Nordvest

Casper, our main character earns a living by skillfully breaking into peoples homes and sell the stolen goods to the local receiver (Jamal).

He doesn´t get any respect from Jamal and his men, he is humiliated and it seems that he doesn´t get fair prizes for the goods he has stolen. So one day he is approached by a stranger, that makes a proposition. You get the feeling that Casper senses danger, as well as we does for that matter, as he does not accept the proposition in the first place but later he changes his mind and then the real drama can begin.

The stranger is a guy named Bjørn who is involved in organized crime. He has a brothel (this is usually Hells Angels in Denmark) and needs somebody to handle transport, security and economy and slowly, no, very fast as a matter of fact, is Casper in charge of these assignments. Casper wants to be involved but at the same time we get a very clear notion, that at a certain point he cannot pull out without problems. He is slowly losing control over his own life.

When the old receiver sends out his guys to get Casper back into his old business a conflict of interests has started that can only be ended in one way...... Casper is together with his kid brother brought out into a forest and taught how to use a gun. By the instructions given you get a very, very clear notion that an execution is going to take place.

It´s rare to watch social drama wherein everybody doesn´t stand out on some pathology scale. Casper and the rest of his family doesn´t stand out as sociopaths or having a drug/alcohol addiction. Casper is very affectionate towards his little sister and really seems resourceful here. The mother isn´t introduced much but there is nothing that stand out as suspicious.

So the big question - why does Casper and his brother get involved in criminal activities? Well, the explanation cannot be found within the family so instead....? Its the simple fact of growing up in Northvest - or a ghetto for that matter. Its a society within the society governed by its own laws. The mother knows what is going on - suddenly he wears a Rolex watch and it is as if she wants to have a conversation about this but in the same moment gives up. Alone she cannot fight and win the battle to get Casper back on track.

The pace of the story, the portrait of the characters and the description of the milieu in "nortvest" is put very well together in this movie.

A small masterpiece....

/Simon

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Really enjoyed this film.Good actors and story.Worth watching if you fancy something different from usual Hollywood action film

Some people expect that Scandinavia has no problems; here you can see gangs and violence in Denmark. "Nordwest" is very entertaining movie about Danish underworld. Besides that, it is important to highlight the successful narrative strategy chosen by movie makers: exploring the contrasts. Throughout the movie, until the very end, the story alternates between family life and crime, poor and wealthy living, immigrants and white men, intimidation and fear, child innocence and bandit violence, preserving the brother and introducing him to the gang, defenseless prostitutes and mob warriors, noise and silence, fast pace and stillness. I strongly recommend this film. Some people complained about the end, but I think it was a great idea. Indeed, that's the difference between obvious formulas and the mastery of the cinema language.

Even in the welfare society, it is difficult for a single mother to raise 3 children, particularly if two are teens whose need for money and approval is high. And less decent neighborhood includes several lures difficult to resist... Such is the background where two brothers Casper and Andy - leading characters of the film - have to cope. Surroundings is ugly and hard, with lots of gangs and violence, and outside help is scarcely available (incl. police or special organisations) - apart from adult criminals (such as Bjørn or Jamal) eager to use the youngsters' unshaped personality. But sooner or later, you have to make choices, and in such a way living, it is usually between bad and worse... The ending scenes are logical, although the very end could have been less brusque; well, it was intentional, I guess, for viewers pondering on and over.

The cast is rather uneven, the real brothers Dyekjær Gieses depict Casper and Andy well and in a realistic manner, but all the others were uninviting to me. The plot seemed unsteady, floating as well, some scenes remained incomplete or provided no additional meaning to the film. Or I am just unable to see more values because I have been "spoiled" by distinguishable acting (e.g. Mikkelsens, Bodnia, Lie Kaas) and more sophisticated plots (e.g. Vinterberg, Vinding Refn) visible in Danish films.

This movie relates the story of a young man living in a modest suburb in Denmark. Skilled burglar, he will try to rise the grade of the criminal underworld, underestimating the dangerousness of the consequences of his acts. Far from Hollywood gangster movies, the way this movie was recorded, the scenery as well as the actor's performances plunge the viewer into a deeply realistic violence. Interestingly, the film maker (Michael Noer) succeeded in showing a violence that will knot your stomach without being gore at all which is very rare nowadays. An excellent movie, in the direct line of Gomorra (Matteo Garrone), in a radically different geographical situation.