evening1 How does a mother cope with the kidnapping and murder of her 4-year-old child? This Norwegian film impressionistically captures the aftermath of such a horror, with a great performance by Trine Dyrholm as Agnes, a loving mother who leaves her son in a stroller while she pops into a shop to buy him the hot chocolate he has requested -- and then is delayed when it spills and she tries to scrub a stain. It's during this serendipitous delay that Pal Hagen, as the inscrutable Jan, makes his devastating move. We meet Jan when he is about to be released from prison and is given a taste of his own medicine by embittered inmates that he'll be leaving behind. In a scenario that likely would never take place in an American lockup, Jan has learned to play the organ while incarcerated. That ability lands him a job at a church where he meets the idealistic Anna (Ellen Petersen), a younger dead ringer for Agnes who just happens to have a son about the same age as the child Jan had kidnapped. Using music unusually effectively, this film creates tension whenever we see Jan around little Jens. We never learn why he kidnapped a child -- pedophilia seems not to have been a motive -- and we are left to squirmingly wonder whether he would murder again on opportunity.This film is extremely powerful in depicting Jan's halting relationship with Anna, and Agnes's heart-wrenching attempt to come to peace with her loss. We also sense the tremendous gulf between men and women as they each try to survive losses in their own way.The storyline is beautifully woven here, leaving a lasting impression and elucidating trauma's aftereffects. Quite realistically, we are left clueless as to why this type of crime can -- and does -- occur.

museumofdave This is not an easy film to watch--for many reasons. On the simplest level, it is a foreign film which demands the viewer read subtitles; more importantly, it is a film without an exact beginning, middle and end, instead developing a story of guilt and redemption by delivering several points of view, which may confuse viewers accustomed to a quick and easy narrative with simple solutions. It is compellingly acted by an ensemble cast, features some amazing music from a cathedral organ as well as that in the background, and is paced so that tension is continuously maintained. This is a film for adults who want challenging experiences from film.

quixotegrrl What a fantastic movie. I had to watch it more than once.Plenty of reviewers have already given a plot synopsis, so I'll skip that part. I was impressed by all the choices the filmmakers made to add dimension and symbolic heft to this film, right down to the smallest detail.Much has already been said about the role of water as both the giver and taker of life - whether it's a swiftly flowing river or a baptismal fountain. On the eve of his release, Jan even undergoes a violent "baptism" at the hands of his former accomplice and fellow inmates. Something I noticed about the minimal violence in the movie is that none of it is perpetrated by a supposedly dangerous protagonist. Jan is repeatedly shoved, intimidated, slapped, or otherwise attacked by other characters (including an accomplice half his size), but he never initiates any of it, and does his best to walk away. The only thing this "child murderer" voluntarily harms in the course of the film is literally a fly. Which I found very sly on the part of the scriptwriter.What's also made apparent is how easy it is for accidents to happen and people to get hurt, whether it's Jan accidentally banging Jens' head on the heating unit or Agnes knocking down the gentle church warden with her impassioned shove. We are more vulnerable than we like to admit.The church warden himself seems more like a priest than Anna; her self-professed naive faith hasn't been tested by intimate contact with "evil." Quietly watching the proceedings, occasionally prodding Jan to tell the truth, the warden sees all, knows all, and seemingly forgives all. Where can a killer get a second chance if not here? he asks Agnes. I'd like to think that after Jan leaves Anna's flat (and puts on some dry clothes!) he winds up at the church, where he can at least find a little compassion and understanding from this consistently benevolent figure.That reminds me of one of the brilliant little details: teenage Jan is wearing an sweatshirt that says (with hipster irony) "Hold me." But there's really nothing ironic about it. He's a lost boy, all the way through. No one seems to have yet mentioned the religious significance of his name(s). Jan's "alias" for much of the film is his middle name, Thomas - the doubting disciple. His questions to Anna are those of a skeptic who can't believe there could be an order or purpose to suffering and evil. But his first name is that of the favorite disciple. As if Jesus' most dearly beloved were only masquerading as a disaffected critic, waiting to be unmasked. In the end, when Jan asks Anna for forgiveness, one senses that he, in his humbled and shattered condition, is more primed to believe in grace than she is. One other note: I disagree with the harrumphing critic who found the love scene "gratuitous." I found it lovely: two people starved for affection and pleasure giving way to passion after a very restrained and tentative beginning. In this case, too, Anna was the aggressor; it could very well have been Jan's first time.

Olya Ivanova I really wanted to like this movie because one of my friends, with whom I have similar tastes with, recommended it. I loved the unique points of view of the camera and focus shots. The music was also amazing! Throughout the whole movie I kept wondering if the music was purposely written for this film. But the theme and story were a great disappointment. In the beginning, it seems like this man is a horrible person and you wonder how this movie will make him into a hero. But then, as the story unravels, it clears up the story little by little showing that this man is actually not who you thought he was. But not because you prejudged him (as in Les Misarables or similarly) but because the movie itself led you to believe that he was incarcerated for one crime, where he actually didn't commit it. So at the end you are just left with the feeling of broken judiciary system, rather than a transformation of character or feeling that you saw a different point of view. I did not feel enlightened from the predictable and a cliché "thriller" ending and ultimately felt like I watched a regular Hollywood movie.