Um Dia e Meio

This movie is fantastic, the script, the characters, the acting, the realism. We (a Brit and a Dane, if relevant) enjoyed it immensely. There are so many twists and turns where you wonder in amazement at how well the story is told and then remember that this is because it's a true story.

On some of the poor reviews, it sounds that the reviewers who find the story or the characters unrealistic haven't realised that this is actually based on a true story and not a typical Hollywood script where characters have to fit certain stereotypes of either good or bad (never some of both), victim or perpetrator or hero, etc.

This movie started out well with a tense and engaging scene in which a troubled young man (Artan) kidnaps his estranged wife (Louise) at work. The background to their estrangement is hinted at in this first scene and gradually revealed throughout the movie. The highlight is a dramatic and very entertaining encounter with Louise's parents in which much is exposed about the family dynamics. Unfortunately the movie doesn't sustain these heights and indeed I was losing interest by the end and feeling frustrated that so little was explained about Artan's back story.

If you're looking for a realistic, emotional family drama that feels like it's being played out in real time you'll probably enjoy this movie. However, if you're looking for a thriller or a psychological drama that keeps you guessing you'll probably be disappointed by the end.

The acting and photography are excellent throughout. Fares Fares is wonderful as the police negotiator with his usual understated, compassionate presence that any fan of the Department Q films will appreciate.

This movie is a masterpiece. It focuses so much on the story and gives perspective from everyones point of view. It even manages to give some morals to the kidnapper. The acting is great and the actors fit the characters they play really well. The movie was a very emotional one, were you got to see the main peoples troubles in thier own life, which I really enjoy. It gives the movie a more involvment and actually make the movie more senceable. I feel like it is one of those movies were if it was made by hollywood, then it would've been given a 10/10 even if it was the same movie. I think the only reason it's not 10/10 by everyone watching is because it isn't made from a huge and famous business.

The movie only seems like it takes a day and a half--it's only an hour and a half but I couldn't make it to the end, anyway. What a horrible premise.

Take the two least-suited people to get married and bring a child into the world, and then add a gun and a car and a whole lot of stupidity, and you've got this . . . Thing.

The protagonist is so far from sympathetic that the story is blown from the first couple of days (by which I really mean minutes). He has the boneheaded stolidity of Lou Reed trying to go straight. He can't be talked to. He is basically a victim of toxic patriarchal masculinity, but he doesn't play that in a way to invite the audience into his predicament. Instead he makes stupid choice after stupid predictably stolid boneheaded choice, what he thinks a man should do. He and his wife holler at each other a lot. As my Mom would say, "she's no prize, either."

The cop driving the car is kind of good--looks like maybe a version of Triton with that beard! He suffers the trials of Job, and I can only hope (because I just couldn't make it to the end) that he survived to take on some other unbearable burden of an assignment. Maybe he'll guard the Ferry Cross the Mersey or Cross the Styx.

Spartacus Super Bowl says, "well, it's kind of an attractive trainwreck."

This is simply one of the better Swedish movies that I have seen in a long time. It is an emotional ride both for the viewer and for the main characters and the script is very well done: Very believable. Me being a father of course makes the story all the more emotional.

The main characters are played by excellent actors and I would especially like to mention Fares Fares and Alexej Manvelov who has done a lot of excellent work before.

Swedish movies nowadays are often very hollow and empty and the main motive for them is to showcase as much diversity as possible. This movie also has diversity, in a way, but in this case it makes sense. And the actors are chosen for the simple fact that they are good actors, and nothing else.