You may well have missed this little gem of British cinema, which had a far shorter run in the cinemas than it rightly deserved. Most explicitly Molkom is a film about collective therapy as an antidote to the alienating individualism of our consumerist societies. It is also a very funny character study. As a sounding board for the audience, sceptical Aussie Nick (who arrives at the Angsbacka festival by chance) encapsulates the mixture of curiosity, amusement and mild terror we feel right from the film's opening scene when we follow the camera down a boulevard of smiling faces – that little bit too welcoming.
For me, the success of the film is that it takes us beyond those maniacal smiles, capturing both the communal frenzy of the festival and the quiet intimacy of the individual journeys within. Directors Cannan and McFarlane achieve this through their focus on one of the festival's customary 'sharing groups'– a group that brings together eccentric characters including a Finnish grandmother, Swedish pop star, Californian goatherd, a Viking-like Swedish harbourmaster. And Nick. This intimate focus allows the individual personalities to shine but also provides us with real insight into the group dynamics as they evolve and are disputed – sometimes quite unexpectedly. In this way the film achieves an accomplished balance between genuine sensitivity and laugh-out-load humour. A truly emotive experience.
Visually the film is quite beautiful and the fluid camera movements capture the raw physicality of the workshops that presumably give the 'no mind' festival its name. It is this strategy (adopted by both cinematographer and directors) of tracing bodies, landscapes and personalities unobtrusively rather than through a contrived script that allows for the unpredictable development of the characters and in doing so (paradoxically) gives Molkom an feel of a feature film rather than a documentary. Looking forward to seeing what the team put together next!
