I lossens time

There's a lot of good stuff coming from Scandinavia these days, both in movies (Jagten, A Royal Affair, King of Devil's Island, Sons of Norway, Dead Snow 2, Trollhunter, Sound of Noise, Turist, We Are the Best!) as in television (The Killing, The Bridge). This is not one of them though. I lossens time (aka. The Hour of the Lynx) is as boring and conventional as Kvinden i buret (aka. The Keeper of Lost Causes). It feels like watching a very average made-for-television movie. The editing is often irritating, the characters have no depth whatsoever and the backstory is plainly predictable. Sofie Gråbøl, who plays the female priest Helen, keeps everything from falling apart. Although her acting resembles Sarah Lund a bit too much, she nonetheless portrays a convincing Lutheran priest. Apart from that, this film has almost nothing to offer. Especially the emotional uppercut where this movie aims at, is virtually inexistent. But maybe I'm a robot.

This is not so much a review, it's more a recommendation. I write this mainly because I've read a few negative comments on the message boards.

If you are into popcorn flicks, easy going stories without any deeper meaning, if you are a narrow-minded person..etc. etc (you get the point, right?) If you are any of those, then this movie is obviously not for you.

If you are a searching soul and attracted to the darker and mystical realms of the human mind and understanding of the spiritual language, then you will enjoy this little masterpiece.

"Whoever Fights Monsters Should See To It That In The Process He Does Not Become A Monster...and When You Look Long Into The Abyss The Abyss Also Looks Into You"

Great danish psychological drama, with good direction, acting, cinematography. A young sociopath, Knud, is imprisoned in a high- security hospital after a brutal murder. Is there a reason for that unintelligible crime? A psychiatrist, Lisbeth, develops experiments while she takes care of those potentially dangerous patients. She is not able to deal with that boy and asks for the help of a Lutheran priestess, Helen. Their jobs and interests may be incompatible. The story of the sociopath is not the only one to be discovered. And there is also a yellow cat. "I lossens time" or "The hour of the lynx" is a careful film about how three minds interfere with each other in a quite complex game. If it were a Hollywood film, I am sure it would have a very numerous audience in all the world.

The film has a gripping start, possessing great possibilities for the development of a good thriller with twists and flashbacks, but, in its stead, we see an over-sophistication of drama with mental issues, loose ends and weakly or trivially substantiated motives. The source mood is nice, major performances are promising, but overall accomplishment did not meet my expectations. When the credits appeared, I just shrugged my shoulders and thought that The Killing type of suspense and unknowing is much more fascinating. Events in someone's mind should be handled in a more versatile manner, it is rather easy to get stuck into uniformity and attempts to create horror.

So, 8 points for performances, 4 for the script. The film is no flop, but do not expect persistent thrill and/or witty twists.

After an opening that shrinks the heart, "The Hour of the Lynx" shows how two opposed women try to help Drengen, a young boy played by Frederik Christian Johansen. Thanks to the slowly progression of the story, it is possible to notice the evolution in the character's emotions. Furthermore, the great use of flash-backs allows the spectator to dive into Drengen's childhood and to see the beautiful relationship between his grandfather and him as well as the unexpected change that turned his life upside down. Thanks to this movie, we learn that even the gloomiest stories could be illuminated by a ray of hope. Because even if the path is narrow, we all can try to become a lynx and find the twenty-fifth hour of the day when we can be happy, far away from the world that surrounds us. Full review on our blog : https://losindiscretos.org/english/the-hour-of-the-lynx-2013-soren- kragh-jacobsen-en