I don't believe my comment contains any spoilers. But just in case someone might feel it does, I marked the spoiler-box.
Some of the commentators have called this movie one of the funniest ever. So, I was expecting to laugh a lot. However, to my surprise I did not laugh a single time. This does not mean that I want to say this is a boring movie, not at all. I just couldn't laugh. I saw the comic element in Keith's behaviour all right, but I believe, for me he has not so much been a funny figure but rather a tragic and a sad one. The laughter, so to speak, got stuck in my throat. Maybe this is because I could see elements of Keith's character in many people, including myself. The urge to control everything, and at the same time the tears of desperation, when he finds that this is just not possible. But his tears may also express the longing to be freed from the curse laid on him.
On the other hand, there is much to be said about the other characters too. They are far from being the heroes of this story, just as little as Keith is the anti-hero. Why does Keith's wife accept, to near self-abandonment, nearly all of his painfully annoying behaviour? Why does the couple with the motorbike act so irresponsibly? Putting his exaggerated reactions aside for a moment, Keith is actually right, when he speaks up against lighting an open fire in this environment, and he is also right in expecting some consideration from the couple for his desire to sleep, when they come back late at night.
All in all, the characters of this movie are not black and white at all. Just laughing at Keith does not do him justice. The real strength of this film is to my opinion that it shows the complexity and ambivalence of each character. All of the people in it are human beings. They, including Keith, are all of us.
Some of the commentators have called this movie one of the funniest ever. So, I was expecting to laugh a lot. However, to my surprise I did not laugh a single time. This does not mean that I want to say this is a boring movie, not at all. I just couldn't laugh. I saw the comic element in Keith's behaviour all right, but I believe, for me he has not so much been a funny figure but rather a tragic and a sad one. The laughter, so to speak, got stuck in my throat. Maybe this is because I could see elements of Keith's character in many people, including myself. The urge to control everything, and at the same time the tears of desperation, when he finds that this is just not possible. But his tears may also express the longing to be freed from the curse laid on him.
On the other hand, there is much to be said about the other characters too. They are far from being the heroes of this story, just as little as Keith is the anti-hero. Why does Keith's wife accept, to near self-abandonment, nearly all of his painfully annoying behaviour? Why does the couple with the motorbike act so irresponsibly? Putting his exaggerated reactions aside for a moment, Keith is actually right, when he speaks up against lighting an open fire in this environment, and he is also right in expecting some consideration from the couple for his desire to sleep, when they come back late at night.
All in all, the characters of this movie are not black and white at all. Just laughing at Keith does not do him justice. The real strength of this film is to my opinion that it shows the complexity and ambivalence of each character. All of the people in it are human beings. They, including Keith, are all of us.