Un chic type

I consider myself a fan of Scandinavian crime thrillers, but those were shot primarily in Sweden or Denmark; I have not seen too many Norwegian films (however, the one before this, Hodejegerne, I enjoyed a lot), and I was prepared for slow pace and long frames without text, but still - I found the first half an hour or so too protracted. Thereafter, I probably got used to it and enjoyed this odd and hectic running of events, giftedly performed by catchy character actors - Stellan Skarsgård as Ulrik, above all (he should have been got more awards for this role), as well as all actresses regardless their duration on screen. I had no fits of laughter, but I giggled a lot and shared the feelings of peculiar sorts of people with different age and background. The scenes preceding the very ending could have been with more twists, but nevertheless, this film is recommended to admirers of films where all characters have issues.

It's amazing that even on a renowned Festival as the one in Berlin, there can be shown movies like this. It's not really something you (or in that case I) would expect to see there. Yes it has Stellan S., but the story as it is, is very bleak and humorous to say the least. A story that you would expect to pop up at other Festivals then. Especially with the crude humour, it's way of not pulling punches (but indeed delivering them) and characters that are way out there.

A few gross scenes, that are not necessarily violent, because sometimes even "romance" can be "brutal" to watch, as the viewers were moaning in a bad way at some scenes ... which you'll understand, once you watch the movie. Still very engaging and very well played. I liked it a lot.

A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010)

Norwegians, even more than Swedes or Danes (at least in their films) seem to be glum, dour sorts. And our leading man, a big Norseman (played by Swedish great Stellan Skarsgard) just out of jail after serving 12 years for murder, is unhappy. But now, getting a job as a mechanic and living in the basement of the mechanic's wife, he is surrounded by such an odd assortment of regular people, his colorfully mundane struggle to survive and get a little along the way is hilarious and moving.

It wouldn't be helpful to say exactly what happens--that he crosses up two women, that he tries to reunite with his son who's expecting a baby, that he has to "settle accounts" with some thugs who won't leave him alone. It's how these things happen, and who plays the characters, that makes this film really great fun. And expert fun. This is a tale well told, comic, patient, clever. The plot gets interwoven and impossible in a Shakespearean way (brought to a high pitch of plausible improbability by the delivery scene, you'll see), and so everything is tightly controlled. Even the music is a parody of itself, somehow, a light and spasmodic jazz funk score that helps make clear all of this is a little bit in fun, even when it gets awful in a couple parts.

The characters here are unpretty types, either homely or ravaged or just so maladjusted we see only their peculiarities. And that's a lot of the charm. There's no artificial glitz, no idealizing characters, no beauty on the side drawing the main character from the reality around him. You grow to identify with the people for who they are, and even though there is a comic airiness throughout, these people become very real, too. It's a delightful result, and I don't use the word delightful much any more. Don't miss it.

The story is about the oldest in the book of organised crime based drama: ex-con's past hinders him in starting over. That doesn't get in the way of this movie one bit. Skarsgard makes it work in this story of people who all took a beating from life somewhere, without it becoming sentimental anywhere.

an ex con released from prison finds his former buddies waiting for him to revive their mutual criminal careers. Skarsgard's Ulrich skillfully navigates through attempts to manipulate him and in the end does what he thinks is right. No big words, no big drama, just the subtle humor and Skarsgards solid Ulrich along with the strong performance of all cast makes this movie full of outcasts. A realistic yet entertaining watch.

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!