Svidd neger (2003) User Reviews

Awesomely awesome!

[slake09 · 8/10 · 10 February 2005]

If you're tired of politically correct thrillers, chick flicks and endlessly boring dramas from Hollywood, this is the movie for you! A group of mostly drunk but always entertaining people living on a fjord in Norway go through a series of events that could only happen in the imagination of a hunchbacked orphan dope fiend. I'll skip the plot outline, as it has already been done; no outline could do this film justice. Don't bother trying to predict what will happen next; the only certainty while watching this movie is that the unexpected, the bizarre, the ridiculous and the absurd will always prevail. Did I see the ending coming? No, I didn't even attempt such lofty heights of madness. I just sat back with my girlfriend, the red-haired Irish queen of late night cinema, and enjoyed it.

Don't bother picking out a favorite character among the adulterous lapplanders, the wife-killing alcoholics, the lecherous older women, the semi-retarded oafs or the sex-starved nymphettes; every single character gets their whole world turned upside down and all around, somehow seeming to enjoy the process and have a completely optimistic view of the future as their houses burn, they chop pieces off themselves with axes, and deliver babies unaided on hillsides.

If you want something different and yet enjoyable, this is it. If you want pretentious art flicks or mainstream Hollywood, go somewhere else. This movie fits in between somewhere.

a true gem

[papanashul · 8/10 · 27 September 2006]

Imagine Jim Jarmusch getting unavoidably sick with the US and decide to go on a health trip to Norway to get the good old creative juices going full throttle again. There he hooks up with the derelict leftovers of a pageant that marauded the crisp Norwegian landscape and take shelter in two tattered cottages on opposing hillsides. Whiskey galores, insanity reigns supreme and they don't even use chemicals. Their animosity towards each other takes surprising turns as the story unfolds. The characters are deliciously unhinged and we will leave them as a complete surprise for you to discover. Pink-tinted shots of tiny fjords accompanied by a score uncannily reminiscent of Dead Man or Paris, Texas coupled with raw hillbilly debauchery make up for a strange, surreal combination indeed. Comparisons with other masterpieces of the scurrilous are out of place. This is a movie of effortless originality, tragicomic and aesthetically accomplished. Only for the daring moviegoer.

Hilarious!

[flindbec · 6/10 · 3 July 2004]

You have to have a few prerequisites before taking on this one - a special kind of humour (Monty Python style - totally without boundaries) and a sense for the grotesque. THEN and only then will you have good time. This movie is out of here - like "Bad Boy Bubby"...except that you do not want to take this one serious for a single second...

A pot-smoking coloured fellow and a rather fat chronic masturbating axe-wielding redneck as brothers, a drunk priest, an alcoholic wife-murderer, reindeer and sex? Could you wish for more? Do not make the mistake of taking someone for this movie as the first date. Could prove to be disastrous, if your date has the wrong kind of attitude.

A group of people in a farm in Norway does the sickest things you can only imagine.

[espen-haugland · 27 February 2004]

This is with out a doubt the sickest norwegian movie I`ve EVER seen. I mean that in a good way. This movie have a twisted sense of humor, and I love it!

A group of people in a farm in Norway does the sickest things you can only imagine. - One guy cuts one of his own fingers of. - A girl gives birth in the woods. - A negrow eats mushrooms every day.

You can't miss this one. If you have a twisted sense of humor, this is the movie for you!

Ulver made me watch this one, too...

[victormonticelli · 6/10 · 12 February 2014]

I think that Svidd Neger is a pretty regional film, and could be more appreciated by Scandinavian people as one could tell by reading the reviews here.

I kind of like it actually, though I know that that I've missed many points throughout the movie. I've watched it because I love the soundtrack, and I knew it many years before I even knew that there's actually a movie, but nothing could prepare me to the weirdness experience that is in it. Judging by the cover (of the soundtrack) and the music itself, I thought that I was about to watch something completely different.

Anyway, I think that Svidd Neger has its value (even though most people, like myself, will experience a lack comprehension about what's going on almost the entire movie) mainly because it is rich in cultural values, stereotypes and even a sense of humor that I've never being in touch with, and I guess that for that reasons only, it can please some audiences.

Strange... but kinda funny!

[giton66 · 8/10 · 29 May 2004]

I learned about this movie when checking the new releases of my favorite band, ULVER, who did the great score to this movie. When I learned, what "Svidd Neger" really means and that the movie was reported to the European Court of Human Rights in Hague, I imagined it would be some sort of shocking drama.

Nah...it's a comedy, or at least sort of!

