is hard for him to distance himself from that life, while at the same time it is hard for him to be away from his life at home. Finding that balance while keeping his morals in tact is Anton's main issue. What he is doing in Africa is extremely admirable, but it gets in the way of raising his son and impacts their lives very much.
In A Better World is not only very entertaining and beautifully filmed and scripted, but it forces the viewers to question their own actions and choices. Susanna Bier succeeds at creating a film that is both pleasing to watch and an extremely meaningful experience. She has created yet another beautiful and powerful movie that everyone can relate to. In another director's hands, the plot might seem a little bit extreme, but she makes it work. The characters are not only relatable, but also very complicated and easy to become attached to. Overall, I would definitely suggest this film to anyone looking for a meaningful movie-watching experience.
Himlens hjärta (2008)
A refreshing yet depressing example of relationships and affairs
Heaven's Heart, directed by Simon Staho, is a Swedish and Danish film about marriage, relationships, adultery, and betrayal. The film gives an honest depiction of some examples of married life in Sweden. While the relationships in the story are very complex and interesting, it is not a film that will be inspiring for you and your own relationships. The film is done very well and the honesty in the depiction of the two couples is a refreshing change compared to the many romanticized relationships in Hollywood films, but it offers a very pessimistic view of marriages and relationships that does not represent all relationships well. The relationships shown are a good example of how relationships can go wrong, but do not give much hope for long term love and friendships.
Heaven's Heart centers around two married couples that have been best friends for some time. The film is set later on in the lives and marriages of these couples and shows some of the issues that have arisen with time. The main theme in the film, relationships and adultery, plays out through the dinners that these couples share on a regular basis. Early on in the film, we learn that Ann and Ulf are unsatisfied with their marriage. Ulf has considered an affair, but has not acted upon it. His character is very interesting because he is constantly debating having an affair, but never goes further than talking with the other women. Ulf's wife, Ann, however, seems to be slightly boring and not willing to have an affair. Similarly, Lars, who is married to Susanna, is a man who values stability over passion. He is seemingly happy with his marriage at the beginning of the film, but becomes more and more distant as the differences between him and Susanna become more apparent. Susanna, on the other hand, values passion and excitement in a relationship. Despite some of their small quarrels, she is happy in her marriage. As Lars and Ann begin to realize that they are unhappy in their marriages, they also begin to fall in love with each other. Although they know that their affair is not right and that they will most likely lose their best friends and spouses, they continue their relationship because they believe that they are in love with each other. When Susanna finds out that Lars is having an affair, she confides in Ann, her best friend, and asks for support and help finding the other woman. Ann continues with the charade and lies to Susanna about the affair. However, Susanna soon finds out that it was Ann and is heartbroken. During one of their dinners, Susanna tells Ulf of Ann's affair with Lars. The two couples deal with this betrayal in very different ways and the relationships between the four adults change forever. The film is all about the relationships between these couples and how relationships between people in general can change for the better or for the worse with time and events. For some people, straying form a relationship can actually end up strengthening it in the long run, while for others, it can lead to the end of that relationship. This film did a good job of honestly depicting how people deal with issues in marriages and friendships.
Heaven's Heart tells the story of these two couples by using the regular dinners that they have together as the main setting of the film. When the couples come together for dinner, we learn more and more about each individual and their relationship with the others. While we sometimes see them outside of these dinners, that is only to establish what important events that are taking place between each meal, such as the affair between Lars and Ann. This is an interesting way to organize a film and I think it works well with the storyline and it accentuates the theme of relationships in the film. The first and last scene are both dinner scenes and that especially shows how the affair impacts the relationships between the four individuals and their family lives. Each time that the couples have dinner, something new has come up in the plot that adds an exciting element to the interactions between each of them. This technique, though simple, added a lot to the character and plot development in the film.
