Nordkraft

I'll preface this by saying that I only watched this movie to see the very brief performance of one of the cast.

Having never seen a Danish film and knowing nothing about this film going in, I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a mishmash of Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Trainspotting (1996) in a more traditional European type movie structure.

While US/UK movies usually follow the same structure (Sizzling start. Backfill, pebble, rock, boulder, conclusion) that starts with a bang before slowly building the drama/action/tension as the movie goes on, this movie took a more nuanced, straight-line structure with an intricate move from one storyline to the next that can keep the watcher engaged despite their being minimal action or drama. I didn't mind this structure albeit being one I'm not used to. It gave the feel of the movie a more realistic touch.

However, there were far too many similarities between this movie and the 2 mentioned above, as has been mentioned by other reviewers. Since those movies came out 5 and 9 years prior to this one, you cannot say the similarities were accidental. Especially when the main music composition was almost a plagiarised version of 'Lux Aeterna', the theme from Requiem for a Dream.

There were 2 standout performances in this.

Lars Mikkelsen - His performance, although minimal, was world class at the very end of the movie. Felt so genuine like it was happening for real. Gave me goosebumps. Magnificent.

Allen's niece - They went uncredited in this performance so I won't name them. The effectiveness of their performance is so understated. Their soft baby sounds was angelic in their sounds. Almost as if it was foretold that they'd be singing some of the most beautiful music in the world. I may be a little bias in my assessment, though.

Overall a decent movie. Had I not had seen RfaD and Trainspotting many years before seeing this, I may've rated this higher.

At times films of the same genre tend to be very similar in both style and substance. In the case of Nordkraft director Ole Christian Madsen at times crosses the border between being inspired and copying. Visually, the film bears a striking resemblance to "Requiem For a Dream" (another film abut drug abuse) and at times the soundtrack even sounds identical. This at times makes the film come a bit too close to being a copy, which is a shame, as it is a fine film about a number of people caught in the drug underworld. The film depicts the way a number of people try to escape the drugs and the environment, but realize how hard it is to turn your back on a world you have lived in for so long. The movie follows three stories, all well acted, but one of the stories concerning a young girl and her relationship with her pusher boyfriend, is a bit shallow. The other two stories (concerning a junkie trying to quit to get his girlfriend back, and a former drug-runner trying to start a new life) dominate the film. Generally a good film, and visually one of the best Danish films in years, even though Madsen could have leaned a bit less on the previous films in the genre.

Nordkraft

Directed by Ole Christian Madsen (2005)

This movie deals with three different people and each their story. The one thing they have in common is the fact that they all have roots in the drug world of the Danish city Aalborg. Maria's boyfriend is a minor local pusher, and she's going on waiting for something big to happen for them; though slowly recognizing that her dream has become an illusion. Allan returns to Aalborg after a serious accident hit him, when he worked on a ship in the Atlantic. Afters his returns his past catches up with him, and he must deal with some serious decisions. The last person we follow in Steso. Steso, or Thomas as he's really named, is a full time junkie, who's only purposes in life are his girlfriend and getting high constantly. But after his girlfriend has meat someone new, his present as he has known it till now is being threatened.

These are three good stories but without a main thread between the three of them. The director has used relatively young and inexperienced actors, with Thure Lindhart as the exception. This means that the acting has some flaws and doesn't seem convincing throughout the movie. But it helps give the movie a more rough tone and dialect, helping to create great atmosphere this movie has. The visual side is also really good, containing some really cool dolly shots of the leading characters. An interesting movie that shows that drugs and the problem that follows doesn't just exist in Copenhagen.

7/10

I saw this film at a special pre-premiere screening and knowing that Danish film has taken quite a beating this last decade with a lot of really bad films ("Den eneste ene" and the "Kærlighed ved første hik" trilogy being excellent examples). It seemed to me that the Danish movie industry were only able to produce two kinds of film: crappy romantic comedies or dogme films. The dogme films can be quite interesting but they have just been produced in too large a number to remain interesting.

So my hopes were quite low going into the cinema to see Nordkraft (not having read the book either) but all my worries were put to rest very quickly because I was taken aback by the visual style of the film which is very interesting. Also the storytelling element of the film worked very well and the fact that the story is split into three is very appealing and interesting.

The characters in the film must be said to be the most important aspect of the film and luckily they work quite well. Especially Thure Lindhardt who plays Steso is very good because he is very good at making his character edgy and extreme but still believable. Signe Egholm Olsen is also quite good and works very well in suspenseful scenes. Of the three main actors Claus Riis Østergaard is the worst but he is still good don't get me wrong. One of the most powerful scenes in the entire movie is with Steso's father, Lars Mikkelsen because Lars Mikkelsen (who is a far better actor than his brother by the way) is such an incredibly intense actor.

The only thing that I feel pulls this film in a negative direction is the fact that it is afraid to be its own film. It borrows heavily on the visual style from Requiem for a Dream and in terms of storytelling and thats a shame because Nordkraft definitely has the potential to be its own film.

All in all a very decent Danish drama: 7 out of 10

But amazing film of a group of people (3 are couples) who are all connected through the drugs trade. They all having problems that arise from the profession and viewed from different angles of the pushers, the users and their partners/friendships/family all struggling to cope. The film is trying to cover so much territory and almost too complicated it requires repeated viewings to capture all details. Some violent scenes portray the edge of seat chaos of drug subculture in Denmark, maybe lacking humor as these people are living desperate lives but they all trying to get out of their situation, very interesting.