I put on this movie without having read a single word about it, something that helped elevate "Apan" over almost everything I've seen so far this year. I never saw Jesper Ganslandts debut "Farväl Falkenberg" either, so I did not know anything about this up and coming swedes intentions with getting in to the movie business until yesterday. What he has accomplished with "Apan" is capturing the main character Kristers, Played by Swedish actor Olle Sarri, total nervous breakdown. You can feel the tone set by Ganslandt from the very first frame, and that's only the start of a descent towards the absolute darkest depths of the mind acted out with perfection by Olle Sarri.
If I were to compare what I experienced with this film to something else, the closest work would be Gaspar Noés "Enter The Void", in how the audience gets forced in to a character by means of filming and lack of added sounds and music. 20 minutes in, I felt the emotions portrayed by Olle Sarri, and how his decisions actually mattered to me. You become the broken individual on screen.
If you are interested in seeing a fantastically well perceived narrative of a broken mans broken life, this is for you. If you are susceptible to this kind of film, you will feel as empty and broken as the subject of this portrayal when you're done.
If I were to compare what I experienced with this film to something else, the closest work would be Gaspar Noés "Enter The Void", in how the audience gets forced in to a character by means of filming and lack of added sounds and music. 20 minutes in, I felt the emotions portrayed by Olle Sarri, and how his decisions actually mattered to me. You become the broken individual on screen.
If you are interested in seeing a fantastically well perceived narrative of a broken mans broken life, this is for you. If you are susceptible to this kind of film, you will feel as empty and broken as the subject of this portrayal when you're done.