Refroidis

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.

Most movies about revenge tend to focus on the spectacle of cruelty and bloodshed, delivering a film filled with somewhat morally justified killings, but no meaning behind them. This one is not like them. Like other Scandinavian masterpieces, In Order of Disapperance delivers a deep and meaningful story. In Hungary, the distributor tried to advertise the movie as a dark comedy, however, besides a few morbid jokes, there is nothing funny about it. Instead, the script tries to focus on the conflicts and the person tragedies behind the murders and the shootouts, which makes it not just a great gangster flick, but also a great drama. In Hans Petter Moland directing style, every gesture, look, sentence has a meaning, and this is the reason, why for example the main character can function in the story without merely saying any words. Of course, this impact is helped by some performances by Skarsgard, Bruno Ganz and Pal Sverre Hagen.

My only problem with this movie was that it has a somewhat slow pace, and because of that, sometimes it struggled to keep up my attention, but nonetheless, it's a quality piece and I'd definitely recommend it.

First Headhunters, now this.. The films that keep coming out of Scandinavia, and in particular Norway, are hard to beat. Headhunters was most definitely one of my favourites of last years and this is also very high on the list.

For me it's the (fairly) unknown actors, the absolutely shameless and inventive humor and I guess that beautiful landscape. And of course the great, very well known, Stellan Skarsgard for whom this seems like it's especially made for. He is perfect and such a great character that you will be rooting for him long after the film is finished. He makes the film, but it probably would have worked with another actor as well, as the story is so original and highly entertaining.

Absolutely loved it and can't wait to see it again. Hollywood: HANDS OFF 8/10

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.

"In Order of Disappearance" is NOT a film for everyone. In some ways, I'd categorize it as 'Murder Porn'...a movie with many, many vivid and brutal killings...like a Tarantino or Guy Ritchie movie. And, like one of these incredibly carnage-filled movies, it's also exceptionally well made. But being well made does not mean it's for everyone....it is a really nasty story of revenge.

When the film begins, two guys are abducted and one is murdered. The other escapes and eventually makes it to see Nils Dickman--the father of the dead man. It seems that the guy who got away was involved with drug dealers but Dickman's son was completely innocent. Well, Nils isn't about to let go and has decided he must have justice--even though he's just one man against a gang of vicious drug dealers. It's funny, as Nils was just awarded a Man of the Year award...and now he's about to become a vicious killing machine.

Nils only has one lead and soon abducts this lead. He savagely beats and then murders the gang member after he learns the next one in the chain of command and does the same once again. After Nils kills his third gang member, the gangs take notice...and think it's a rival Serbian gang behind all this. Soon, it's all out war...and bodies are piling up faster than the audience can keep track of them.

This film is exquisitely directed and realistic to boot. But it's also blood-filled and violent...and I am talking about very realistic and hideous killings. I was actually surprised, as I just assumed Americans and Brits were the only ones making these sort of films! Well made...but please, please, please...DON'T let your kids, mother or Father O'Reilly catch you watching this film!