Border

What a bizarre film. Initially, I thought I'd complain about the slow pacing, but honestly, I can't imagine this story told at a breakneck speed. Yes, it's definitely a slow burn, so action movie lovers might last twenty minutes tops, but I actually enjoyed the result of this Swedish-Danish collaboration. Anthropology enthusiasts should definitely give this film a watch for its fascinating glimpse into a blind alley of evolutionary development. On the other hand, dentists and their sensitive patients might want to skip it. The filmmakers have created a truly unique genre mashup; one moment, you're watching a heartfelt, melancholic drama, and the next, you're trying to erase from your memory some bizarre forest scenes convincing you that the ultimate sexual experience involves a fungal infection. I've seen a lot in my years, so I'm not pretending to be shocked or disgusted. But I wouldn't recommend it to the younger, less worldly audience or the more delicate aesthetes. Despite Tina's unusual appearance and eccentric behavior, I found her quite endearing. I wasn't bored for a second, despite the leisurely pace. / Lesson Learned: A moose is a troll's best friend. (2024-05-09)

LGBTT..? Nordic noir, supernatural horror, and realism—both magical and social—layered onto a love story and a quest for identity as part of a minority. Ali Abbasi, trolling the audience, designed it this way because practically anything can follow a love story, but it must be strong enough to support it. It’s a pity that the sun didn’t come out during the erotic scene; if it had been a rock, it would have made it even more intense. (2023-12-18)

Border has a detective storyline that strays into festival-movie bizarreness with diverse thoughtgerms. Despite what seems like elements of fantasy, we remain firmly rooted in reality, which makes it all the more frightening and disturbing. The creator calls it “Nordic realism”. It is a psychological, physical and, in some places, perhaps even repulsive experience for some, but always socially reflective and comrehensible from all angles. Plus, there’s some comic relief, which is probably deliberate, but I’m not sure. [Cannes] (2018-05-11)

It’s important you find out the least possible about this film prior to watching it. Knowing the background of the characters in advance would definitely ruin the surprises in store for you. With its raw repulsive scenes and slow tempo, Border offers a really bizarre and grim experience that will put off more viewers than it will gain. The filming is subtle and the acting performance, splendid (kudos to the central duo of actors). That being said, a swifter pace of the storyline wouldn’t hurt. My appreciation is scaled down due to the long-winded ending, yet I enjoyed the film’s singularity. [KVIFF 2018] (2018-07-08)

I caught up with this Scandinavian oddity and to my surprise it's decent and recommendable. The story focuses on Tina, who looks weird and is quite creepy, her life is not worth much and she works as a customs officer at an airport. But she has specially developed olfactory abilities and she can smell fear, guilt and other emotions from people, and thanks to that she catches some pedophiles. Her life changes, when she meets Vore, who has a similarly repulsive appearance, and they begin a sort of bizarre romance (the sex scene with them is very repulsive indeed). The film mixes multiple genres, it's interwoven with Norse mythology, it manages to shock (it gets quite intense at the end), and the whole thing is so strange, interesting and novel that I really enjoyed it. Scandinavian weirdness with all the trimmings. 7/10. (2024-03-29)