Invisibles

Niklas who soon will be graduating high school is a talented writer who dreams are truly fulfilled when he's invited to intend a interview in London where his writing aspirations can be realised, but his mum has no idea about. When his mum does finds out, Niklas is torn between either staying or leaving, but he finally goes with the latter. Walking home one night after a party he's set upon by a group thugs from his school, who heavily beat him up and leave him for dead in a ditch. The next morning he goes off to school on his supposedly last day, but what becomes clear is that no one can see him and he slowly learns that he's a ghost who can only watch on, as the authorities try to figure out what happen to him.

Ideas might be running short in Hollywood, but it's not the trend in this Swedish fantasy-drama that's powerfully moving without being overly wretched. Like fellow users have mentioned the strong aspect about this story is how the cards play out, especially that of certain characters. You can't help but feel sorry for those ones you think that you'll hate and vice versa. I've got to take my hat of to the young cast; Gustaf Skarsgard as the very promising Niklas and Tuva Novotny as the hard nosed delinquent Annelie are exceptionally good. The concept behind the story might not be new, but the cleverly defined presentation was definitely refreshing and it did put out many questions that folded out rather intriguingly and lead to some surprising advancements. It does start off like your glum (if basic) teen high school fare where you have your good and bad students, but then it breaks the mould when it heads into its fantasy territory, but still it does keep that raw edge. After the death of Niklas we follow (just like he does when he finds out he can't interfere) the police investigation of his disappearance and we see that of emotional developments; why certain people hide behind images they create and see people learning when its best to let go, which makes the whole experience even more depressingly, down trodden. Stuck in are some brutally violent and arrestingly intense moments that come from nowhere and give the story some biting attitude mixed in rather well with the wholesomely, heart-felt moments. The script is pretty serious with the odd dark joke here or there and a nice couple of surreal moments, but mostly its torn between sprawling out on the harrowing burden that these characters face. The production does feel like a TV movie but these glossy elements are silkily done with great verve in its direction and the films moves along in a rather snappy pace.

A emotionally, touching fantasy-drama that's beautifully implemented with excitingly, different results.

Without revealing too much or nothing at all, let's just say that the theme is a big classic of the fantasy cinema but we are presented here with a completely new twist and it works so wonderfully; with no money the director chose another road and it's amazing; I saw it at the Brussels fantasy film festival and I should have congratulate the director; and to add even more pleasure to the vision of this movie , we don't have a Hollywood-feel-good-everybody is happy ending, thats so good and different!

Swedish film generally remains in stating the obvious and sticking to the conventions of the time, but then there are those rare exceptions, reaching an unforeseen level. 'Invisible' is one of those few. A splendid achievement by the team Bergvall and Sandquist in their first full-length movie.

A couple of years ago they got an Academy Awards nomination in the short film category, for 'Victor', also on the grave theme of death. 'Invisible' is based on a novel by the Swedish writer Mats Wahl, a mighty storyteller.

This story is indeed mighty. A high school senior, bound by his mother's high expectations, is beaten up brutally, due to a misunderstanding, by a delinquent girl of his age, and left for dead. When he comes to school the next day, he finds that everybody ignores him, as if he had become invisible. Soon, he realizes that he really is.

This slight ingredient of the paranormal, makes the story rise to a mythical magnitude, and the film makers, as well as the actors, manage to keep it there, to explore the grand perspectives suddenly appearing. Still, the very concrete psychological drama continues, and intensifies.

It all amounts to one formidably gripping experience, not easily forgotten. There are, of course, clear links to 'Sixth Sense' and a number of other movies about the mysterious borderland between life and death, and the necessity for our lives to reach some kind of conclusion, some kind of harmony, before passing on.

If searching for them, one can find some small weaknesses - like the unnecessary presence of a gun, or the inability of the dialogue to deal with those profound existential questions - but that's easily forgotten in the very touching and beautiful whole of the film, and more so after its uncompromising and magnificent ending.

