Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Payne McMillan Erik Poppe's film Troubled Water De Usynlige (2008) shows the riveting narrative of a young man attempting to readjust after being freed from prison. Similar to Poppe's critically acclaimed, Hawaii, Oslo, this movie looks at how the lives of random people crossover and the dynamics of these intricacies. The film initially focuses on the recently incarcerated Jan Thomas Hansen (Pål Sverre Hagen), to the family who suffered because of his crime. Troubled Water is incredibly powerful film, effectively using a lot of religious themes and symbolism. Although this saturation of Christian imagery may be off-putting for a secular audience, if given a chance, this film portrays the church in a very positive manner, and delivers a message of redemption that sends the audience away feeling much warmer than they could have expected at the movie's commencement. When Thomas is released from jail, he surrenders his first name, Jan. Though this is for the practical purpose of being less recognizable from his case, which gained him a rather high profile, it also serves the purpose of showing his rebirth as a new person, rather than the wrongdoer who got him imprisoned. His crime: infanticide. Having few personable skills and soaked in self-loathing—killing a child has made him a detestable character to even the other inmates—Thomas takes his only skills, that of an organist, and finds employment in a church where he takes on a Quasimodo-esque role as an outcast musician. Even though he socially isolates himself, the church proves to be a welcoming place in which all people, whole and broken, are able to commune together. Thomas is continuously reminded of his dark past though, as he repeatedly encounters the priest's son, Jens, who reminds him quite a bit of the boy he killed. Thomas' encounters with the boy are masterfully caught by the camera; though the boy is cute and unthreatening, he pops up unexpectedly like the villain in a slasher flic, and terrifies Thomas. To him, Jens initially is a specter of his past, relentlessly reminding him of his old sins. But the priest, Anna (Ellen Dorrit Peterson) comforts Thomas until he is rehabilitated and is able to be around her son without freaking out. Harald Rosenløw-Eeg's screenplay is brilliantly baffling. It turns the perpetrator victim narrative entirely upside down as the audience comes to pity Thomas, the initial criminal. The story then breaks our hearts as we see the mother of the deceased, Agnes (Trine Dyrholm), step into Thomas' old shoes and transform into a terrifying stalker. Though her intentions are good (she is afraid that Jens will befall the same fate as her son did in the hands of Thomas) her methods are brazen. Whenever she creeps behind her son's killer, the camera takes on her vantage point, down to the lock of hair which obscures her vision in the upper left side of the screen. These shots are menacing. As Agnes sinks into depravity, it becomes unclear what her intentions are: whether she means to help Anna or hurt Thomas. The plot comes full circle when Agnes kidnaps Jens right under Thomas' nose. Even the names of the couples mirror each other: Jon and Agnes, Jan and Anna. Poppe's cinematographic choices also highlight the themes of baptism and renewal prevalent in the screenplay. Whenever the characters wade out into the deep river water, the image is reminiscent of Jesus' baptism in the Jordon. Eventually, Thomas' revisit of this location gives him the absolution that he has been seeking throughout the film. The anguished Agnes also is able to find the peace that she needs to be happy again in this encounter. They truly are able to wash away their troubles here. Before watching Troubled Waters I do recommend reviewing chapter twenty of the Gospel of John. This will lead to a richer understanding of the comparison between this films protagonist and the character "Doubting Thomas." Disbelief is another prevalent motif that all of the main characters have in common; even Anna who testifies to the power of belief in God without evidence has trouble believing her lover when she is in a difficult predicament. Perhaps the heavy allusion to this story is a way Poppe is appealing Christianity to his largest audience, Norwegians: a population that is constantly inching further away from an active religious identity. Either way, this film is a testament to the power of forgiveness and healing, which becomes easier when we are able to admit our transgressions rather than trying to deny or rewrite them in order to become a renewed person.If nothing else, this film is worth watching for the astoundingly beautiful organ music.

museumofdave This is not an easy film to watch--for many reasons. On the simplest level, it is a foreign film which demands the viewer read subtitles; more importantly, it is a film without an exact beginning, middle and end, instead developing a story of guilt and redemption by delivering several points of view, which may confuse viewers accustomed to a quick and easy narrative with simple solutions. It is compellingly acted by an ensemble cast, features some amazing music from a cathedral organ as well as that in the background, and is paced so that tension is continuously maintained. This is a film for adults who want challenging experiences from film.

