Echo

Another Danish movie with the Dogma sparse style of film making, Echo is a quietly haunting movie. At the beginning we find out that Simon, a policeman, has "kidnapped" his son Louis & brought him to a quiet coastal location. Without knowing anything more about these two characters & why Simon has taken this action, it's hard to get emotionally involved in the movie. It's only later on when we get to know about Simon's past that the movie starts to click and we feel the suspense. Echo is an interesting movie, well made and finely acted. However, one gets the feeling that it could have been much more, perhaps with providing a little more information to the viewers at the beginning. The version that I saw was only sparingly subtitled thus making it more difficult to follow for non Danish speaking viewers. It is, nevertheless a film worth catching, particularly for the appearance of Peter Stormare in a brief but memorable part.

This is a small tight film with few characters and locations. It's the performances and script which make this film very watchable. It starts by raising a number of questions about who this father and son are and what they are doing. This is an intriguing and engaging start.

The relationship of the two main characters is very believable; full of pathos and love. This film touches on some core human emotions and takes the viewer on a journey and struggle of the main character who needs to reconcile with his past but also wants to form a deep connection with his son. The main character struggles with his identity as a father and how he can break the shackles of his own father relationship.

Overall a nice film which is touching, understated and overall satisfying.