Mifune

A movie to fall in love with. Simple as that. A tender, sweet love story that will make your heart melt (I know how terribly cheesy that sounds, but I stand by my words), unless your heart is made of stone. It's another Danish masterpiece and yet another Dogme movie (but don't worry; once you get used to the shaky cam, these films are all richly rewarding). 8 stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated film gems, here's some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495

Despite the Dogme trappings, there is a story here. It is about lying and its consequences.

Kresten, a young go-go company man is marrying the boss's daughter, but hides, then fabricates his country past. He doesn't get away with it for long and ends up shamed and divorced. Likewise, a young prostitute, Liva, tries to flee her surroundings, but they follow her and in the end visit - literally - wrath on her new home.

The only spiritually pure character, content in his surroundings, too innocent of wit to lie, is Kresten's retarded brother Rud. It seems that everything he says, no matter how far-fetched, turns out to be true. He is also the teacher of kindness who, since he is inarticulate, can only teach by example.

Actually, I think the most unambiguously satisfying relationship here is between Rud and Liva's beastly little brother Bjarke. It is Bjarke who can't handle the truth about himself and his sister. Quickly, the stereotypes he has learned to brutalize in the social Darwinian hell of boarding school confront him with their humanity and teach him that life doesn't have to be the daily exercise in cynicism that he and his sister suppose.

There is atonement for all three, visited in different forms, but ultimately redeeming and providing a hopeful ending to the story.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems in Mifune which marred my viewing. A major one is the text, which is badly abused in translation to English. For some reason, the translator has seen fit to turn words which in Danish mean "damn" or "hell" into "f**k". Perhaps he or she thought it would give the dialog more impact. He or she was wrong.

Another problem is the unresolved and perhaps unnecessary character of the ugly and despicable Gerner, whose purpose I'm not exactly sure of, other than as a kind of agent of punishment - perhaps a devil - descending on the hapless Kresten. In any case, we need at least to know more about him, or perhaps even have him whacked or otherwise disposed of for dramatic purposes.

Anyway, as with most European movies, "Mifune" is more about character than story. I strongly recommend that you meet Kresten, Rud, Liva and Bjarke. I think you'll like them in the end.

Mifune starts off a little slow and at first you are really not sure where it is going. Thankfully this does not last for long. The characters have many dimenions and the viewer quickly cares and grows more curiousity towards the characters. Yes, many of the Dogme 95 guildlines are in this film however (must like Festen... another fabulous film) it is the story that makes this such a great film.

All characters in this film are completly different from eachother. The dialouge itself is not what makes this film great, it's the story of all these people combined.

Dogme films often show things that an American audience may have a hard time dealing with. If seeing something and learning from something that Americans can hide from is something that holds an interest than I highly recommend this film.

Mifune is a surprisingly easy film to watch, delightful in many respects and certainly original. The comedy is in many ways unique; nothing hits you in the cinema, but you still leave with a smile on your face. The acting is, in my view, superb, the locations fitting, and the plot; well, original and refreshing. If you need cheering up or it's a rainy day then I recommend this film. Very refreshing indeed.

I saw the film last night on TV, but have been wanting to rent it for the last 5 years, but never did. The story reminded me a bit of Rainman, but being a Dogma movie gave it it's special charm.Especially the isolation of the location on an island and the harshness of living on such an isolated farm were brought over very well by the dogma principle of using only natural light. I thought the acting of Iben Hjejle was fantastic as the prostitute who is on a crossroad in her life and has to find out which road to take. The other characters (except for Kresten's wife)are also played very believable. The only thing that bothers me is the overacting. Dogma pretends to be as close to reality as possible, but i cannot believe that in Denmark, when there is a small disagreement, everybody starts to scream at each other in such an overdone way. Still it remains a good, entertaining movie, so watch it!!