If you're looking for a refreshingly honest take on relationships and adultery, Heaven's Heart is the film for you. The film shows a good example what affairs can do to friendships and marriages. However, if you are looking for a film that offers a more optimistic look at relationships, you should look somewhere else. While the film is done well and has an interesting view of the complexity of relationships and marriages, it does not offer much hope for long-term relationships. Personally, I did not enjoy it because of the pessimistic depiction of relationships it gives, but for some, it might be a story they can appreciate more.
Brúðguminn (2008)
Infidelity and Marriage in Flatey
White Night Wedding follows the life of Jón during the day leading up to his second marriage. Jón is an ex-professor living on the small island of Flatey, Iceland. The opening scene sets up the film's light attitude, but also tells us of Jón's controversial past. In the beginning of the film, we learn that his ex-wife, stricken with manic-depression, convinced him to leave his job as a professor in Reykjavik and move to Flatey, where she is from. We later learn that once they moved to Flatey, Jón became close to a girl that was his student at university. As Anna, Jón's first wife, realizes that she is losing her husband, her mental state becomes worse and worse. The director, Baltasar Kormákur, uses Jón's flashbacks to his previous marriage to explain to the viewers what happened in Jón's first marriage and what led him to marry Þóra. These flashbacks, tinted with different lighting to differentiate them from the present, only tell the viewer a small part of the story at a time, so they are unaware of many important details until the end. This leaves some excitement and keeps the viewer watching. While I liked the excitement, sometimes the flashbacks were not clearly a flashback and confused me. Kormákur sometimes used a specific cut style to signify that the upcoming scene was a flashback, but other times the film would jump cut to the scene without telling the viewer if it was in the present or in the past. This was especially confusing at the beginning of the movie, but once I was used to the style of the film, I became more prepared for scenes to be set in the past.
One of the main themes we can see in the film is money. Iceland's economic state is not very strong, so money is a common theme in Icelandic films. When Jón and Anna move to Flatey, Jón meets Börkur, who dreams of building a golf course on the island. Börkur convinces Jón to invest in this golf course, including cutting a deal with the family of his future bride, Þóra. Jón rents land from Þóra's family, but does not pay for it. This deal is central to the plot, as Þóra's mother continuously nags Jón and Þóra throughout the film, threatening to call off the wedding if he does not pay her. Þóra's father is frustrated by his wife's obsession with the money and secretly gives money to Jón to be used to pay for the land. However, Jón passes out outside and the money blows away to be found by the island's priest. The economy of Iceland clearly impacts the lives of those on the island and leads Þóra's mother to worry more about money than her own daughter's wedding.
While dealing with his fiancé's mother and her obsession with his debt, Jón is also feeling more and more guilty about the events leading up to his second marriage. We learn from a few flashbacks that Jón cheated on Anna with Þóra and when Anna caught them, she rowed a leaky boat into the sea and drowned herself. As we get closer to the wedding, Jón becomes increasingly quiet and distant from Þóra. At the wedding, Jón asks Þóra to step outside with him and calls off the wedding, telling her that he does not want to drive her to madness and death as he believes he did to Anna. She begs him to stop thinking that way, saying that she will make him happy and help him until the day she dies. During this argument, the entire wedding party comes out to watch the unfolding drama. Jón runs to the sea and gets in the same leaky boat that Anna used to drown herself. He prepares to kill himself the same way until Þóra and the rest of the wedding party make it to the sea. Þóra swims to him and they decide to get married in the sea. The priest is carried out and they take their vows, seemingly ending the movie on a positive note. Although Jón has had a hard time with his marriages and is unsure about marrying again, Þóra seems to have saved him and made him happy. However, the final scene tells us that that is not how the marriage works out. Ironically, Jón becomes the satisfied married man, while Þóra seems to become the one sneaking off and looking for something better, as Jón did with Anna. As cheating was a central theme in the plot of the film, this seems to be a sort of poetic justice for what Jón did to Anna and tells the viewers that cheating is usually not the best way to start out a relationship.