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Hævnen (2010)
Violent revenge does not create a better world
In a Better World is a gripping story of two families united through tragedy and misfortunes. Christian, the main character, is a young boy who is dealing with the loss of his mother and his distant father. While Christian deal with his mother's death, he and his father, Claus, move to a new town and Christian is enrolled in a new school. At the new school, Christian becomes friends with Elias, a young boy who is bullied at school and does not make friends easily. These two boys struggle through their trials together and learn about revenge, betrayal, forgiveness, trust and friendships. Christian is the only person who will defend Elias when he is bullied by other kids at school. Christian's first act of defense is to threaten and beat up the boy who bullies Elias. Christian gets himself into trouble with this and from here his troubles spiral out of control because of his desire to get revenge on those who have done something wrong.
Along with his problems at school, Elias also has problems to deal with at home. His parents are in the midst of a divorce and his father is rarely around as he travels to Africa frequently to serve as a doctor. Because of this, Elias seems lost and alone before he becomes friends with Christian.
There are many prevalent themes throughout the film that are very relatable to most viewers. Many complex relationships are portrayed throughout the film and serve to add depth and meaning to the story. The relationship between Anton and Marianne, Elias' parents, is very strained and effects Elias and the way he acts in school. Elias and his father have a stereotypical father-son relationship, except that Elias' father travels a lot and is not always around. This puts a lot of stress on Elias and he does not always have someone to talk to about his problems. When Elias and his father are shown talking via skype, it is clear that Elias just wants someone to talk to, but his father is too distant and almost seems to not care about his son's troubles while he is away. The relationship between Christian and his father is also strained. Christian and his father do not communicate with each other and this causes them to not get along. Claus puts a lot of pressure on Christian to be good, but Christian does not agree with the way his father thinks and acts how he wants regardless of his father. The relationship between Elias and Christian is the most prevalent relationship seen in the film. Their relationship is built on kindness towards each other, but as the film goes on, their friendship becomes strained when they have different views on how to deal with situations. In the beginning, they are able to find common ground and bond over the fact that their parents are not together, although for different reasons. In the end, Christian and Elias' relationship works because they both want the same thing, they both want to fit in and be important to someone.
One of the biggest themes in the film is revenge and violence. It seems as though everyone in the film wants to get revenge on someone somehow. Christian and Elias want revenge on the boy who bullied Elias, they also want revenge on a man that hit Elias' father. Marianne wants some sort of revenge for the way that she was treated by Anton. The young boys see revenge as a way to solve problems, however, their parents do their best to teach the boys that revenge will not solve any problems. We also see the residents of the camp in Africa where Anton works wanting to get revenge. They end up acting violently, similar to the way that Christian and Elias acted when they wanted revenge against the bully in school. Through this film, we are able to see bullying from the perspective of a young school boy and from the perspective of adults. We see that this cruelness exists in childhood and sometimes continues into adulthood. Bullying also occurs across cultures as we see when Anton is working in Africa. We are able to see this story from the point of view of a child and of an adult which adds to the complexity of the emotions shown throughout the film.
I found it difficult to relate to the characters and sympathize with them as I have never gone through any trials similar to these. I could not image ever acting like Christian and Elias or thinking of ways similar to theirs to get revenge. The boys come up with very extreme ideas to get revenge. I was taught at a young age that getting revenge rarely solves anything and I found myself feeling frustrated with the young boys for acting the way they did.
I enjoyed the acting in the film. I felt pulled into the story by the emotions shown by each character and the way that the characters dealt with their emotions. Through these different emotions, the film was able to deepen and move forward. I was especially impressed by Trine Dyrholm's acting. After seeing her in other movies, I am impressed by the different characters that she is able to portray. None of the characters seemed at all the same and she brought a different element to each of the characters I have seen her act as.
Over all, I found the film to be very dramatic and emotional. I would not watch this film again because I did not enjoy the drama and I thought that the way the boys dealt with their emotions was far beyond what any actual 10 year old would do. Throughout the film, I questioned the actions of the characters and I thought there were some aspects that were unrealistic.
Mies vailla menneisyyttä (2002)
A man without a past refuses to let anything get in his way
A Man Without a Past is a feel good movie about a man who is persistent and wants to make his way in life without bothering others. Just as the title suggests, the story follows a man who does not remember anything about his past. He was beat up by thugs in a park; when he woke up, he could not remember his name, where he was from, or any other personal information. I enjoyed watching this movie because I felt an emotional connection to the main character. I found myself feeling bad for the main character because of all the trials that he is forced to go through despite his motivation and desire to live a normal life. His life is hectic and unknown, yet all he wants to do is live in peace with the rest of the world. He goes through the same basic trials as normal people and deals with all of his mishaps in a very reasonable way.
Themes that are developed throughout the film include friendships and relationships and the trust that comes along with these relationships; homelessness in Finland is also portrayed throughout the film by showing many characters who live in less than desirable housing and do not work. The main character is shown traveling in the beginning of the film and continues traveling throughout the movie. He is first introduced on a train ride as he is traveling somewhere. We do not know where, just that he is on his way somewhere. Throughout the film, he travels small distances and learns about himself as he goes on these short journeys.
