Finding her utterly mesmerising in Ex_Machina,I started looking for the feature film debut of Alicia Vikander,but was disapprovingly only able to find photos of the deleted DVD,which was even deleted on the Swedish Amazon! Nearing 1,500 reviews,I decided that I'd watch a Vikander flick for the run up,and whilst searching for one of her other films,happily stumbled on the debut title!,which led to me at last finding out how pure things can be.
The plot:
Sitting around watching trashy TV with her dead end pals and boyfriend, Katarina starts to feel that this is not the life she wants to have. Taken by the purity of Classical music,gets on a new track in life when she sees Mozart's Requiem performed in concert. Wanting to get closer to the music, Katarina gets a job at the venue. Sent reeling from seeing him conduct Requiem, Katarina starts an affair with the conductor of the venue Adam,who soon shows Katarina that the people behind the scenes are not as pure as the music.
View on the film:
Appearing in the opening moments with half her face in close- up,Alicia Vikander gives a remarkable (feature film) debut performance as Katarina. Utterly frustrated by the ditch her life is stuck in,Vikander shakes Katarina's held-in frustrations onto the screen with a raised voice and confrontational body language. Giving Katarina a love/obsession for Adam verging on the Femme Fatales of Film Noir, Vikander brilliantly unveils the chips in Katarina like a ticking time bomb,as Katarina becomes aware that she is playing a different tune to everyone else. Playing the music Katarina loves, Samuel Fröler hits the high notes in subtly revealing the contradicting strings Adam pulls at,as the charisma Adam shows on stage is torn behind the curtain by an aggressive cynicism.
Joining Vikander in making her feature film debut,writer/director Lisa Langseth (who has also made Hotell and Euphoria with Vikander) & cinematographer Simon Pramsten conduct startling confidence on screen,with extended tracking shots being paired up with Classical pieces to heighten Katarina's emotions. Away from the stage, Langseth gives a documentary level of intimacy to Katarina,with shots in the corners of rooms and down corridors catching her "difficult" personal life.
Giving Katarina the purity of music,the screenplay by Langseth glimpses into her family life in a fragmented style which vividly shows how disconnected Katarina is from anyone showing pure emotion for her. Making their final note be deliciously dark, Langseth keeps Katarina the conductor of the relationship,and tensely plays a tune of engulfing obsession,which rids Katarina of her purity.
The plot:
Sitting around watching trashy TV with her dead end pals and boyfriend, Katarina starts to feel that this is not the life she wants to have. Taken by the purity of Classical music,gets on a new track in life when she sees Mozart's Requiem performed in concert. Wanting to get closer to the music, Katarina gets a job at the venue. Sent reeling from seeing him conduct Requiem, Katarina starts an affair with the conductor of the venue Adam,who soon shows Katarina that the people behind the scenes are not as pure as the music.
View on the film:
Appearing in the opening moments with half her face in close- up,Alicia Vikander gives a remarkable (feature film) debut performance as Katarina. Utterly frustrated by the ditch her life is stuck in,Vikander shakes Katarina's held-in frustrations onto the screen with a raised voice and confrontational body language. Giving Katarina a love/obsession for Adam verging on the Femme Fatales of Film Noir, Vikander brilliantly unveils the chips in Katarina like a ticking time bomb,as Katarina becomes aware that she is playing a different tune to everyone else. Playing the music Katarina loves, Samuel Fröler hits the high notes in subtly revealing the contradicting strings Adam pulls at,as the charisma Adam shows on stage is torn behind the curtain by an aggressive cynicism.
Joining Vikander in making her feature film debut,writer/director Lisa Langseth (who has also made Hotell and Euphoria with Vikander) & cinematographer Simon Pramsten conduct startling confidence on screen,with extended tracking shots being paired up with Classical pieces to heighten Katarina's emotions. Away from the stage, Langseth gives a documentary level of intimacy to Katarina,with shots in the corners of rooms and down corridors catching her "difficult" personal life.
Giving Katarina the purity of music,the screenplay by Langseth glimpses into her family life in a fragmented style which vividly shows how disconnected Katarina is from anyone showing pure emotion for her. Making their final note be deliciously dark, Langseth keeps Katarina the conductor of the relationship,and tensely plays a tune of engulfing obsession,which rids Katarina of her purity.