I saw this at the 2017 London Film Festival, and indeed it is the kind of film you only ever see at festivals: slow-moving, not a lot happening, weird characters in bizarre situations... you know the drill.
The plot: immature Emil lives with his slightly more sensible brother Johan in a grotty house somewhere in Scandinavia. Emil has the hots for a comely neighbour, but it is the better-looking Johan who gets into her knickers. There's a mad old hoarder man as well. Both brothers work in a mine. They supplement their income by selling the alcoholic drink Emil brews at home, but when a colleague falls seriously ill as a result of the drink, Emil is ostracised. Perhaps he can take refuge in his soldier fantasies?
There is a definite atmosphere to this film: it is all very bleak and wintry, with washed-out colours and snowy landscapes, as well as long sequences with no dialogue. (An exception to the bleakness is the wrestling scene between the two brothers: one completely naked, the other clad only in ugly underpants. That probably was not *supposed* to be funny, but it is.) In this type of film it is hard to judge the acting, but Elliott Crosset Hove as Emil, who is in almost every scene, has a quirky charisma. This is the kind of film you have to be in the right mood to see; I liked it.
The plot: immature Emil lives with his slightly more sensible brother Johan in a grotty house somewhere in Scandinavia. Emil has the hots for a comely neighbour, but it is the better-looking Johan who gets into her knickers. There's a mad old hoarder man as well. Both brothers work in a mine. They supplement their income by selling the alcoholic drink Emil brews at home, but when a colleague falls seriously ill as a result of the drink, Emil is ostracised. Perhaps he can take refuge in his soldier fantasies?
There is a definite atmosphere to this film: it is all very bleak and wintry, with washed-out colours and snowy landscapes, as well as long sequences with no dialogue. (An exception to the bleakness is the wrestling scene between the two brothers: one completely naked, the other clad only in ugly underpants. That probably was not *supposed* to be funny, but it is.) In this type of film it is hard to judge the acting, but Elliott Crosset Hove as Emil, who is in almost every scene, has a quirky charisma. This is the kind of film you have to be in the right mood to see; I liked it.