It's hard to describe, what the movie is about at all, but a main topic are racial conflicts in Norway. The Characters are fairly strange, we have Karl, who is the king of his 10 acre fjord property and always dreams about his murdered wife. Anna, Karls daughter, who should have been a boy instead, likes to sing real tearjerker songs and is about to marry the next "prince" that drops in. On the other side of the fjord live Ante, a black who believes he's a mysterious "Sea Saami", his stepbrother Peder, who wanks till ...(you'll see), and their mother Ellen. In addition a Saami by the name of "Normann Hætta Bongo Utsi Saus" strikes a camp nearby. He's a real Peeping Tom and constantly gets calls from his mom. In the end, there's the black commander of some American Nato troops, who is desperately in need of a son.

So 1 1/2 hours full of promiscuity, gore and explosions unfold(actually the explosions are the highlights of this movie, always interesting to see, WHAT things are able to explode :) ).

The movie scores with both great soundtrack and the beautiful Norwegian landscapes. Yet the cut was done very roughly and the transitions between the scenes are lacking or poorly.

If you like mind-twisting avant-garde trash, you shouldn't miss this movie!

Weirdo

[kosmasp · 4/10 · 12 July 2007]

I don't know what the title means exactly, but it doesn't sound like something nice! On the contrary, exactly like the mood of the film. It's far away from anything Hollywood/glamor movie you can think of. It's also unpredictable! There's black humor involved obviously here, and if you don't get it, you will feel dreadful watching this one. It's quirky and because it's low budget and has this unbelievable characters, I'm prone to love it ... but it just has too many bad things going against it for that!

I don't know if you can call it acting what the principal performers do here, but it suits the movie well. There are even glimpses of horror, drama, love-story and (as mentioned) comedy to be found here ... definitely something you either love or hate very much, but really hard to describe (as a movie-experience)!

Sickest movie out of Norway yet?

[a-moss · 8/10 · 16 October 2004]

Svidd Neger which means "Burnt Negro" caused a lot of controversy even before it was even seen, because of the name,

and was accused to racist. The finished product had no sign of racism in it though, but it

would upset people never the less. Or maybe not.. whatever is

going on in this movie is too bloody weird to get provoked by.

Or maybe it is. People react differently to things don't they?

Beautiful thing that.

One thing that is sure about the norwegian movie business is that

its probably going the right way, when crazy stuff like this gets

financed. This is no average norwegian movie at all. Still its

probably one of the best movies from Norway I've seen..

I know a lot of movies called "sick", but few movies that deserves it

as much as Svidd Neger. Its not a movie to view with your parents

probably, that for sure. It has a lot of really sick humor.

The story is set on a farm, and another farm.. and no person in this

movie is sane. Except for the girl to some extent.

I see a lot of people is comparing this to stuff David Lynch has

directed. Mmm. Not quite. Its much more silly and crazy.. and its

not an art-movie either. Its better to compare it to Lars Von Trier's

"The Idiots". Much better. Its a good picture though, and even if a more crazy ending would

have suited it its a brilliant movie! I gave it an 8/10 myself.

Fooling around

[Hugh Sullivan · 1/10 · 10 April 2005]

This is a movie about fooling around and wasting time. Mostly YOUR time.

I'll never get the time back spent on this movie, but I will try to warn other people away from it. I read the reviews and that's partly why I picked it up. Most of what has been written about it is factually true. The characters are cardboard types, who can be expected to do "wild and crazy" things.

It's similar to listening to the ravings of a crazy person. At first it seems interesting and kind of humorous. Then you just want to run away.

BTW, the lack of a coherent plot doesn't make it surreal, it just makes it tiresome.

Damn unique and damn funny.

[ElijahCSkuggs · 9/10 · 17 July 2008]

Svidd Neger aka Burned Negro is one flick I was pretty amped to check out.

When someone refers to it as somewhat like Pink Flamingos, and then mixed with that pretty damn un-pc title, it's almost must-see viewing. Well, I watched it, and I'm not sure how Pink Flamingo-y it is, but damn, this was a really good flick.

Story revolves around a drunk as hell, apparition seeing Dad and his daughter living alone in the north regions of Norway. Not far away and unbeknownst to the Dad and Daughter, there is another family with a mother, horny and fat son (who looks just like Francis in Pee Wee's Big Adventure), and adopted black son who all seem to live together in a not-so peaceful type way. Throw in a young man who's trying to escape his Saami ways, and you have a mish mash of personalities that result in all types of drama and humor.

This is a very, very good black comedy. It's been probably since Taxidermia that I've watched such black comedy in a flick.

The drunk Dad is a stand-out when he's seeing the ghosts. Usually a person would be terrified of a ghost, but not this guy. He gets angry, and it's really funny stuff. Throw in very good acting from all the actors, very silly moments, and some nudity and you've already got the ingredients for a very entertaining flick.

Svidd Neger, is a flick for definitely fans of foreign flicks like Taxidermia. And if you're a fan of black comedy mixed with bizarre silly humor, then you should be pleased as well.

