This movie got all the details set perfectly, the light, the camera, the music, the light comedia, the scenarios, all of it is combined in such a good taste audiovisual piece of art.
4 Reviews
Defenetly a wonderful piece of pure cinema
bernardo-321756 December 2019
A movie for observers
wickedmikehampton15 December 2020
'Echo' aka 'Bergmal' doesn't make my best of lists but my predilection for Iceland made it time well spent.
Seemingly intermingling fictionalisation and real scenes, it's a montage of never repeated characters involved in everyday life throughout the year, with a Xmas culmination.
I appreciated in the way I would a documentary on sociology. It is for viewers who choose observation over entertainment. It fits well into what we, in the Nineties, called the art circuit.
Seemingly intermingling fictionalisation and real scenes, it's a montage of never repeated characters involved in everyday life throughout the year, with a Xmas culmination.
I appreciated in the way I would a documentary on sociology. It is for viewers who choose observation over entertainment. It fits well into what we, in the Nineties, called the art circuit.
Sweet-and-sour Christmas gift from the North
Teyss15 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Echo" belongs to two rare genres: vignette movies and non-narrative cinema. Non-narrative, to an extent, since there is no overarching story, no hero (a character never appears twice), no real beginning and no real ending, although this needs to be nuanced as we will see. Also, if some vignettes depict a small story, some of them do not and most of them are in between (does an action, e.g. a phonecall, without beginning and/or ending represent a story?). With 56 different vignettes, how does the movie ensure consistency throughout? And with such short vignettes (on average a minute and a half), how does it deliver content? We'll answer the two questions jointly, since they are partly related.
1. SEASON. Scenes occur at year-end, from the period before Christmas to the beginning of the following year. There is a clear linear progression hinted by Christmas rituals (buying gifts, buying a tree, Christmas eve, Christmas day, offering the gifts, throwing away the tree), then by New Year's Eve rituals (buying fireworks, firing them, celebrating). Some scenes are not dated, they could take place anytime during winter or even the year when occurring inside; however many scenes provide a clear reference.
2. STYLE. All shots are completely static, generally with large frames. There never is off-screen music, except at the very beginning and very end. There sometimes are two actions in the frame (foreground/background or left/right), which have distinct meanings, enhancing the content of the scene. Overall, it feels like a documentary despite being a fiction: we are immediately immersed in the scene without any foreknowledge; yet thanks to the director's talent we understand the context.
3. TONE. Some scenes are humorous, some are bitter, some are both, these being the most remarkable. A few examples of the latter kind: a nice girl wants to please her father by playing a piano piece... but the daughter of his new partner shows her she plays better. A man is alone on Christmas eve; he opens a bottle of wine just for himself and microwaves dinner... yet seems to have a good time by sending and receiving pictures. A man is having a tough business conversation on the phone... while his two children are having fun in the background. Two men bitterly argue about politics when watching the Prime Minister's speech; we see their body, not their faces... and when an exasperated man leaves, we see he is wearing a party hat!
4. THEMES. Some are recurring during the whole movie. One of the most obvious is how smartphones invade our lives: countless scenes where people talk on the phone, take pictures or films, send or receive them, post them on social networks, chat, etc. It becomes most ridiculous during the children's play, as parents are more focused on filming than watching the show. Eventually in the front row two parents stand up, blocking the view and forcing parents behind to stand up as well! Another ludicrous example: a woman who thinks she is being insulted by a man films the scene to post it live on Facebook.
More deeply, the movie makes us think about the special period of Christmas and year-end, as well as related topics: family, partners, friends, celebration, time off. It is supposed to represent a time of gathering, sharing and happiness, yet is only partly so: we also witness loneliness, conflicts, inequalities, death. Other themes creep in to remind us that behind the celebration, life goes on as usual: ageing, work, health care, emergencies, refugees, etc. Hence apart from a few landscapes, it is not strictly speaking a movie about Iceland but about our societies in general: it could almost have been shot in any developed country (this said for potential viewers expecting to see Icelandic specifics, which are limited).
5. CORRESPONDENCES. Apart from the season, scenes seem unrelated; however the movie sometimes introduces subtle correspondences. Two refugees are harshly expelled from a church; later on, a priest delivers a sermon of compassion notably towards refugees. A son, his mother and his grandmother visit the tomb of the grandfather; later on, a girl visits her grandfather in an institution and says: "We went on grandmother's tomb today." A young girl fought with a boy who was bullying her (or worse); later on, an adult woman apologises to another one for bullying her with her friends when they were in school. Elderly watch the Prime Minister's speech on TV; this speech is continued during the following scene. A family buys a Christmas tree; later on, a man throws a Christmas tree on a huge pile of wood and other trees; later on, this stack burns. Still later, after New Year, garbage bins are removed which is reminiscent of throwing away the tree.
6. CONTRASTS. While correspondences can link separated scenes, consecutive scenes sometime display striking contrasts. The best sequence is probably constituted by the three following scenes:
The movie ends with another compelling sequence:
These last three scenes perfectly close the movie because they at the same time refer to the previous period and announce a new period. Then comes the last shot from a boat sailing on a rough sea, while beautiful off-screen music plays for the first time, enhancing our emotions before we too resume our normal lives.
In summary, "Echo" is a peculiar and thoughtful movie. It displays some brilliant vignettes, which is remarkable enough considering their brevity, and binds all of them together in a social depiction full of acuteness, humour, joy, sorrow and thought-provoking situations. To be honest, not all vignettes are convincing, but many really are and even those that are less so fit in the overall insight.
