Happy Sunday everyone! We’ve got a couple more MSPIFF 2014 reviews courtesy of Josh from JJAMES reviews.
Hotell (2013)
A Swedish film written and directed by Lisa Langseth, Hotell follows Erika (Alica Vikander), a beautiful and pregnant young woman with an almost idyllic life. Already moneyed and apparently successful, she and her husband, Oskar (Simon J. Berger), have a plan for including an infant in their lives, one that begins with a pre-arranged Caesarean Section.
But their plan falls apart when their son’s birth goes horribly wrong, a fact that mandates the couple adjust. Oskar manages well enough. Erika does not, instead slipping into deep depression, because of which she joins a support group that includes Rickard (David Dencik), Pernilla (Anna Bjelkerud), Anna-Sofi (Mira Eklund) and Peter (Henrik Norlen). Each of Erika’s new friends are, in their own way, ill, and, like Erika, tired of feeling conflicted, so when she proposes an unconventional plan to collectively escape their lives, for an indeterminate duration of time, they accept. Along they way, they informally try to help one another.
Hotell has many merits. First, and most notably, Langseth portrays mental illness exceptionally well, never playing it for laughs or forced sympathy, but rather showing its complexity and potentially debilitating consequences with acute empathy. It might be the best such portrayal I have ever seen, in any motion picture or television show.
Moreover, Erika and Rickard are complex, vibrant characters. Oskar could be one, as well, if he had received more focus. Plus, all of the performances are top-notch, especially Alicia Vikander’s. Her every expression shows a veneer of reserve and composure, but also underlying vulnerability mixed with grief and guilt, facts that are praiseworthy enough, but become all the more so when considering Vikander’s two most explosive scenes. She is award-worthy good. Mira Eklund, who plays Anna-Sofi perfectly, is almost her equal.
Yet, despite its many merits Hotell is not as emotionally moving as it could have been, largely because Langseth doesn’t develop her secondary characters well. Oskar all but disappears for most of the movie’s last three acts, and Peter, Pernilla and Anna-Sofi are too simplistically drawn. Just as their illnesses are not given enough attention.
It is doubly disappointing, because Langseth daringly bucks genre expectations. Here the therapy group is not particularly good for each other, and none of them are necessarily ‘cured,’ facts that help solidify Hotell’s themes. And would have done so even more powerfully if some of the characters had been better developed.
Mystery Road (2013)
Mystery Road is ostensibly a police procedural about Australian outback Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pederson), who investigates the murders of indigenous girls. In that sense, the film is predictable, opening with Swan being assigned a murder case and following him through his investigation. Eventually, of course, he learns the truth, and then must grapple with the personal consequences of his new, and dangerous, knowledge. If we only consider the plot, Mystery Road is borderline formulaic and certainly not inventive. On the other hand, if that is all we consider, we are unfairly pigeonholing this complex movie.
Because, in a master-class display of showing not telling, filmmaker Ivan Sen (the picture’s writer, director, editor, cinematographer & composer) ensures the story is tertiary, important only as a vehicle to represent setting and characters, in that order. Therein is why Mystery Road opens with sweeping, late-night aeriel shots of the rural outback. The wide angles are impressive, but made all the more so by their juxtaposition with close-ups of a truck driver (Hayden Spencer) using a flashlight to check his rig’s tires and then, after hearing a howling dog, to light his walk through nearby terrain. The sequence is wordless and slowly paced, meaning our focus is on the location, not the trucker himself and certainly not his actions. Perhaps that’s why we’re startled when he finds the first body, that of Julie Mason.
At that point, Sen cuts to protagonist Jay Swan. Now we watch the detective, becoming intimately connected to him at the same time we learn more about Winton, a rural town. Swan asks his Sergeant (Tony Barry) for extra manpower to help him investigate Julie’s death, but he’s rebuffed. So he works alone, encountering racism aplenty. Some of the residents he meets are indigenous, like Swan’s ex-wife, Mary (Tasma Walton), and his daughter, Crystal (Tricia Whitton). They live in small houses. Others are white and own farms with larger homes. Still others, including Johno (Hugo Weaving), are morally obscure, leaving us to ponder their objectives. All of which contributes to Mystery Road’s greatest strength: neither Sen’s filmmaking technique nor his screenplay tell us what to think; he shows the conditions in which his characters live and trusts that we’ll understand his message.
That Jay is well developed and that Pederson is captivating helps, as well. As do the strong supporting performances (special mention to Weaving and Walton), and the interesting secondary characters, most of which make sense. Johno is the lone exception. Even in the movie’s climax, we do not comprehend his motives. Johno is Mystery Road’s biggest misstep, but it is easy to overlook. As is the film’s other mistake: having so many characters that tracking them is difficult.
The flaws do not limit the picture’s effectiveness, because Sen’s minimalist filmmaking is entrancing. He uses his simple score infrequently and powerfully, punctuating scenes and cementing emotion. Ditto that for his almost tangential dialogue, and his camera work and editing cuts, each of which are reserved. The director’s decisions immerse us in his setting.
As if it isn’t sufficiently clear, Mystery Road is almost magical and surely one of the best movies at MSPIFF.
