Thale

Just finished watching Thale and found myself more than impressed. Made on a shoe string budget by rising Norwegian director Aleksander Nordaas, the film explores the huldra a mythical being from Nordic folklore. Without giving anything away I will just say that the acting, especially that of the very beautiful Silje Reinåmo in the title role, was excellent for such a low budget picture. The CGI and cinematography in the movie also impressed offering another breathtaking view of the Norwegian countryside. The film is let down slightly by some holes in the storyline and ultimately by the ending which I found could have been done so much better. This said Thale is an excellent example of what an imaginative director can fulfill within the confines of a small budget.

After seeing the first teaser of Thale I wasn't expecting very much of this Norwegian low budget film which is a mix of the genres crime, drama, gore and adventure. The more I got surprised by seeing the film at the cinema.

'Thale' is based on a mythical character in Norwegian folklore called 'Huldra'. A hulder is a beautiful young woman living in water in the dark woods, louring men into the water with them, getting attention with their heavenly singing. This folklore came from warning kids to stay away from waters, back in the ancient times. A hulder looks just like a woman, except you tell it's a hulder by her tail.

The film opens with some rather disgusting scenes, really preparing you on something the film isn't - gory. Two crime scene washers comes to a cottage out in the deep woods. It's a long time since I've seen such a start of a film involving blood, stiff body and puking. But the film soon changes more into a thriller when the two men find i cellar looking like a serial killers office. Then they discover Thale...

It's easy to see that this film is low budget, but there's much talent here. Silje Reinåmo (Thale) is very good, and the CGI is handled well. Norwegian folklore suits CGI great. With more work on the script, this could easily have been a classic like "TrollHunter".

Far from perfect, but I'll give a 6/10 for the talent and the difference. I'd like to see more on a larger budget and a more thorough script.

Nordic Noir may be all the rage at the moment, and The Killing and The Bridge are indeed impressive achievements. But Thale proves the old Scandinavians are no slouch when it comes to horror movies either... although this particular one isn't the 'quake in your frilly knickers' sort.

Instead, it provides a fascinating insight on what might happen if an 'alien' creature was kept prisoner by a well-meaning scientist, and the resulting fallout when two men hired to clean out the property find her, after said egghead dies. She demonstrates incredible power, psychic abilities and weird eating habits, but there are some ruthless people after her who'll let nothing stand in their way. Alongside members of her own race, who want her back...

It ain't thrill a minute, but the plot and performances are of sufficient quality to keep one hooked, and even moving in some cases. Being short in length helps too, keeping unnecessary padding at bay for the most part. Special mention must go to Silje Reinamo, who not only convinces as a sympathetic extraterrestrial creature, but bravely hops around starkers for half the duration. Oops, hope I haven't unwittingly attracted the wrong sort of audience with that revelation... 6/10

Thale is visually stunning, interesting in mythology and well - played movie. Yes, the story is poor and screenplay has some holes, design of "hurdles" is quite upsetting (the CGI is done well, but they look really strange), but this has an mysterious atmosphere, supplemented by shots of beautiful nature and melancholic music. Short footage is good move how to cover few deficiencies of screenplay, but maybe, it should have been 10 minutes longer...

Over an above, the character of Thale was played very suggestively by beautiful Silje Reinåmo, and the characters of "two friends" are quite nice.

Thale is strange fantasy, but it has also some aspects of art movie (the way the shots are stylized, minimalistic acting, static camera, few actors...).

I'm certainly sure, that Thale will be forgotten, and that's really pity. It is because this movie is very unconventional, so it will barely engage the attention of masses, or at least some group of people - and maybe because you can't classify Thale into some universal film genre. It has some aspects of horror, fantasy, and also mystery drama. In addition, the low budget is obvious - but I don't think it is an negative in here.

Would I recommend this movie to someone?

Namely, if you expect much of horror/gore and action - forget it and better don't watch it. But if you like shots of beautiful nature accompanied by suggestive music, slow storyline, and you like the impressions more than action, maybe you will enjoy the Thale, as I did.

Who'd imagine there are so many word-plays with this? I actually could Thale. Seriously though and maybe in the vain of some of the strange humor that can be found in this: The story is more of a myth or something you could imagine being told as good night story (or rather at a campfire come to think of it).

It starts of normal and easy enough but veers into strange territory pretty fast. Which of course has to do with the short running time. It's a good thing the movie is not really long, trying to stretch a really good idea. There are some flaws after the initial realization of what's happening, but the overall mood of the film is consistent and it's surely not something you have witnessed in many movies. Kudos to the filmmakers.