Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
eblien
I really cannot stand all these Swedish pretentious and self-righteous movies, but I still keep watching them in hope that something good may come out of it. After all they gave us The Emigrants (Moberg) in the 70's so there still might be hope.And something good there is; quite interesting to watch these people in situations that are very believable and real, despite characters being extremely annoying, stupid and/or stubborn. The only likable character must be the teacher trying to stand up against her ignorant, anemic, moron colleagues.And yes, the camera is very static, gave me a feeling I am just an observer, even gave me a strange feeling that I peeked into these situations without them knowing or without permission. Quite nice, but I would like to see more of a plot, more resolution, that all these fragments lead to somewhere. It just stopped.
ingelaallard
Five independent stories which all possess an admirable wit and acuity. They all share one thing - the involved have to stand up for their own will and resist the so often overwhelming peer pressure that we all at some point has been the victim of.Ruben Östlund has created a sleek, straight and accurate film where the acting is unbeatable. We have to be alert, listen and try to keep up with the sometimes very complicated plot. The camera is rolling and it allows all the involved to take all the space. The stories has a strange sense of normalcy on the surface, and the every day situations succeeds each other with finesse, perfectly knitted together until the end without any forced resolution or final connection. It is this kind of story I feel can be associated with Sweden. This may be our future culture imprint.Ruben Östlund possesses a narration that grabs at his audience and he is not afraid to challenge. It is exciting despite unremarkable equality in the presentation, and the persons in the five stories, feel very real.
AgentSniff
Ruben Östlund must be one of the most self important directors working in Sweden today. He is angry on Hollywood for making films people are entertained by. He wonders why his film don't speak to as many people as films about cowboys and aliens when his films are about everyday life. The answer is quite simple. Most people goes to the cinema to be entertained and Ruben Östlund's film douse not entertain. Entertainment can be achieved by many emotions, happiness, horror, sadness, thrills, chills and joy. The one emotion a director is never allowed to evoke in his audience is boredom. To bore an audience is the worst crime an entertainer can commit and Östlund commits this crime.The scenes in this film is made up mostly of single shots showing scenes in the life of a teacher, two teenyboppers, an old man, a group of drunks and a bus party. All of them fall victim to the mechanisms of the group. This would have been interesting concept but Ruben Östlund's own pretentious ideas comes in the way. Like his moronic camera angels.The camera angels are often filming really strange stuff like peoples feet or a car door. I hate to be the first to bring this up to you Östlund, but you are not Roy Andersson.The psychology of a group is an interesting subject, but you can't make a movie with just that. You need context. Come up with a story to use as backdrop to your theme. The first two X-Men movies did a great job with this.There is no plot nor character development. A film can make up for this in by brining up other stuff, like an interesting story but this is not the case of this film. Ruben Östlund summarizes the worst kind of filmmakers alive; those who don't care for their audience. Others like him are Micheal Bay, Uwe Boll and Kristian Petri to name a few.Avoid this guy, because he deserves not attention,
ozjeppe
A teacher who witnesses a colleague strike a pupil gets ostracized by the other teachers. The elderly host at a posh party is injured but refuses to have medical attention. A stout bus driver refuses to go on driving unless the one who vandalized his bus steps forward. Two young teen girls go on a drunken, out of control-spree with friends. An all-male party weekend in the country has unexpected sexual repercussions... Five very different Swedish stories with one big common denominator: peer pressure and the situations it puts people in.Sad, on-target and all-too credible snapshots of social awkwardness & spinelessness, male pride and an equally sad alcohol culture. Major asset is the refreshing, semi-documentary-style ensemble acting, which makes me ask: why can't all Swedish movies have such seamless, perfectly and naturally performed dialog all the time? Too bad it's yet another case of finely written (and carefully photographed - often Roy Andersson-static - leaving details out of shot) little stories that don't get the development or resolution they deserve - we never get to know some characters enough to care (like the old man who gets a piece of fireworks in his eye), which proves that this movie easily could've been even stronger with 20 more minutes or so! 6 out of 10 from Ozjeppe
