John og Mia

"John og Mia" is a 25-minute short from Danish director Christian Dyekjær. It is based on the good idea of a middle-aged man discovering his own daughter as the star of one of the adult movies he rents at the local gas station to comfort him in his not too stimulating life as a widowed truck driver.

The idea is good because it is surprising and because it begs action of the man and confrontation not only with his daughter, but with the detachment they have suffered. Without saying too much, the ending seems to say that estrangement within family can only ever be shallow - father and daughter share more than puts them apart.

Style is something different entirely. With its video pictures and dark lighting in anonymous settings this film offers a mood and a pace of its own, but fails to tell the story with anything except the most necessary ability. There are a few unnecessary scenes, and the entertainment level is not high. Dick Kaysø plays the father and more or less blends in with the interiors while Mira Wanting is the daughter who does well in those scenes that underline her sensibility as a woman and a daughter, especially the final scene. Actor and singer Niels Skousen is seen in a small role.

I liked this short film!

It is a quite thought provoking thing; how would you react if you suddently saw your daughter in a x-rated film?

Christian Dyekjær has commited a very nice little film that sadly has been a bit underrated, cause it is definately a little masterpiece of it's own, and it surely does not make it worse that Mira Wanting, who plays John's daughter Mia, is a nice little dish who can lighten up any movie. But this is good, I defintately recommend it, without wanting to spoint too much of the story. The end however is a little up to the viewer to decide, but I'm pretty sure that is the directors intention aswell.

7/10