Ober

Most films about human life's ordinary characters are able to charm audiences as they depict the true feelings of human beings. Dutch film 'Ober' is one such film which succeeds enormously as it has chosen a very good theme. It is in the form of the depiction of a waiter who can be hailed as the most ordinary of all ordinary people. Director Alex Van Warmerdam is able to add extra strength to his film by playing the leading role. As the film begins, Alex is shown to bear all insults with utmost coolness and fortitude. However, as the film progresses, Alex decides to ask tough questions about his fate. This situation gives rise to a series of hilarious encounters with screen writers who exercise absolute control over their characters and their fates. In the field of art, an artist is given complete control to develop the characters. One must nevertheless ask the most pertinent questions : Who controls the life of a character ? Is it the character himself/herself who controls his/her destiny ? Does the character have an independent existence ? These questions do not have simple answers as a lot of subjective perspectives do come into picture. Director Alex Van Warmerdam makes a good try at answering them in his film "Ober". His film is a poignant plea for respecting all human beings regardless of their foibles.

Ober, was one of the MANY films shown at the Seattle International Film Festival this year and one of the few I selected to view. Ober is a very black comedy which in many ways is an insider joke that only writers would fully appreciate. Often times when deeply involved in a writing project whether it is a screen play,stage play, or novel, a writer will feel like his/her characters have "taken on a life of their own". Well, this is what happens to Herman the screenwriter whose storyline begins to displease Edgar his main character.

There are some violent scenes, but so overplayed those scenes seem to be more parodies of movie violence than the "real" movie violence.

One scene toward the middle of this film is especially funny and painful at the same time. It involves an old shopkeeper and a bow and arrows. That scene appears to have been shot in "real" time,and with minimum edited put in the movie in real time. Funny and painful, but funny anyway.

Ober, which is German and Dutch for "waiter" is subtitled which for me was annoying. I understand a little bit of Dutch so I could pick up on some of the dialog and spent so much energy on listening, I missed reading some of the subtitles. It would be nice if this wacky gem could be dubbed into English.

If it should appear at an "art" movie house or a film festival in your community you should go see it.

Edgar is a waiter in a mediocre restaurant. I could go on, talking about his bedridden wife, his lover, her overprotective brother. But to do so would be to miss the point of this sublime exercise of the writer's art. Ober was my introduction to the films of Alex van Warmerdam and is still my favourite of the many wonderful movies he has produced. On one level it's a black comedy, on another it's an exercise in surrealism, on another level it's an existential movie that asks "What would your life be like if you could talk to your creator". And, on every level, it is completely hilarious. I totally disagree with the reviewer who complains about it being subtitled. I don't speak a lot of Dutch so perhaps that makes a difference, but the actors speaking their native tongue produce an energy in the dialog that is completely lost in dubbed movies, IMO. I cannot praise this film enough. It made me laugh like a loon, it made me cry, it made me think, and I kept thinking about it long after it had finished. That makes it a work of art, in my book.

Other than a bit of editing anomalies in the beginning, I have no complains about this film. Other AVW's film that I saw previously was "Grimm" and that was exceedingly refreshing. Obvious that comparison will be made with other movies of similar theme. But I don't think I can give too much away except it is fun, funny, surrealistic, yet true to the "characters" of the film.

the story is like Stranger than Fiction, but better - welllll.. my preference anyhow. It's done in deadpan style - leaving the exploration and the enjoyment - to the audience.

The film is low budget (if you compare to Hollywood) but well crafted with "situations", "scenes", shots and dialogue. There are times, some scenes seem slightly awkward, but in the back of your mind, because you know the situation, you understand the reason why these scenes seem awkward.

Now I really have to see "The Dress"

Alex van Warmerdam is the David Lynch of the Dutch cinema. His movies are enigmatic and absurd, and they are filled with dark themes and sexual tension. ''Ober'' is no exception, although it did feel a bit more mainstream than ''Grimm'' or ''De Noorderlingen''.

This story evolves around a waiter getting smacked around by nearly everyone in his near vicinity. Fed up by this misfortune, he decides to pay the author of his story a visit and ask him for a few chances in the scenario of life. Wrong choice. From that point on the story becomes weirder and weirder.

I was a bit disappointed at first. The story of meeting the author of your life has the potential to become a thought provoking movie like ''Being John Malkovich'' or ''Eternal Sunshine...''. But sadly it didn't quite reach that level. It's more of a well-crafted and absurd comedy than anything else. That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the movie. Alex van Warmerdam, playing the role of the waiter himself, displays himself as a comical genius. It's really funny to see this poor guy being used as boxing equipment by almost everyone. There is also a totally random scene in which nothing else happens than seeing an old lady wrapping up a bow and arrow. It may sound boring, but on-screen it is hilarious.

As a whole this is a highly enjoyable and funny comedy. Not as good as I hoped for, but certainly better than most of the Dutch garbage released. We need this kind of movies to put Holland on the map of the movie business.