The Shamer

The "shame" of this movie is that it is so very well done-- then drops the audience to end credits, with no ending. The audience is not notified of this ahead of time. According to Wikipedia:

"The second part of the saga 'Skammerens Datter II: Slangens Gave' is currently in post production as of 2018 and is set to premiere on February 7, 2019"

It's (as of this review) July 2019 and no sign of a sequel in sight.

When we find out if the *sequel* has an ending or drops us like a dead toad again... I might come back and re-rate this. Or I might not.

The directing, acting, settings are all superb. Storyline is unique, plot line captivating. Could have easily given this 8+ stars based on production alone. So is it so difficult for them to let us know ahead of time that this is the first of 2 or 3 parts? Just as one is really getting interested BAM! Fade to black, no warning. Someone should have shamed the director and publishing company into being more up-front with their plans. For their lack of sympathy for the audience... 6 stars and no more. Take that, film-killing ruffians!

Enjoyed the mix of humor and action. Better than satisfactory acting. Interesting characters and twist/turns of the script. Worth the time to watch. Enjoy it for yourself.

This foreign film with a supernatural twist is surprisingly well done. It was based on a well-known and excellent fantasy book series, "The Shamer Chronicles." Unlike so many adaptations, it is not in the least cartoonish. The acting is good. The writing is good. The plot is good as well. The basic concept, that the lead character can shame people into changing their behavior, has power. You do, of course, have to like things in the fantasy genre. If so, this is well worth a look. It is a cut above.

So, the negative reviews for this movie have two topics: 1) The ending. If you are one of those who can´t stand a movie without the typical 08/15 Hollywood happy ending with the bad guys dead and the hero riding into the sunset, you better stay away from this movie. If your taste in movies isn´t yet ruined by the cliche, keep reading.

2) The movie being inspired by GoT. Not having watched GoT, I am free from comparing them, so I don´t see any flaws there. And IIRC, fans weren´t exactly happy about the ending of the series either... And let´s be honest - it is extremly hard by now to NOT resemble anything already made. For me, it reminded me a bit of LotR at times with the hobbit like look of the main character and the Rivendell lookalike. But that´s okay.

If you are able to rate the movie for what it is, you will most likely end at 6 stars or higher. I found the characters to be convincing enough (surprisingly especially the younger cast), with the main character reminding me of Elizabeth Mitchell regarding the grace and kindness in her mimic. The special effects were pretty good and the story is well written, so all in all, it is a solid movie. Nothing groundbreaking or genre redefining, but definitely worth a watch.

Awesome for kids - but if you are 12+ you will feel like you are reading a children's book, which isn't the case with the actual book.

As a reader of the books, and so a fan of the series, I went and saw the film with high expectations, and hoping for a sense of ''breathtaking''. This was, however, unfortunately not what happened. In my opinion, the acting and setup seems like a theater from public school 5th grade. Of course it's child actors who play the more significant roles. But if you can't find children with skills, one should simply make the characters a few years older.

But fortunately there are the skilled and seasoned adult actors, or are there? These tanned actors work equally as if they were extras in a school play. The animations and props were good, and it certainly does not resemble a B-movie. But I hope that a film company with a somewhat higher budget, sees the potential of the extraordinary storyline and therefore makes a re-make of it.

If you have not read the books, I think that the film may be a bit confusing and seem shallow, with a bad plot.

Looking forward to ''Skammertegnet'' - if this were to be produced of course.