1. SEASON. Scenes occur at year-end, from the period before Christmas to the beginning of the following year. There is a clear linear progression hinted by Christmas rituals (buying gifts, buying a tree, Christmas eve, Christmas day, offering the gifts, throwing away the tree), then by New Year's Eve rituals (buying fireworks, firing them, celebrating). Some scenes are not dated, they could take place anytime during winter or even the year when occurring inside; however many scenes provide a clear reference.
2. STYLE. All shots are completely static, generally with large frames. There never is off-screen music, except at the very beginning and very end. There sometimes are two actions in the frame (foreground/background or left/right), which have distinct meanings, enhancing the content of the scene. Overall, it feels like a documentary despite being a fiction: we are immediately immersed in the scene without any foreknowledge; yet thanks to the director's talent we understand the context.
3. TONE. Some scenes are humorous, some are bitter, some are both, these being the most remarkable. A few examples of the latter kind: a nice girl wants to please her father by playing a piano piece... but the daughter of his new partner shows her she plays better. A man is alone on Christmas eve; he opens a bottle of wine just for himself and microwaves dinner... yet seems to have a good time by sending and receiving pictures. A man is having a tough business conversation on the phone... while his two children are having fun in the background. Two men bitterly argue about politics when watching the Prime Minister's speech; we see their body, not their faces... and when an exasperated man leaves, we see he is wearing a party hat!
4. THEMES. Some are recurring during the whole movie. One of the most obvious is how smartphones invade our lives: countless scenes where people talk on the phone, take pictures or films, send or receive them, post them on social networks, chat, etc. It becomes most ridiculous during the children's play, as parents are more focused on filming than watching the show. Eventually in the front row two parents stand up, blocking the view and forcing parents behind to stand up as well! Another ludicrous example: a woman who thinks she is being insulted by a man films the scene to post it live on Facebook.
More deeply, the movie makes us think about the special period of Christmas and year-end, as well as related topics: family, partners, friends, celebration, time off. It is supposed to represent a time of gathering, sharing and happiness, yet is only partly so: we also witness loneliness, conflicts, inequalities, death. Other themes creep in to remind us that behind the celebration, life goes on as usual: ageing, work, health care, emergencies, refugees, etc. Hence apart from a few landscapes, it is not strictly speaking a movie about Iceland but about our societies in general: it could almost have been shot in any developed country (this said for potential viewers expecting to see Icelandic specifics, which are limited).
5. CORRESPONDENCES. Apart from the season, scenes seem unrelated; however the movie sometimes introduces subtle correspondences. Two refugees are harshly expelled from a church; later on, a priest delivers a sermon of compassion notably towards refugees. A son, his mother and his grandmother visit the tomb of the grandfather; later on, a girl visits her grandfather in an institution and says: "We went on grandmother's tomb today." A young girl fought with a boy who was bullying her (or worse); later on, an adult woman apologises to another one for bullying her with her friends when they were in school. Elderly watch the Prime Minister's speech on TV; this speech is continued during the following scene. A family buys a Christmas tree; later on, a man throws a Christmas tree on a huge pile of wood and other trees; later on, this stack burns. Still later, after New Year, garbage bins are removed which is reminiscent of throwing away the tree.
6. CONTRASTS. While correspondences can link separated scenes, consecutive scenes sometime display striking contrasts. The best sequence is probably constituted by the three following scenes:
- A dependant drug-addict is helped by two health-carers. He has nobody to talk to, so the two women propose to call him on Christmas day; they are very friendly and offer him a Christmas gift. This scene is intense: sad because of the addict's situation yet gentle thanks to the conversation.
- Children perform a Christmas play. The ambiance is radically different: people are gathered; children apparently enjoy performing and their parents watching (or, rather, filming); it is funny and somewhat ridiculous (the sheep, Santa Claus with a Coke arriving after the Three Wise Men).
- Female bodybuilders are exhibited on stage. Again a radical change, highlighted by the fact the scene is shot from the back of the stage while the previous scene was shot from the audience. The children's play was a joyful mess; this show is a vulgar stiff parade ("Turn right!").
The movie ends with another compelling sequence:
- Just after New Year, a baby is born. The scene is also intense since the woman is actually giving birth, a very rare occurrence in fiction. It provides optimism to this sometimes bitter movie: despite harsh situations, conflicts and ageing elderly, life moves on.
- A road sign saying "15 persons were killed on the road this year" is changed to "No persons were killed on the road this year", which is doubly ironic: we visualise death after life; the post is obvious and not comforting since it is the beginning of the year.
- Garbage collectors remove an impressive amount of large bins from just one building. Again doubly ironic: this trivial scene contrasts with the two previous ones; people had a nice time (of sorts) during Christmas and New Year, they now need to clean up and resume their "normal" lives.
These last three scenes perfectly close the movie because they at the same time refer to the previous period and announce a new period. Then comes the last shot from a boat sailing on a rough sea, while beautiful off-screen music plays for the first time, enhancing our emotions before we too resume our normal lives.
In summary, "Echo" is a peculiar and thoughtful movie. It displays some brilliant vignettes, which is remarkable enough considering their brevity, and binds all of them together in a social depiction full of acuteness, humour, joy, sorrow and thought-provoking situations. To be honest, not all vignettes are convincing, but many really are and even those that are less so fit in the overall insight.
When you're looking for something different
photosenad19 August 2019
Great movie for art lovers. Also for people who thinking about the meaning of life. It deals with patterns of behavior in society. Reminds me of Roy Anderson films. It might be weird and incomprehensible for fans of blockbusters and Hollywood movies. But that is his strength. This is not a classic and common movie, this is an art-film about life and people. It was made from a series of stories presented by 56 beautifully realized frames. It makes you think, but at the same time it's really simple movie. Recommendations.
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