Ich bin Dina

"I am Dina" tells us a romantic story, which takes place in the romantic era of Europe.

When I'm saying romantic, I think of the the original meaning of the word, which means something like: emotions at a cosmic scale and importance.

Dina is a joyful child, until a truly unfortunate accident, which scars her soul for eternity, and makes her grow up to be a very troubled woman. On the other hand, she is beautiful, and witty, so men find her very attracting. Now she has to choose herself a man, and a life.

I've always been in trouble with the typical romantic setting (and this film is a fine example for that), for mostly it makes the most illogical (yet, stereotypical) plots, and the best acting performances come together in a film.

And that's the exact same case here. Characters in this movie are endlessly ruining each others life, just because they feel like it. They never think. Never learn. They're all passionate, stubborn, selfish, arrogant people, with a high emotional level, and absolute no sense of reality. And that's what it makes all performances very strong, yet very melodramatic. And since it's a pretty long movie, all this kind of approach, and all the suffering gets a bit too much, too overreacted, and too monotone as the movie flows, and you find yourself waiting for the end. Te tension is always in the air, but it makes you numb after awhile.

But technically, this film is flawless. That's the way it should go. Only a bit shorter maybe.

(I didn't have any problems with the accents of various actors. And since American dubbing voices for foreign movies mostly turn out to be failures, I think this is the best way they could execute this film)

This movie is one of the best cast films I have ever seen.

The acting from Maria Bonnevie(Dina)is amazing. Totally realistic in a not-over-the-top way. The script is fantastic ("then my momma left me" - be aware that this film is primarily Norwegian with a mix of Danish/French/Swedish - not American - and is set in the 1860's). Supporting actors like Gerard Depardieu, Hans Matheson and Mads Mikkelsen really sets it off. And I don't know where they found the young-en to play the young Dina but she was perfect. To round it off you have breathtaking scenery and a brilliant soundtrack.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good drama.

I feel I must disagree with the previous review of this film. The title of the move is, after all "I Am Dina," and not "We are the people who live and interact with Dina." The fact that the director of this film does not indulge in a more in-depth exploration of the supporting characters is to be expected, as the premise of the movie is that it allows us to witness the world through Dina's eyes, to see the effect other people have on her, and to a lesser extent, the effect she has on them. In this way, the movie is an astounding success. The masterfully crafted dialogue allows for the unique, if subordinate, personas of the supporting actors to shine through while not overpowering the focus of the story: an achingly real, beautiful woman who fights a personal struggle on both the internal and external fronts. This is certainly not a movie for every one. At times, it leaves one feeling as a guest in the imagination of the director as he reads an excellent book; as such the movie deserves an audience that is capable of being swept away by a story.

Norwegian Herbjørg Wassmos bestseller is turned into an unorthodox costume drama by the director of "Night Watch", Danish Ole Bornedal. Overwrought, but fast paced drama tells the story of Dina, a young girl who was way ahead of her time, and her influence on the men in her life, her stern father (Floberg), husband Jacob (Depardieu, in great form), and Russian lover Leo (Eccleston, sporting as dubious a Russian accent as Sean Connery did in The Hunt for Red October...). Dina is played by Maria Bonnevie, who turns in a wild-eyed, over-the-top performance that is alternately frightening and fascinating (think Liv Tyler with a bad caffeine addiction). Major liabilities are the shifting accents, due to the film´s cast of mostly Northern European actors. This is a distraction, and would have worked better just sticking to Norwegian actors, but then, no one would probably go see "I Am Dina". Many Danish character actors appear in bit parts; you can spot them by their dodgy accents...although Sætter-Lassen and Mikkelsen stand out positively as cello tutor Lorch and the treacherous bookkeeper Niels. Beautiful locations and lush cinematography by Dan Laustsen, a Bernard Herrmann-inspired music score by Marco Beltrami help this a long way. Plenty of sex and violence that you wouldn´t find in a Merchant-Ivory working of the same theme, the film is more reminiscent in tone and execution to Luc Besson´s "Joan of Arc", but just as uneven.

Best scene has young Dina introduced to the magic of the cello. 6/10.

I saw this film in Paris last year. Going in, I didn't know what to expect, I knew the film wasn't French, but I didn't know it was Norwegian until I saw the Norwegian flag waving away in the background of one of the early scenes. I was fully expecting to read the French subtitles, but by happy coincidence the film was in English. Now I know many here have complained about the poor use of English in the film, but I don't recall it being that bad (although I admit it has been a year since I've seen it). I just recall that the actors sounded like non-native English speakers speaking English, which by nature is going to be imperfect. Actually, that's not true I know many non-native English speakers who speak English TECHNICALLY more correct than native speakers. When that happens THAT'S when I'm likely to complain about the awkwardness of the actors in regard to language. If you're writing your thesis, OK use technically perfect English. But, in real life it's all about slang!

ANYWAY! Back on point: I liked this film. It's NOTHING like the films you'd see being produced in the US, even the independent ones. But the best way i can sum it up is to quote some random guy I overheard outside the theater when asked what the film was like: "Très bizarre!"