The Door

Within last decades, suspense thrillers have become trendy, and novelists and screenwriters try to create the source materials as mind-twisting and twisted as possible. While focusing on such a turn/twist, they form rather trivial story around it - intentionally or spontaneously. All this applies to the film in question, where the basic story is rather trivial, with keywords as middle-class family, jealousy, adultery... Well, a certain twist provides additional food for thought and even criminal moments, but all this is often difficult to follow, and collisions between someone and his/her younger version via traveling in time is not too compelling. The ending scenes add some action, but the solution is - well, you just shrug your shoulders...

As usual, Mads Mikkelsen gives a strong performance (in German), and there are a few scenes without his presence, but the rest are just good, not more; anyway, admirers of Mikkelsen and/or psychological drama thrillers do probably see more interesting angles.

A father who lost his daughter by his reckless but he soon get a another chance to save her life... After that he face lot of consequences becozz of time travel and his own daughter disagree that he is not her father... Little boring and confused story and illogical scenes.. One time watchable...

A father who lost his daughter by his reckless but he soon get a another chance to save her life... After that he face lot of consequences becozz of time travel and his own daughter disagree that he is not her father... Little boring and confused story and illogical scenes.. One time watchable........

First I want to say that I have a couple of problems with the plot, some points that have got snagged in my mind and made me wonder, "But why didn't the writer...?". This is one of those times when I wish I had read the book (if there was a book) before watching the film to see if those points arise from the story or how the story was translated into film, but that would obviously defeat the purpose and kill the suspense, so I am better off having seen the film first. Let me say, seeing the film from beginning to end, I forgive those snags.

I will not repeat what the plot summary says. I just want to add that I liked the light world/dark world division, the secrets the supposedly light world hides and perhaps its reflections unto real world. I like the acting in general, the relatively slow pace of a thriller and how that slowness, without actually pacing up, makes the heart pace up and pulls the watcher into it. It's a make believe that you get lost in.

I wonder why there isn't a poster submitted to this web site, why the actors don't have photographs and why there isn't much buzz about the film. I wish the worldwide movie producers made use of a popular web site like this.

The premise of this story is so utterly ridiculous, that you rapidly appreciate that it can go in any direction. Whatever the writers choose to pursue as the actual tale, is entirely their right.

What they do pursue, is a tense little drama based around the situation that the magic creates. The result is a dark, edgy, occasionally morbid fairy tale - one could argue that all fairy tales are like that anyway.

Mads gives his usual beautiful-teak performance (I'm sure the man has more than one act... then again, I don't really care if he does), and the supporting cast, particularly the wife and daughter, are excellent.

I did like the way the story gets on top of you, and accelerates. There is a story by Charles Stross that this movie reminds me of, but I can't give you the name without spoiling (it's also not one of his better tales I'm afraid).

Where I could possibly knock off points would be maybe in the logic, but then this isn't an SF tale, it's fantasy. It's also a little long for the tale it tells, it could have been just a bit more compressed for the content. Finally, it's just not a work that moved me - it's good, it's gripping, it's entertaining. But it's not high art.

I can recommend this film, just don't expect it to blow your mind.

An interesting concept no doubt, 'The Door' just doesn't execute it all that well.

It starts off decently and I was interested in seeing where it would go. However, I feel like it lost its way very quickly and suddenly became rather underwhelming. The performances of Mads Mikkelsen (who's German was actually dubbed by Ingo Hülsmann, annoyingly) and Jessica Schwarz, while more than fine, don't set the film alight either - nor do any other elements of this 2009 release.

A disappointment all in all. Forgettable!

/////////// s/o the cast: Mads Mikkelsen Jessica Schwarz Valeria Eisenbart Heike Makatsch Tim Seyfi Thomas Thieme.