After accidentally meeting in Italy, a Dutch and a Danish couple meet again for a weekend in the Dutch countryside, where things go awfully wrong.
Shockingly suspenseful! It is the little things that will make your heart skip a beat. While nothing is ostensibly happening in Italy, Sune Kolster’s music wants you to know something will happen. What seems innocent or just odd initially will get unbearably awkward and uncomfortable later. The slow-paced editing builds up the narrative to make the audience a narrator who knows more than the Danish couple. But neither we nor them can foresee what is about to happen. A prime example of editing (or lack thereof) is when Agnes is told what to do on the table – the perfect establishment shot involving actions/reactions simultaneously is like a volcano ready to erupt. Other instances of incredible pace and rhythm involve the dancing competition and the chaos that follows.
There is nothing much to say without ruining the experience for you, so I’ll keep it short and conclude with the great acting. Morten Burian, Sidsel Siem Koch, Fedja van Huêt, Karina Smulders, and the kids play their part beautifully (I’m sure the kids don’t have the full picture), adding to a realism that will cut your breath. Writer/director, Christian Tafdrup’s visual explication of evilness, becomes a spine-chilling reminder that, arguably, the invention of monsters such as werewolves, vampires, and zombies might be our way of coping and/or even projecting a possessed “darkness” that we could never admit to ourselves…
Please, don’t forget to share and subscribe. If you enjoy my work and dedication to films, please feel free to support me on https://www.patreon.com/kaygazpro. Any contribution is much appreciated and valued.
Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
