Movies
Reconstruction is a warm, fuzzy and romantic film, set in a world of cold bewilderment and intrigue, scoring high marks in just about every department that matters
A strong, unique and captivating film that draws a few parallels to older classics, but stands well on its own. A true delight, sadly looked over by most people.
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to catch Christoffer Boe's new film Beast, right before its big iTunes release.
Christoffer Boe returns to the big screen with a film tailored to his skills. No plot-driven Scandinavian crime spin-off this time around, but a romance about a smoldering marriage that's slowly devoured by ambition and dreams. The stylish soundtrack and lavish cinematography set this film apart, captivating performances and a nicely structured plot add to the overall quality. It's not quite as edgy or ambitious as his earliest films, but it's nice to see that Boe's signature is still alive and well.
Even though I used to be a major Christoffer Boe fan, the poor availability of Offscreen got in the way of me actually catching the film. After a while, I forgot about it and it never crossed my path again. It's never too late to catch up with films you missed out on though, and so, a good 15 years after it was released, I sat down to give Offscreen a go. Nicolas Bro plays himself. A successful actor who contacts director Boe because he wants to make a documentary film. He gets a camera and he starts filming his life. The camera becomes an obsession and instead of making a wholesome romantic doc, it records the downward spiral he finds himself in. It's a fun meta project that has a bit of extra appeal when you're familiar with Boe and Bro. The idea is solid, the performances are great and the film ends with a big bang. It's just that the DV setup isn't the nicest to look at, which is a shame as Boe's films are known for having glorious cinematography. Still a pretty cool flick, though not up there with his best work.Read all
Journal 64 is the fourth entry in a Scandinavian crime film series. I haven't seen the earlier parts, then again I only watched this because Christoffer Boe directed this film. It's a stand-alone story, so there's no real need to watch the earlier parts. After Journal 64, I'm not really inclined to seek them out either. The three detectives of dept. Q get a new case on their hands. Three corpses are found behind a walled-in room. The one who rented the apartment is nowhere to be found, but all clues point to a shelter on a little island. This place took in young girls who were seen as morally reprehensible. It's a typical Scandinavian police procedural. A 2-hour runtime is too long, the build-up is pretty predictable and the twist rather laughable. The performances are one point though, and you can see flashes of Boe's brilliance, but the result is little more than an elevated TV series episode. A waste of talent.Read all
Visions of Europe
I like a good anthology, but when there are too many directors and the project is a little too vague or open-ended, it's difficult to turn it into something coherent (not just a random bunch of shorts bunched together). Visions of Europe is a miss in that regard, but it's still worth checking out. The title is pretty self-explanatory. 25 directors from 25 different European countries were given the chance to direct a short film about Europe. They were given free rein, which means you'll find many different ideas and approaches here, though few are actual straightforward narratives. There are some pretty familiar and respected names (Tarr, Boe, Greenaway), but most of the directors are pretty niche and have limited appeal outside of their bubbles. There's a handful of memorable shorts, the rest is pretty forgettable, but it's at least quite varied and the shorts are well short, so it never gets too dull.Read all