Refroidis

Stellan is stellar in Kraftidioten and so are the ever-neurotic villain and his comrades. Northern comedies are famous for a sort of mocking realism, spiced with irony, complete, as a rule, with a generous amount of black humor (cf. Adam's Apples, Flickering Lights, The Green Butchers). Kraftidioten doesn't fail to deliver on that count, for sure. It is at the same time serious, playful, hilarious, and thus highly entertaining. The plot doesn't have huge surprises in store, but what it does have is of the finest strain. The story is nicely spun; the characters are memorable, and dialogs are well-written and wonderfully witty throughout.

The son of a snow plower driver is killed by drug dealers for something he's not involved in. This sends the father, who is by the way a highly-esteemed citizen thanks to his work for the community, into a paternal rage and on a quest to avenge his son, setting a domino effect in motion in the local mafia's life.

A snow-covered dark comedy that should please a wide variety of movie lovers for all the good reasons. Double thumbs up! 9/10.

Sigh. Why couldn't I have been the writer or director of this film? Hell, I would even settle to be best boy, gaffer, caterer, shoe shine specialist or whatever. It's finally refreshing to see a movie that has all the T's crossed and the I's dotted. It stars Stellan Skarsgard and Bruno Ganz, for Heaven's sake. How bad could it be?

I didn't come into the film expecting much other than it was yet another entry in Norwegian cold landscape crime noir category. The scenery alone was worth the price of admission since it's quite the chore to film snowy landscapes. Here, the snow-capped mountains looked a postcard come to life. The direction was taut and there were no wasted scenes. I couldn't help but noticing there was a bit of a Tarantino-esque touch to a few parts of the movie, but I'm not complaining. This film has a lot of layers to it and it is easy to follow. The producers should be proud of themselves.

As the critics said some days ago, when Kraftidioten (International titled "In order of disappearance") premiered in the main program of the Berlin Film Festival, this is both hilarious, rough and beautiful. While giving loads of fun and entertainment, you'll soon discover that the film has a complex underlying theme which makes this interesting on a much wider scale.

But still, this is not a film for the faint hearted. That said as a warning, because the body-count is bigger than in any Norwegian film I've seen before. There's no sex, but all violence in this, still testosterone filled, movie with a hero called "Dickman". You can't say it more obvious than that.

Or what about a plot with a Swedish plowman working in the remote Norwegian high mountains dealing with Norwegian and Serbian gangsters in a vigilante film, crossed with beautiful Norwegian landscape and droll humor!?! Well, it's completely up my alley.

Hans Petter Moland always delivers. He has made the great films "A somewhat gentle man", "The last lieutenant", "Zero Kelvin", "Aberdeen" and "Comrade Pedersen" amongst others. All of them recommended! It's "A somewhat gentle man" which is most like this last one.

If you loved "Fargo", "Burn after reading", "The big white" or "In Bruges" this is the film for you. It's almost a mix, though it's a bit more dark and bloody, and has a more serious underlying theme. This is balanced beautifully with giving death announcements in a way I've never seen before after the body count rises.

It's seems like a film that doesn't take itself too seriously, though it still has some hilarious Tarantino-like discussions, mainly from minor roles, which adds a lot to the film. They are discussing the great food in the Norwegian prison system, how Norwegians are so environmental that they pick up dog litter in little bags, and the Scandinavian welfare system is discussed as a need because of the snow and lack of sun. A country where even the gangsters drink tomato juice and drive hybrid electric Fisker Karma cars.

But what makes "In order of disappearance" stand out as much more than a hilarious masculine violent "Fargo" is that it actually is a deeper comment about how men act. Our anti superhero is called Dickman, because he really acts like one, though still being a nice and likable man. Not able to express feelings to his wife, which leaves him, avenging that his bloodline via his lost son is all that matters. Of course we know that our society is patriarchal. In this film it's over-exaggerated, but giving a good comment on today's society. The men are the one's both criminal and the users of violence. Dickman didn't even know his son, and though being a "nice" kidnapper, he doesn't even know how to read a bed time story. The film has almost no affection, except between men, and film maker Moland knows to punish those kinds of forbidden feelings. He also, in more way than one, express that men are stupid, doing stupid things, which almost always has a severe consequence.

This is the kind of film I wish would never end. I enjoyed it immensely right from the start, and it even grew from there. The film doesn't give all answers, but our vigilante hero at least gets to do some "good" deeds along the way. And if you hate drug dealers, then this is the film for you.

Stellan Skarsgård is perfect as the understated Swedish immigrant, just voted the inhabitant of the year in his little mountain town, which is a place we really don't get to know where is. The signs says "Welcome to Tyos..." and then the snow constantly covers the rest of the name. Even Oslo is made as a Alaskan-like ice city, where mountains are put where they usually not are. Our hero takes the matters in his own hands when he understands that the police are considering not to investigate the case of his son found dead by drug overdose in the city. He knows of course this is murder. And he is going to revenge his son's death.

The film has so many great supporting roles, which all make up this story, and I'm sure this film will do great world wide. Great scripting again from Danish Kim Fupz Aakeson and great filming by Philip Øgaard. The scenery is awesome, an adds to the film's sentimentality as well as beauty, which makes the whole environment even more exotic.

It's the fourth time Stellan Skarsgård is featured in a Moland-film, and it's not difficult to understand why. But Bruno Ganz is perfect as the Serbian gangster Papa and I also loved Pål Sverre Hagen as the neurotic vegan gangster "Greven" (The Count). But so many from the supporting cast should be praised as well.

Be sure to pick up this treat of a dark gangster comedy! As bloody as they come, but still with a great heart! You won't regret!

Well-made action-thriller with Stellan Skarsgård as a decent Swedish snowplowerer in the Norwegian mountains becomes an avenger for his dead son.

Reminds me more of American revenge flicks like 'TAKEN (2008)', 'JOHN WICK (2014)' and 'THE EQUALIZER (2014)' than anything typically Scandinavian... Without ever getting too cheesy or 'poserish' which tend to happen at times when the Scandis attempt at this (for instance 'EXIT (2006)', 'GANGSTER (2007)' or '9 MILLIMETER (1997)' are examples of this when done poorly).

But yeah here they get it right, with a solid and incredibly intense crime boss played by Pål Sverre Hagen and overall pretty stellar acting.

A bit of dark comedy in the mix as well reminiscent of 'FARGO (1996)' and 'THE BIG WHITE (2005)'.

Liam Neeson is in the talks of being the lead in an American remake and that seems like it would be the go to guy with the task, however not sure if it will get any better as it's just fine the way it is.

Finally watched it last night. Instead, I got a film that quickly grew on me as the body count mounted (hence the Englsh title). An earlier reviewer said it was like Fargo, but I would add a touch of an absurd Kill Bill body count. At the end of the film I was laughing out loud. A great dark comedy.