Suddenly

Directed by Johan Brisinger
Written by Johan Brisinger and Mikael Bengtsson

****
Complicated relationships are explored in this beautifully paced drama, in which a father and his oldest son must cope with the sudden loss of half their family.

We are briefly introduced to the family of four before the car crash which claims the lives of the mother and youngest son.  The accident is not dwelled on, but serves as a buffer between the bustling normality of that morning and the severe contrast we discover nearly a year later.

Seventeen year old Jonas has been left scarred and limping, and exists in shadowy isolation, unable to talk to his father – or anyone else.  Lars is physically healthy, but cannot cope with his grief and refuses to speak about the missing members of the family.

After a transparent suicide attempt, the two journey to their family’s summer house on an island off the Swedish coast.  Slowly beginning to interact with members of the community, Lars and Jonas make separate, sometimes shocking, attempts to heal and become a functioning unit once more.

So far, so melodramatic – but Suddenly (Underbara Älskade) easily avoids the trap of sentimentality.  The film has a poetic feel, and the stunning Swedish scenery and quality acting lift it above the ordinary.  Michael Nyqvist, a veteran of Swedish cinema, delivers a note perfect performance, managing to make us care for Lars even at his self-destructive worst.  The expressive Anastasios Soulis, a young actor of Finnish and Greek heritage (reportedly fluent in Swedish, Finnish, Greek and English!) is an absolute gem as Jonas, who talks tough but can’t hide the hurt in his eyes.

Honest and highly watchable, the film remained in the top ten at the Swedish Box Office for fifteen weeks, and received people’s choice awards at several European film festivals – with good reason.

This review was originally written for an online magazine, and is republished with permission.

The Visitor

Written and directed by Thomas McCarthy

****

Walter Vale is a middle aged college professor, a greying, invisible nobody who delivers lectures in a monotone and utterly neglects his students.  Although he’s living an aimless, solitary life and appears to have given up on just about everything, there’s still a little fight left in him: he’s stubbornly, hopelessly trying to learn the piano.

Trapped into travelling to New York to attend a conference, Walter (Richard Jenkins, in a standout performance) reluctantly returns to his long vacant New York apartment, where a dramatic encounter with a young immigrant couple gradually changes his entire outlook on life.

As Walter’s unlikely friendship with talented musician Tarek progresses, even the young man’s initially disapproving girlfriend Zainab begins to open up.  With their help Walter is able to take an interest in life again – but his newfound fulfilment is tested in unexpected ways when Tarek is abrubtly arrested as an illegal immigrant, and his worried mother and girlfriend are unable to visit him.

The strength of The Visitor is its focus on the characters.  By making it a story about individuals rather than a statement about US immigration services, we’re engrossed in people’s reactions to the situation.  Writer/director Tom McCarthy hopes it will humanise the problem for US audiences, since “we’re not just talking about issues… we’re talking about human beings.”

An absorbing tale of cultural collisions, music, love, and second chances, The Visitor is by turns thoughtful, wistful, funny, awkward, and romantic.  It’s an indictment on anyone who goes through their day without thinking about others, and it’s a must see for anyone in search of a film capable of provoking and entertaining at the same time.

This review was originally written for an online magazine, and is republished with permission.