Hitchcoc I just chanced upon this film. It is the story of a young man who makes a horrible mistake. Like so many bad decisions, this act directed the rest of his life. Now we find him out of prison, trying to hold on to a job as a church organist. What I thought was really a good move was to be sure that many were aware of his past. It would have been a much weaker film if he had secretly kept those in authority in the dark about why he was where he was. The interactions of the characters are believable and real. He develops a relationship with a woman and her child and then has to face the fact that his trust needs to be earned. He is filled with guilt and would like to start over, but his every move is scrutinized; his actions are being observed by the woman for whose child's death he is held responsible. The grieving of the family is palpable and it is hard to blame them. The central theme of forgiveness is here all along. How often have we heard that failure to forgive can poison us eventually. That is at work here again and it is handled impressively. The acting is subdued and controlled. There is no citizenry carrying pitchforks. I recommend this movie without hesitation.

lockrema "Troubled Water" is a suspenseful, mind-boggling movie, making the viewer feel sentimental from two different perspectives. I say this, because the movie shows different perspectives from both Jan and Agnes who are the main characters. At first I thought the movie was just going to be about Jan and how he is going to try and fit into society after he gets out of prison and all of a sudden the movie rewinds and shows how Agnes is dealing with the fact Jan just got out of jail after "murdering" her son. It was very confusing at first, but I feel the director Erik Poppe correlated this confusion very well to come up with a great ending. Meet Jan Thomas who is a confused, mysterious, and a distraught character trying to fit back into society. Jan who is played by Pal Sverre Valheim Hagen, was sentenced to prison for the murder of Isaac. He is hired after he is let out of prison to play organ for the Catholic Church in his city. He is a very talented musician, but I get the sense his music makes him think back on the crime he committed because he looks very torn and discomforted while he plays. Overall, I believe the murder of Isaac reflects his character and the person he is trying to be Agnes who is played by Trine Dyrholm, is a depressed, past dweller. She is the mother of Isaac, the boy Jan "murdered." The first time we meet Agnes one is not able to distinguish her character, but when she first sees Jan, one is able to see how she is a very confused person. She always is doing absurd actions through out the movie, because she is always thinking how to get back at Jan for what he did. The title "Troubled Water" is a very good title and theme for the movie, because every scene where there is water something always seems to go wrong. The river along with tears, all is uses of water reflecting these issues. Another important theme scene in the movie is stealing. In the beginning scene it shows Jan stealing Isaac away from Agnes when she enters the coffee shop. Also to get revenge on Jan, Agnes towards the end of the movie decides to steal Jan's girlfriend's son Jen. There were a few questions I had about the movie particularly relating to the Norwegian Judicial System and the ideology of Catholicism in Norway. As mentioned earlier, Jan was imprisoned for the murder of Agnes' son Isaac. I really want to know how much time he spent behind bars. In America, if someone is convicted of murder, they are sentenced to life. I know the Norwegian Judicial System is much different compared to the U.S., but wouldn't you think Jan would be sentenced longer? The movie doesn't necessarily say how long he was in prison, but one would think Jan's character would've looked more aged? It just seems absurd to me that he would've spent at the most ten years judging off of his character resemblance. Even flashbacks of Agnes when she was younger and scenes of her in the present seems as if Jan wasn't in prison for very long. I feel the director needed to make this clearer to not leave the viewer is such a confused state. Another criticism I have of this movie was how Catholicism was represented. Jan's girlfriend Anna who is a Catholic priest, is shown having a relationship with a man and on top of that, there is a scene where Jan and Anna are having sex. If I know correctly, a priest is not supposed to have relationships, yet alone have sex. Maybe the director of the movie is trying to demonstrate how Norwegians don't value religion as much, but it is appalling because this is not the Catholic way. To me these criticisms show how the director and the film writer are well- uneducated bringing down my rating of the movie. Overall I would give "Troubled Water" a 6 out of 10 stars. The movie had a very good plot and amazing imagery, but from my criticisms mentioned earlier, I feel some things just didn't make sense leaving me with a confused state.