A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Reviews of films from Finland, Greenland, Iceland and countries traditionally considered part of Scandinavia (Denmark Norway, Sweden). I’ve included Estonia and Latvia in this category as these countries have historic links to Sweden.
André Øvredal, “Tunnelen” (2016) Even something as seemingly innocuous and commonplace as driving to the seaside – and then getting stuck in peak-hour traffic on the…
Australian and New Zealand Films, Northern European Films
“The Swedish Model” (Foreign Correspondent, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 June 2020) In March 2020, when the SARS-CoV-2 virus had been circulating in Europe for at least…
Laura Neuvonen, “The Last Knit” (2005) Technically this digital animated short is well done but the very simple plot of a woman addicted to knitting a…
Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja, “Aniara” (2018) An ambitious project to bring a poem by the Swedish poet / author / former sailor Harry Martinson (who co-won…
Northern European Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Yana Yerlashova, “MH17 – Call for Justice” (Bonanza Media, July 2019) Five years after the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 passenger jet was shot down in eastern…
Indian Subcontinent Films, Northern European Films
Jos van Dongen, “Victim of the World Wildlife Fund” (Zembla, 2019) Now this is the kind of hard-hitting investigative journalism I like to see! In this…
Northern European Films, South African Films
Jean van de Welde, “An Act of Defiance” (2017) Quite a hard-hitting and confrontational film this historical drama on the incidents and trial that sent political…
North American Films, Northern European Films
Bjorn Runge, “The Wife” (2017) As films go, “The Wife” is enjoyable mainly for Glenn Close’s understated performance as the title character: for the most part,…
Grimur Hakonarson, “Rams / Hrutar” (2015 Forty years ago, a family rift led to two brothers in an Icelandic sheep-farming family going their separate ways, splitting…
Dome Karukoski, “Tom of Finland” (2017) As a general introduction to the life of gay icon Tom of Finland, real name Touko Laaksonen, for a general…