Thanks again Josh for the excellent reviews!
What do you think of these two films? Let us know in the comments!
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Brilliant reviews Josh. Of the two, the one that interested me most was Mystery Road. So very glad to hear that it is a quality film. Can’t wait to catch up with it even more now.
Mystery Road is truly amazing. It is easily the best movie I’ve seen in 2014. Hotell isn’t bad, but it isn’t good enough for me to encourage you to run out and see it.
Minimalistic filming style, developed characters, intriguing plot. Okay, I’m in!
🙂
Hopefully you can get a hold of it – I don’t know whether or not its being distributed.
Thanks for getting there up, Ruth!
No thank YOU for writing these excellent reviews Josh! Man I’m kicking myself that I missed Mystery Road, I’m a big fan of Weaving and the premise sounds intriguing! I’ll be on the lookout for that one!
It is intriguing. Really. I think it has some other screenings at the fest, though I’m not certain. If it does, and if there’s anyway you can see it, I think you’ll appreciate it quite a bit.
I’m afraid I can’t fit in anymore film into my schedule but I’ll be on the look out when it’s out on iTunes or dvd 😀
I understand. 🙂
I saw Hotell, which is out here on dvd in Scandinavia. I would give it a 3.5/5. I liked the performances, and what it had to say about camaraderie, trust, and stepping out of your comfort zone in order to grow. But yeah, it was good, not great.
Then it sounds like we mostly agree. Simply a minor difference in how we value each ingredient. (The underdeveloped secondary characters seem to bother me more than they do you.)
Great reviews Josh, and Mystery Road sounds fantastic!
Thanks. And it is. I hope it gets wider world-wide distribution. It deserves it.
Wow, you guys are rocking the festival reviews! Mystery Road sounds especially intriguing. I’m a sucker for rural settings, doubly so when it’s in a different country. I’ll be keeping an eye out for that one.
Mystery Road really is excellent. It has one of the best senses of setting I can remember in recent films. I hope you can get your hands on it.
Great stuff as always 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Ruth and Josh! Great reviews. Mystery Road appears to be the winner and very interesting. I look forward to checking that out. Langseth seems like he has potential; it’s a shame the film didn’t take strident steps toward excellence.
That’s an apt description how I felt leaving Hotell, honestly. It is still above average, but it has the cast, central characters to be better than that.
Mystery Road is the winner for me. As Dave Crewe said in his review (which is the only reason I didn’t say it on mine), the film blends mystery and western with emotional drama masterfully. It is very special.
The rope scene seems interesting….
🙂
I was a little surprised Ruth posted that picture. 🙂 As to the scene, it is interest. Quite – it’s one of the ways the group tries to ‘help’ each other.
Good reviews. Mystery Road sounds more appealing to me,but i think i will give Hotell a chance too
They are both certainly worth watching. But . . . I think Mystery Road is considerably better. Let me know what you think when you’ve seen them. 🙂
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You are killing me with these reviews Josh! Mystery Road is another one that I am now dying to see! It sounds greats! Australia is becoming one of my favorite places to set films! Although I have currently only seen the horror ones!
I’ve seen a lot of Australian flicks I like, too. And Mystery Road gets added to the list. it is positively fantastic – and is another one I think you’d really enjoy. I hope you can get your hands on it.
Great job, Josh. Really looking forward to Mystery Road. Red Hill from 2010 was another very well made crime thriller that took place in Australia. I love films that take place there. Can’t wait to catch it. Thanks!
Thanks for the kind words, Vic. And while I haven’t seen Red Hill, I too have seen several movies from Australia that I like (my favorites are two Film Movement releases – The Rage in Placid Lake – it’s where my love affair with Rose Byrne began – and He Died With a Falafel in His Hands). Mystery Road gets added to the list!
Great reviews mate. Glad to see Mystery Road is playing internationally. I absolutely love that film, it was my number 2 film of 2013 on my top 10. Your review has reminded me that it came out on blu-ray here recently. Will have to grab it so I can watch it again. Thought your review captured the film really well too.
Thank you. And had I seen Mystery Road in 2013, it might have made my Top 10, too. I’m still trying to decide if I liked it more than The Wolf of Wall Street (the number 10 movie on my list); I might have. It is very, very good.
Oh. I don’t know if it’s got wider distribution internationally yet. I hope it does – it deserves it.
Josh both movies sounds interesting to me. Hotell more than the other. I tried searching for a trailer but no luck. Regardless good reviews as always!
Hey Melissa. Sorry for the late reply – life has gotten busy on me.
Thanks for the kind words. I hope you can get your hands on Hotell. It is often funny and occasionally moving, even if it isn’t quite perfect. Mystery Road is terrific, of course, so I hope you can see that one, too.
Josh no prob, I know how it gets! So hard to do the juggling game some days.
Nice reviews. I haven’t heard of either film, but they both look good.
Both of them are quite good. Well, Mystery Road is terrific. I hope you get a chance to see them!
Really glad you liked Mystery Road! It is a slow burn but a great film nonetheless. Aaron Pederson is fantastic; and I loved how the minimalist approach made the climatic shootout scene all the more tense.