I've never felt the urge to comment on any film in my life... although this film moved me in a way that doesn't equate in words. What appeared as a simple movie, quickly became a masterpiece of dialogue, emotion and acting that as a teenager echoed deeply. I could relate to its main character and the last 30 mins had me sitting on the edge of my seat and wishing it would be a Hollywood ending!!! Just if wishes could come true!! It might not be a movie for everyone, but for me I can say it will have to be one of the best movies I have ever seen and tomorrow I am going straight into town, to search for the DVD.. I am a fan of the film, a fan of the director and a fan of the actors!! Its rare you find a film that can touch you, but this one did... I just hope someone watches it and agrees with me.. A must see if your a fan of a movie with a bit of brains and a lot of ummphf!!

Nicklas Erccison (Gustaf Skarsgard) is a soon to be graduating high school student who is pushed by his mother Kerstin (Li Bradhe) into pursuing a career in finance while Nikalas has his sights set on a college in England where he plans on attending without his mother's knowledge as he's been saving money by writing other students assignment papers. When Kerstin learns of Nicklas' decision, it drives a wedge in his plans and he misses his departure engaging in joyless partying that ultimately yields no respite. Meanwhile, Nicklas' best friend Peter (David Hagman) gets in debt to Annelie (Tuva Novotny) a petty crook who runs a small gang in the school. When Annelie's unfaithful boyfriend Marcus (Par Luttropp) informs the police of her activities, Annelie has her thugs bring in Peter whom she assumes to be the informant. With Annelie disbelieving he had nothing to do with it, Peter points to Nicklas as the informant and he is soon beaten and left for dead in the woods. The next morning Nicklas is now invisible to everyone as the entire town and police detective Thomas Larsson (Thomas Hedengran) search for Nicklas as he tries in vain to get the attention of those looking for him.

The Invisible is a 2002 supernatural thriller directed by Joel Bergvall and Simon Sandquist and loosely adapted by Mick Davis from the 2000 book of the same name by Mats Wahl. Produced in 2002, the film is more notable for serving as the basis for the 2007 Hollywood remake as its international footprint beyond Sweden was largely by production company Sonet Films selling the rights to Spyglass Media. There's a solid enough hook at play in The Invisible, even if it's somewhat at odds with the presentational and design elements on display.

Gustaf Skarsgard is really solid as Nicklas and even in a very pre-fame role before he took off with roles such as Floki in Vikings, you can see he has real stage presence and charisma. Tuva Novotny is no less impressive as Annelie, the co-lead in the story, whose abrasive exterior reveals a level of deep seated anguish and pain as the movie goes on. There's a really strong emotional core at play between Nicklas and Annelie as it serves as a redemption story for Annelie in helping Nicklas ghost find respite. While I like the underlying ideas at play in The Invisible, the way in which they're presented does mean it doesn't fully reach its potential. One of the bigger hurdles is that due to the rules involved in how Nicklas' limbo state works, it essentially means there's not much he can do for almost 50% of the film's running time so he very much drifts along with the plot without being an active character. Eventually we do get more activity from him in a later development in the plot, but you can tell the movie is really struggling with justifying his presence in the story until it absolutely needs him. The presentation of the limbo state is also quite odd as from Nicklas' point of view he can interact with things and there are consequences and reactions, but then they'll reset as if nothing happened and it's a really odd creative decision that only serves to call attention to itself especially when we get a vehicular collision that has not aged gracefully. I will say I did like how bold the ending got in how it wrapped up and it's definitely a factor that makes this a more bold and risky film than its U. S. counterpart.

The Invisible struggles with its high concept premise, but it does work in a solid emotional core and ample opportunity for its lead actors to shine. The movie also elevates itself with a bold ending that earns it considerable goodwill in compensating for its more obvious shortcomings. Definitely worth a look if you're curious about pre-fame Gustaf Skarsgard.