En eaux troubles

In a nutshell, this film had some fantastic music, especially on the organ. It features great performance by Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen as Jan Thomas, a man imprisoned for a murder of a boy he says he didn't commit; Ellen Dorrit Petersen as Anna, the pastor he gets involved with; and Trine Dyrholm as Agnes, the mother of the murdered boy.

The film also features some incredible cinematography, and brilliant direction by Erik Poppe.

It is about redemption and forgiveness; about starting over after a heinous crime has been committed. The fact that Jan Thomas continues to have flashbacks makes us believe that he is not as innocent as he claims.

A beautiful film about lives gone wrong, and lives damaged by evil.

In director Erik Poppe's film 'DeUsynlige' or Troubled Water when translated into English, follows a young man named Jan Hansen-played by Pål Hagen- who has been just released from a prison sentence because of his role in the death of a young boy when we was a teenager. A broken man, in spirit and body-he has broken fingers on his right hand-in his attempts to re-assimilate into life; he becomes an organist at a local church and befriends a female priest and her young son. While he is starting to get back on his feet, he cannot escape his past crimes as Agnes-the mother of the boy he killed played by Trine Dyrholm-and he himself cannot move on with life. The movie then follows these characters as they still struggle to come to terms with the terrible event that was the young boys death all those years ago. Jan Hansen attempts to bury his past actions, while Agnes's life falls apart as she still believes Jan is dangerous. When Jan becomes a fatherly figure to Jens, the female priest's son, emotions begin to spin out of control.

Poppe was long a cinematographer before gaining fame for directing with Hawaii, Oslo in 2004. Troubled Water follows the same line with Poppe's past cinematic style and a plot focused around multiple characters and the drama of human interaction. All of Poppe's movies experiment with color and lighting, showing his past as a cinematographer. However, it is immediately noticeable that there are large departures in the cinematographic style in Troubled Water compared to Hawaii, Oslo; Poppe's previous movies are brightly colored while Troubled Water is tinted grey. While this does sound like a critique-a movement toward an uninspired visual style-the drab coloring is very evocative of the tone and plot of the movie; enhancing emotional punch of the movie.

An emotional punch is a very succinct description of the way one feels when viewing Troubled Water. There are often events that are out of our control, or a mistake that can rule the rest of our lives; the question becomes how do we move on with life and advance forward though our past, especially if the event is life defining. This is the central question that Poppe explores in Troubled Water. To quote the Priest-also one of the central messages from the film-"Life goes in different ways". Jan Hansen can never undo his crime, and Agnes will never fully deal with her sons' death; the only solution for these individuals is a form of catharsis. The facing of ones issues head on.

One of the most thought provoking elements in Poppe's film is the role of religion. While this theme may be lost of foreign audiences, but the Nordic countries-the main audiences for this film- are deeply secular and unreligious. The movie makes one of the main set pieces a church, and throughout the movie there is a large amount of portrayal of communion and religious services--religion playing a large role is a bold move and a highly deliberate choice. The church is what offers Jan to find his footing-it gives him a much-needed family, a job, and purpose to his life. Troubled Water becomes used as an exploration of what is the role of religion in the deeply unreligious Nordic countries. In an angry explosion by Agnes to the priest about his hiring of a murderer, he calmly replies, "if he doesn't have a second chance here, then where will he?"

Poppe continues his excellent reputation he has built on Hawaii, Oslo with Troubled Water. Another excellently crafted human drama that will leave the viewer thinking long after they have finished watching. The dismal color scheme, the story unfolding in small parcels as we learn the truth about past events, the excellent acting performances all come together to make a truly great film. An exploration of how one deals with the tragedies of life and the role of religion even in a deeply secular society, it would do one well to use this movie as a lens and a lesson to view their own life. While the plot and themes may be extreme comparatively, the facing of our own problems is universal.

Jan Thomas Hansen (Pål Sverre Hagen) is in prison for killing a child during his teens. He is released on parole and finds work as a church organist. He befriends the priest Anna and her young son. His victim's mother Agnes (Trine Dyrholm) accidentally spots him in the church as his troubled past resurfaces to cause chaos.

It has a slow plodding pace for most of the movie. The lead is playing the quiet character very close to the vest. It doesn't allow much tension into the first half of the movie. When Agnes is put into the movie, it is a bit of ticking clock for the audience as we wait for the inevitable confrontation. The first half already lays out what is going to happen in much of the second half. Maybe it went one step too far by telling us that the boy goes missing. Nevertheless there is a realism in the performances by both leads. The movie gets much more fascinating with the two characters on the same screen.

While watching the movie, I felt that this is an exceptional movie and wondered why this movie does not figure along with the greats. Reminded me of 'Blue' for some reason.

Acting is superb and wonderfully subdued acting from the accused protagonist to contrast with the expressive hysterical acting from the mother.

The presentation is so very realistic and the plot is so original - never seen a story like this before.Technique of story telling took an interesting turn when the movie started presenting the same timeline in the life of the parents intersecting naturally and unobtrusively with the thread of the accused's life.

Certain pieces of organ music in the movie are very striking.

There are a few intimate scenes that have been very aesthetically presented. There is no background music whatsoever in the movie and it feels excellently real.

Towards the end of the movie, certain aspects did not fit perfectly. The maker wanted to make the central thread take one decisive knot but unfortunately the build up was slightly unnatural.So many unusual things happen in the movie but a very high percentage of these are explainable by the emotional plight of the protagonists.

Otherwise, it is a perfect screenplay.There is mastery in all the little little details.Very aesthetic.

I thought this film was very delicate, very sad, and beautiful. A story of forgiveness and second chances, atonement and renewal. Several motifs I thought were well used, water being one – representing cleansing and new beginnings. Also the use of an out of focus close-up shot of a face (there were 4 or 5 used), in my opinion, to offer the notion of doing something so awful you become unrecognizable even to yourself.

The main character plays the organ, and is mainly the only music used in the film. Which I think works very well, leaving space for moments of contemplation. The two main characters represent polar opposites in what they are trying to do in life (trying to move on from the past v. trying to hold onto the past) – both actors were excellent. I also enjoyed the way the film was divided and structured.