I didn't know Norway had this type of cinema in them, but I'm very pleased to have found out. I knew about The Dudesons, but they may be Finnish....nevertheless our brothers to the way North have got some serious talent.

Who wrote this?

[Gorm-Sweden · 10/10 · 30 November 2005]

One of the greatest Nordic films ever. Great surrealism and a wonderful play with the time line. For example when Anna gets pregnant and one of the others notice it until Anna asks the mother. The funniest thing about that is that she's about 5 minutes away from giving birth. Or when Ante finds the children (they're twins) and says:"I'm a father... and Norrman to."

The soundtrack is also very interesting with Ulver as composers, and one detail that makes the music great in the film is when you actually see an orchestra.

I suppose you'll have to watch it a couple of times to really appreciate it. But when you've done that you'll like it as much as me.

A strange, but great movie

[steingrh · 8/10 · 29 January 2004]

This is one of the best norwegian movies I have seen. (But I have not seen many.) It is funny, and quite strange. But that is part of the reasons why I liked it so much.

To pick an example of one of the weird scenes in this movie, there is a man, in bed, that masturbates so hard that the house eventually explodes and burns down to the ground.

Oh...and sometimes the people who sings/plays the soundtrack just stand or wanders around in the background of the scene.

I think many will love this movie, and many will hate it.

I loved it, cause of it's weirdness and humor.

A dark crazy-comedy about the life at the Norwegian countryside.

[ringnes_herre · 10/10 · 21 February 2008]

It's funny because it's true... or is it? I've grown up near the countryside of western Norway and know people here quite well. I've never been up north tho, but If the countryside in the northern part of Norway has any likeness to the places I have been this movie is not just fiction, It's partly documentary. This movie capture in a very absurd, original and hilarious way how weird a small community may become If it's left alone, hidden from the eyes of the world.

Even thou the movie has been blamed for racism because of the title there is really no racism in this movie other than between the different characters in the story. The title "Svidd Neger" (Englis: Burned Negro) is a mystery to me cause it's clearly narrowing down the movie's appeal. This is not a movie containing any racist propaganda, but rather parodying the narrow-minded expectation some people have of how a black man should be, and the impression many Norwegians have of the Sami-people. Remember, the cast and crew who made this film is multicultural themselves.

The story circles around tree main stories, which all are revealed to us piece by piece. The first character we really get to know is Ante, a young boy who struggle with his identity. He was raised to believe he's of the Norwegian native people (the Sami) thou, he can't overlook his dark skin and curly black hair. He lives with his adoptive mother and his older, and extremely sexually frustrated brother Peder. At the other side of a swampy hill lives the young woman Anna with her alcoholic father. Watching it all is Normann. A young man of a Sami-family who has decided to leave the traditional life of his people, and try to become as Norwegian as possible.

They all live their simple lives not knowing about the families living at the other side of the muddy hill. By a mere coincidence the two families get aware of each others existence, wish consequences get beyond everybody's imagination. And when the young Sami man Normann appears the things quickly gets out of control...

First off all. This movie is mad, stark raving mad. The movie is clearly inspired by a wave of Finnish movies from the 60'ies-70'ies which basically where dramas about small communities, wasted youth, drinking and murder. These were sent at prime-time Norwegian television, probably causing severe trauma at kids of that generation forcing them to make movies like this as a sort of therapy. And thank god for that! The movie also parodies the myths circulating in Norway about the people living far north in our country. Where the extreme stereotype is swearing, a heavy drinker and prefer resolve things with violence.

The movie also got a great soundtrack by the Norwegian band "Ulver" which underline the mood of the film, making it darker, funnier and even more psychedelic.

Showing such a totally indifference with such simple things as time, realism and common sense this is by my opinion one of the best dark comedies I've seen. Why? Because it manage to capture human nature, but at the same time removing all the basic rules of how a movie should be and all "unesseseary realism". Add a dose of violence, nudity, horror, and heavy drinking and you're getting close but not quite. I can guarantee that someone will with no doubt find this movie to be the worst, most pointless and disgusting movie they've seen. But at least it got a reaction beyond plane boredom. And one thing can I guarantee. Eighter you love it or you hate it. There is no in-between.

If you gonna see only one movie this year...

[Jos-5 · 8/10 · 12 June 2003]

you shouldn't really see this one.

It's weird, maybe the weirdest ever to be made in Norway. But it got humour, edge, unique characters and many suprises (and a bunch of postmodern surrealism). You can never tell what happens next in this movie.

It is not the best movie I've seen this year, but it is absolutely a movie you'll remember. Kinda how The Evil Dead (1982) would look like if David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick had directed it.

If you want to see someone from the north of Norway behave silly you should really see this movie. I'll give it an eight.

Hilarious movie!