The main character develops relationships with many of the other characters in the film. These relationships add to the story and give depth to the plot. He first meets a man and his family who help him back to health after he is beaten. For no reason at all, the family helps the man and are kind and generous towards him. Although the family is kind to the man and offer him a place to stay, he wants to be independent and not have to rely on charity. He finds a small shack to stay in for minimal rent. Throughout the film, he develops a relationship with the man that he is renting the shack from. The relationship starts out rocky because the land lord is threatening and harsh, however, by the end, they act as friends would towards each other. The main character also develops a romantic relationship with a female friend, Irma. At first, Irma is apprehensive about starting a relationship; their relationship may be seen as inappropriate because Irma works at the Salvation Army that he receives hand outs from. When the two characters are shown together, they are cordial but also seem uncomfortable and make the viewer feel awkward. However, their relationship adds to the film by showing how the main character is able to move on and continue his life, despite all of the unknowns.
In all of these relationships, trust between characters is very evident. Even though none of the characters have known each other for very long, they learn that there is a need to rely on others and be reliable for others if they are going to be prosperous. The overarching theme of trust adds to the film and the "feel good" vibe that it gives off.
Homeless is represented in the movie by showing many characters who live with minimal housing and food. These characters are portrayed as lazy and incompetent. They are taken care of by others who provide them with soup once a week and other handouts. The main character, who is also homeless, acts differently than other homeless characters. Despite his situation, he does his best to provide for himself and live an honest life. He works hard and does his best given his circumstances. I was impressed by his determination to get back on his feet and provide for himself.
A Man Without a Past left me feeling fulfilled after watching it. I was impressed by the main character's attitude about his situation. He does not give up and just wants to have a normal life. As the relationships between characters develop throughout the film, we are able to see the impact that someone can have on another person's life. We are also able to see the importance of having a support system. I think that everyone goes through some sort of trial in their life and is able to relate to this movie on some level.
Festen (1998)
No cause for celebrations
The opening scene of The Celebration sets the tone for the whole movie with the younger brother acting cruelly towards his wife and children and then getting angry at the hotel receptionist. As each character is introduced, we are shown a side of them that implies anger and frustration. Each member of the family has a very different personality and there is tension between each of the characters throughout the movie. The various members of the family are introduced as they are gathering for their father's 60th birthday party. The movie continues by introducing the main plot line and then reiterating the conflicts surrounding this one problem, rather than building on it or introducing other story lines.
At the birthday dinner, the eldest brother, Christian, is asked to give a speech for his father's birthday. Through this speech, Christian reveals a family secret and sets the movie in motion; the rest of the movie is spent readdressing this one problem. After the secret is revealed, the guests of the party are convinced that it is not true, and everyone returns to their dinner while Christian leaves. When Christian returns, he is insistent that he is telling the truth and begins to convince some guests of his credibility. Again, he leaves and returns to continue to try to convince others of the truth of his secret. The film continues in this way, with the conflict between Christian and his family. The film does not seem to be going anywhere except back and forth between the two sides of the argument. No one is winning and no one is losing. The movie does not move forward until the very end; and when it does move forward, the movie is over.
The camera angles throughout the film add to the drama but also give the movie the feeling of a horror film rather than a drama. The various angles make it seem as though a mass murderer is going to appear out of hiding at any point in time and torture any of the characters around. The movie, however, is far from a horror film and could do without the filming from the upper far corner of a room with a fish eye lens. The quality of the film is also less than desirable and makes it seem like a very old film that was cheaply produced. The movie required hand-held cameras which makes for quick and uneasy movements which add to the feeling of a horror film.
The scene with Helene, Christian's sister, in their dead sister's room, when they are playing getting warmer, is perhaps when different camera angles are most utilized and the film has a spooky feeling. During this scene, it almost seems as if the ghost of the dead sister will appear and Helene will be traumatized by seeing her sister's ghost.
The movie seems to be documented as a home movie, which creates of feeling of reality. With no special effects or perfect lighting, the movie is simple and believable. The acting adds to the feeling of reality. It is done well with a variety of characters and various personalities. Each of the family members have a large role to fill. They seem to not even be acting; they are just a family with real problems and are allowing someone to film them in their everyday conflicts.
The film uses the characters to emphasize gender role stereotypes. Michael dominates and controls his wife, but also has a conflict with Michelle, a waitress, who he has led to believe he will marry and share his wealth with. Christian, Michael, and Helene's father is the main source of conflict in the movie and his wife stands by his side to defend and obey him. She submits to his requests and acts as you would expect a stereotypical wife to act throughout the majority of the movie. When Christian first begins his speech, it is clear that his father knows that his secret is about to be revealed. As all the other guests are laughing, Helge appears nervous and uncomfortable. While Christian is delivering his speech, he attempts to seem lighthearted and jovial and does not want to make anyone uncomfortable. This, however, is not an option and everyone appears immediately shocked. His mother attempts to quiet Christian and defend his father, furthering emphasizing the gender roles seen throughout the film.
The Celebration is filmed using only hand held cameras and no artificial lighting. The actors seem to not be acting, but rather living their lives and allowing it to be recorded. This styles allows for the film to seem like a home video in which everything is real and it is easy to enjoy because there are some very relatable aspects throughout the movie. The plot, however, has no depth. After the initial controversy is introduced, nothing is done to deepen the plot or move towards finding a solution.