VividSimon Simply Perfect

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

peefyn This is a funny, enjoyable movie without much of a moral compass. It's a typical Danish black comedy, other than the fact that it's made in Norway by Norwegians and with a Swede as the title character. But the screenwriter is Danish, and it shows.The plot is simple. The "nice guy" is let out of prison, and meets with old acquaintances. He is asked to kill the guy who got him in jail in the first place, and also given a place to live and a place to work. In a way, the movie is about seizing the opportunities that arises, but also show how that can lead you down directions you didn't want to go.And the moral of the story, well, it's not really there. It's dark, it's funny, and it does not feel it have to satisfy your conscience.

melquiadesestrada This is definitely a different kind of movie. At first I couldn't quite swallow it. Like one of those wired Frennch delicacies that taste so unexpectedly you can't decide whether to chew on or drop them out of your mouth. Yet, if you resist a bit further for your mouth and brain to accommodate, you find that the experience was one so rich and subtle it lingers on your senses for days.There's not the least bit of glamor or pretence in this movie. The plot seem to develop rather too slowly, the dialogues do not have the sparkle which tingles the intellect and makes you feel smarter, the people are not handsome but slightly old, worn out, ordinary people and the sex scenes are stripped of magic, eroticism and, well, desire. Nevertheless, behind it all there's this gentleness, humour and a kind of sadness almost heartbreaking. Each character has a history of abandonment, abuse, absence of love behind them, which sort of handicaps the way they connect to other people, makes their words and gestures rather abrupt, apparently lacking emotion. And there's this "gentle man", a former cold blooded murderer, who can see their despondency and incidentally tries to give them a bit of what they need. In doing so, he attempts to shut a door on his bleak past. And it's not because he wants to be a new better man, but because he can no longer be the man that he was. He simply needs to be the father and the lover he was refused for many years, he needs to have an ordinary life. "Spring is coming", his reply at the end of the movie, and the small contemplative smile it's a welcome addressed to a life of better choices and the relief after just killing the last "shadow" of his past. Now I can tell no more without spoiling the movie, but I highly recommend it. Also, I recommend that you be patient. Even if you can't enjoy it from the very first, see it through. It will worth your while. I give this movie a 9 out of 10.

jotix100 Ulrik, a sort of taciturn middle aged man, is seen getting out of prison as the story begins. Having served time, he is facing an uncertain world. The former con wants to get away from his past life, but alas, his former boss, Rune, has a different idea, he wants Ulrik to take care of the man that was responsible for sending him to jail.A newly released prisoner is not exactly what employers look forward to hire, but with a bit of influence from Rune, he is engaged as a auto mechanic in the shop run by a man that wants Ulrik to concentrate in fixing the problems brought to him, and do not get involved with Merete, the lady that takes care of the books in the office of the garage.Rune is even able to get Ulrik a basement room with his sister, Karen Margarethe, a lady of uncertain age, who takes pity on the man. Karen starts by bringing Ulrik a second hand television set, as well as meals she prepares. The lodger finds a way to make the set to work, being able to catch a Polish broadcast of a program similar to 'Dancing With the Stars', something that hooks the landlady into coming to visit Ulrik with the meals she cooks for him. It does not take long before Karen Margarethe and Ulrik are copulating in his room.When Ulrik's boss gets sick, he must be taken to a hospital. Merete also begin getting closer to Ulrik, who likes her as well. The ex-con is interested in renewing the relationship with his son, something that he misses. When Rune pressures Ulrik to get rid of the stool pigeon that fingered him, but Rune has a surprise for his former boss.We were pleasantly surprised by this film when we saw it IFC recently. It takes the viewer a while to get into the picture, but Hans Peter Moland, its director, kept us involved in this tale about a man that wants to reintegrate into society, but his past life keeps getting in his way. The screenplay is Kim Fupz Aakeson. It is a dark film that works well because once one gets into the story, it is a joy ride until the ironic twist at the end.Stellan Skarsgard, the Swedish actor, has never been better. His Ulrik is an amazing creation that deserves to be seen by serious movie fans. The supporting cast is wonderful. Bjorn Floberg, the amazing Jorunn Kjellsby as Karen Margarethe, and Jannike Krusse do a fantastic job for Mr. Moland.

OJT A Kaurismäki-style dark comedy about a man coming out of prison after a 12 year sentence. Stellan Skarsgårds character gets lots of complications, even though most are willing to give the convicted man a lot a chances to begin a new life, with warnings to not ever looking behind at the past.That is of course impossible, starting over in his old environment of a run down Oslo suburb. Everyone gives him a chance, even the old acquainted mafia-boss, which wants him to kill again. Women of all kinds still finds him attractive, and his old debt to the local mafia-boss makes life more complicated than it should be. Is he ready to kill again? Hans Petter Moland got lots of praise at Berlin Filmfestival with this worn down comedy. Especially the "sex for food"-scenes with his landlady, being the jealous sister of the mafia-boss, was making a buzz.The film functions as a nice story, and is good entertainment, but seems to lack a little in the manuscript to make it a classic. The casting is perfect, though, and this film could really have been an instant classic. Still there's scenes that is quite memorable, and there's hope even in a quite hopeless situation. Moland still gives his audience films we remember!