I Am Yours (2013)

Directed by: Iram Haq
Country: Norway

Movie Review: “I Am Yours” is an incisive drama coming from Norway, the first feature film by the actress-turned-director Iram Haq. The story is set in Oslo, where 27-year-old wannabe actress, Mina (Amrita Acharia), from Pakistani origin, lives a troubled life. Divorced from a successful architect and with a little son who needs constant attention, Mina is blamed by her parents for the situation she finds herself in. Despite the bad reputation among the family’s acquaintances and the continual rebukes from her mother, she seems to enjoy her freedom, having incessant encounters with other men and giving herself unreservedly in the relationships. When she gets to know Jesper (Ola Rapace), an unbalanced and insecure Swedish filmmaker, she finally hopes to settle down, departing to Sweden and taking her child with her. Will this be the opportunity she eagerly had been looking for? “I Am Yours” was made with attention to details and molded in an unambiguous way, leaving satisfactory impressions on how the impulsive and emotionally destructed Mina struggles in more than one front: family, love, profession, be herself. But for me, the most important factor was the visible concern with her son, and the persistent question hovering over her head: 'will I ever be a good mother?' With a competent direction, balanced performances, and a heartbreaking finale, “I Am Yours” was a positive surprise.

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Chasing The Wind (2013)

Directed by: Rune Denstad Langlo
Country: Norway

Movie Review: Rune Denstad Langlo’s sophomore fictional-feature, “Chasing The Wind”, was not skillful enough to arouse the same interest as the previous “North”(2009). The story follows Anna (Marie Blokhus) who lives in Germany and reluctantly returns to her small hometown ten years after a terrible accident that victimized her parents, in order to attend her grandmother’s funeral. The first minutes, without being much explanatory, make us anticipate family problems, which became more and more evident in conversations with her grumpy grandfather and her ex-boyfriend, for whom she still harbors strong feelings. The characters’ moods vary among anger, resentment, forgiveness, and ultimately understanding and acceptance of their fate. The problem comes from the fact that all these variations occur in too familiar tones, relying in a dragging pace and in a failed attempt to look poetic. The first real moments of some impact just arrived in its final moments with surprising revelations from Anna’s granddad, but they came too late to provoke us in a more acceptable way. The performances were forgettable and Langlo was never determined to leave his comfort zone, being the biggest responsible for the film’s pale temper. Aesthetically clean on visuals and with an unattractive original music by Ola Kvernberg, “Chasing The Wind” didn’t surpass the standard ways of storytelling.

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90 Minutes (2012)

Directed by: Eva Sorhaug
Country: Norway

Review: Eva Sorhaug’s second feature film aims to make a psychological study of three men through three different unrelated stories, which ended up in murder. The first story follows a man putting an end to his newspaper subscription and negotiating to get rid of his house. His behavior makes us suspect of financial problems and the sadness in his face is quite evident. The second story is about a disturbed man who doesn’t live with his family anymore, but keeps visiting them often. He has a strange look, and playing with his children seems to leave his ex-wife frightened. The final story depicts a shameful case of domestic violence, starting with a disgusting scene of a tied woman being raped by a man who is addicted to drugs. This is the most violent story, the most painful to watch, and slightly more interesting than the others, since we get to know a little more about the man in question. It’s hard to know what Sorhaug intended to show us with so underdeveloped characters and poor script. Broken homes? Hidden sickness? Evilness? The heavy stuff was so explicit, but the motives or what led to the actions are left aside, since nothing was said or shown about the characters’ past. Despite the vague hints that it might suggest, I got unsatisfied about the lack of depth in the characters' fabrication. The competent direction and convincing performances were the positive aspects of “90 Minutes”, a depressing and feeble analysis of three disturbing minds.

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The Almost Man (2012)

Directed by: Martin Lund
Country: Norway

Review: “The Almost Man” presents us a character study that isn't so penetrating, leaving me expecting something more. Henrik is 35, and apparently have a happy life. He has a good job, friends who care for him, and seems to have a very stable and joyful relationship with his girlfriend, who is expecting his baby. But these first moments of the story revealed to be deceitful, since Henrik denoted an erratic behavior, immaturity, and selfishness. His adventures are everything but normal, filled with odd episodes such as piss inside his girlfriend’s friend’s car, partying without control, or attack a workmate. Besides, he is completely unable to have a decent conversation or understand his partner’s needs, always with a stupid joke ready to say in the worst moments. Impatient in his job, he ended up quitting in a childish way, after spend some time hiding in corridors and fooling around. The funniest moment of the film was when Henrik abandoned his squash mates, grumbling and sulking like a kid, and went to a bus stop, refusing their ride. This scene showed clearly his personality, rejoicing with the foolish situation created in the middle of the road. Not so anarchic as its obnoxious main character, Martin Lund’s second feature film has exposed promising situations but not always concluded them in the most satisfying way.

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All That Matters Is Past (2012)

Directed by: Sara Johnsen
Country: Norway

Review: Sara Johnsen’s third feature-film had a promising start, but in fact did not provide us with a great storytelling. It reconstructs the happenings that led to a double killing, involving William and Ruud, two brothers who hated each other since childhood, when they both moved from Sweden to Norway and fell in love with the same girl, Janne. The latter, as only witness, will clarify the story, which was oddly narrated by the policewoman responsible for the investigation. Using frequent flashbacks to their youth, the plot was a prolonged mess of encounters and separations, jealous situations, abandoned babies, illegal immigration, kidnaps, and sexual abuses. The incidents, presented in a confusing order, diverted our attention from the story’s center. Actually, the film drags for long periods, evincing a slowness of processes that never pushed me to care much about its characters. Using a tragic soundtrack along with a sorrowful narration, “All That Matters Is Past” is a bleak tale that often uses unnecessary scenes to impress (like a childbirth or a goat’s slaughter) and almost never shakes the viewer for the right reasons. Merely a promise…

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