[groundzero-273-397110 · 8/10 · 5 August 2013]

Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D Awesome movie, could not stop laughing most of the time! :D

As fabulously exceptional as it is completely bizarre!

[I_Ailurophile · 10/10 · 29 May 2022]

Whatever it was that I expected from 'Svidd neger,' it wasn't this. There's so much going on here - at varying points it carries itself with airs of a drama, comedy, musical, horror flick, or fairy tale. There are notes of indie workings, offbeat humor, racism, alcoholism, domestic violence, surrealism, and fantasy, with emphatic and cheeky music cues and themes in the score. At the same time, as sepia tones characterize the imagery, Hoyte Van Hoytema's cinematography is outstanding - rich and vibrant, with varied hues nonetheless popping through the coloration - and their editing is tremendously sharp (even as it sometimes feeds into the comedy). Director Erik Smith Meyer illustrates a fantastic eye for shot composition, and the orchestration of each scene is wonderfully smart and clever. Set against the immense and beautiful landscapes of Norway, the set design and decoration is marvelously detailed even as it's distinctly spartan, and the costume design, hair, and makeup work is brilliantly imaginative. I'm honestly unsure how I would even characterize this film - but I love it.

Stein Elvestad's screenplay is simply ingenious. It's incredible to so much as ponder how all the many disparate elements could possibly be successfully rolled into one picture, but 'Svidd neger' manages it by never taking itself entirely seriously, no matter how dire some individual scenes may be. The scene writing is astoundingly varied, to the point that one genuinely never knows entirely what to expect from one moment to the next. This keeps the narrative fresh and surprising as it takes some recognizable story ideas and twists them into bizarre, unpredictable new forms. The small cast of characters is extraordinarily diverse in their personalities, motivations, and values, and the utmost exaggeration with which they're written matches the great wit in the dialogue - and the excellent performances of the actors. The tenor of the film dovetails with considerable demands for the ensemble, as each role requires definite range, nuance, and physicality - and everyone on hand meets those demands with gusto.

I adore the musical contributions of Norwegian experimental masterminds Ulver, and Trond Nedberg. The score swings wildly, but purposefully, between themes somber and reflective, jovial and playful, dark and electric, and more. At all times, however, the music is entrancing - doing much to lend to the mood of any given scene, but also so lush and dynamic that it stands out on its own merits. The camerawork is dazzling, effects are terrific, and sound design is impeccable. One should note substantial nudity, sexual content, and violence among the content; by no means is this feature going to be for all comers, nevermind the bombastic amalgamation of the story. Yet to the same degree that 'Svidd neger' is discordant nonsense, none of it is accidental - there is exquisite intelligence and care built into every single aspect, from writing and direction to acting and all elements of the technical craft. It's weird, but a very calculated and conscious type of weird - an odd, perfect kaleidoscope.

One could read a scene-by-scene breakdown of the plot and still it would not prepare you for the outrageous cavalcade the film represents. 'Svidd neger' handily bested all possible expectations: this is a phenomenal movie, and it earns my very highest and most enthusiastic recommendation!

Unique!

[lenestol2000 · 10/10 · 23 July 2004]

This film is about Ante, a young, black man, who's not sure about his own identity, being black in the Northern Norway. It is about the relationship between his family and the family of the girl he falls in love with. Unfortunately he isn't the only one falling in love with the girl. This makes things a bit difficult.. His mother wants her other son to marry the girl, because he is her real son. Ante is only adopted.

We also meet another man, whose only wish is to get to America, and the girl seems to get found of this man. This film is like nothing else I've seen! I absolutely recommend it!

(The film is a dogme-film and had some weird rules to follow..)

very nice Norwegian drama, unfortunately being celebrated by rightwing extremists

[The_Melancholic_Alcoholic · 9/10 · 4 October 2022]

This movie has become sort of a secret hero to the fascist crowds, because they think it says something about black people, which It. Does. Not. Right wing extremists have been known to get things wrong, in fact, most things they get wrong. Sadly, that gets a lot of people hurt, or, you know... killed. No, it doesn't "tell the uncomfortable truth about immigrantion".

This film is a little more subtle than that. This movie is about fitting in, or not fitting in. The main character, Ante, an excellent role by Kingsford Siayor, tries to fit into (some sort of village in) Norway. The Saami people ("Laplanders") try to fit into Norwegian society and succeed to varying degrees.

In an example of method acting, or perhaps in an effort to follow the infamous "Dogme 95" edicts, the actors didn't bathe nor shower during the entire time they were on location, filming the movie, which was weeks, rather than days.

If god made a movie.

[contact-18744 · 10/10 · 9 April 2020]

A blessing of all genres in the world. Nothing makes sense, just like our reality. This movie is the most unbelievably incredible movie in the whole wide world of scinematography. A true gem.