Nordkraft

I'll preface this by saying that I only watched this movie to see the very brief performance of one of the cast.

Having never seen a Danish film and knowing nothing about this film going in, I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a mishmash of Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Trainspotting (1996) in a more traditional European type movie structure.

While US/UK movies usually follow the same structure (Sizzling start. Backfill, pebble, rock, boulder, conclusion) that starts with a bang before slowly building the drama/action/tension as the movie goes on, this movie took a more nuanced, straight-line structure with an intricate move from one storyline to the next that can keep the watcher engaged despite their being minimal action or drama. I didn't mind this structure albeit being one I'm not used to. It gave the feel of the movie a more realistic touch.

However, there were far too many similarities between this movie and the 2 mentioned above, as has been mentioned by other reviewers. Since those movies came out 5 and 9 years prior to this one, you cannot say the similarities were accidental. Especially when the main music composition was almost a plagiarised version of 'Lux Aeterna', the theme from Requiem for a Dream.

There were 2 standout performances in this.

Lars Mikkelsen - His performance, although minimal, was world class at the very end of the movie. Felt so genuine like it was happening for real. Gave me goosebumps. Magnificent.

Allen's niece - They went uncredited in this performance so I won't name them. The effectiveness of their performance is so understated. Their soft baby sounds was angelic in their sounds. Almost as if it was foretold that they'd be singing some of the most beautiful music in the world. I may be a little bias in my assessment, though.

Overall a decent movie. Had I not had seen RfaD and Trainspotting many years before seeing this, I may've rated this higher.

But amazing film of a group of people (3 are couples) who are all connected through the drugs trade. They all having problems that arise from the profession and viewed from different angles of the pushers, the users and their partners/friendships/family all struggling to cope. The film is trying to cover so much territory and almost too complicated it requires repeated viewings to capture all details. Some violent scenes portray the edge of seat chaos of drug subculture in Denmark, maybe lacking humor as these people are living desperate lives but they all trying to get out of their situation, very interesting.

The fact the Nordkraft takes place far away from Copenhagen, but deals with typical big city issues, makes it somewhat interesting. The problem is that it just doesn't tell my why we are i Aalborg. With the title "Nordkraft", the scene is set for something different from a standard junkie movie. But that is exactly what we get, a standard junkie movie, nothing more, nothing less. The characters are stereotypes and doesn't bring anything new to the table. I like the choice of music in the movie, it works so far as emphasizing the moods in the scenes.

The actors deliver convincing performances, but again the is problems. There is no consistency in the use of dialects, and some of the characters actually gain dialects during the movie.

Being a danish movie, there is lots a nudity. Not overdone and generally good to look at.

For some reason I felt draw to this movie from the first time I saw the trailer, so of course I had to see it during it's opening weekend and I can say without a doubt this is the best movie this year so far. It's a disturbing look inside the under(drug)world of the 5th largest city in Denmark. Set in the mid 90's the movie follows 3 persons,

Maria (a runaway from home girl). Allan (a guy who left it all when his best friend got jailed, but returns after an accident) Thomas aka. Steso (a very bright and intelligent guy, who does the drug because he likes the mental freedom it provides and acknowledges that he's addicted, but still loves it)

The movie follows the 3 main characters as they struggle with their lives, Allan with trying to get out, Steso with getting more into it and Maria just being where she can't really control her life.

The movie uses no known actors (except for Kirsten Nordholt as Allan's mom and Lars Mikkelsen as Steso's dad), maybe this is a deliberate decision so that the actors and therefore characters doesn't out do each other. And yet the movie is played with a top class performances, by ALL actors (not like Pusher 2 which, except for Mads Mikkelsen, is played so poorly that one has a hard time feeling for the characters). The 3 main characters does a very breathtaking performance, but everyone else does also great job, all the way from Pernille Vallentin Brandt as Tilde to Rudi Köhnke (who by the way looks a lot like Joaquin Phoenix) as Frank. Everybody delivers an absolutely outstanding performance.

This movie is based on a book by the same name, I haven't read the book so I cannot comment on the level of integrity toward the book. But I can say that I love this movie.

It's a 9/10, if you liked Christiane F. or Pusher, then you'll love this one. It's a Hard, ugly and disturbing look into the underworld.

Nordkraft is new in it's genre in Denmark. A story of people with a serious drug abuse problem and how they fight for their love. But it's not new it is genre for the rest of the world. Obvious to the viewer the director is inspired by such great films as "Requiem for a dream", "Trainspotting" and numinous others. The editing, extreme close-ups of eye pupils, the choice of music, the movement of camera and the idea of attaching the camera to the body "camera-to-face" while running, is similar to "Requiem for a dream". Despite the fact, that it is not a original in it's craftsmanship, the film is actually pretty well done. But maybe the success should belong to Jakob Ejersbo, the writer of the novel? It has a slow start, because it uses the first hour for introducing the characters. Which is a bit to long. But when the story finally kicks of, it's exciting and thrilling. The acting can sometimes be a bit pourly and over the top, but Claus Riis Østergaard as Allan levels it up.

All in all I think is a great film, but it would have been even better, if only the pace of the story in the beginning were faster and if it was shorten a bit. Enjoy.