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Monthly archives: November 2010

Sound Of Noise is a good tune

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A new kind of terrorism in Sound Of Noise PHOTO: Charlotta Tengroth

You don’t know what you got until you’ve lost it. A statement I couldn’t agree with more right now. My Internet has been down for a week now and immediately I feel like I’ve been thrown back to the Middle Ages where I’m too busy hunting for food to be writing for the blog. Luckily the power is now switched back so the neighbor’s dog can come out of hiding.

Last week I spent most of my days at Stockholm Film Festival. Watching films and trying to stay alive in this cold weather we’re having now. I can’t help feeling that the film Day After Tomorrow is loosely based on the Swedish weather around Christmas.

One of the most interesting and original film I saw during the festival was a film called Sound Of Noise. It marks the feature film debut of filmmakers Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson. The film which is inspired by their own short film, Music For One Apartment And Six Drummers, is all about music in its purest form.

A bunch of people do whatever they can to create a masterpiece of sound and for this they are branded terrorists. They run from the police at the same time as they have to complete their work, named Sound Of Noise.

The film has been bouncing around festivals for quite some time now and has picked up several awards. To name drop a few I can tell you it picked up the Young Critics Award and The Golden Rail Award at Cannes. It also won awards in Lübeck, Germany, Austin, USA and it nabbed both the Audience Award and the Free Spirit Award at Warsawa Film Festival. The film is covered in love in other words.

I found the film really original and I had a smile on my face the first 30 minutes of the film because I really had never seen anything like this before.  It truly is one of a kind. However, after these 30 minutes you just kind of wait until the next piece of music begin because the story itself is as flat as a drums high hat. The acting could be tuned a little better as well but all in all the Sound Of Noise is a sound I think most people will take in and like, even if it’s only for a couple of minutes.

Here is the short film that Sound Of Noise is based on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26eyBmUwi6w

Trailer for Sound Of Noise:

Chris Gardner - Film

November 29, 2010

One man, one legend, one review

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"So, do you have Facebook mr Cornelis?" PHOTO: Crille Forsberg

I have to say that one of the reasons why I’m writing this review is due to a very pleasant Twitter friend. Time went by but she didn’t lose patience in what I would think of the film Cornelis. A Swedish film that portrays the life of the very beloved and legendary Swedish musician Cornelis Vreeswijk.

How to you start a film about a character whose legacy spans through generations? A career that has touched the skies to later dance with the devil? The director has chosen the obvious start, from the beginning, his childhood.  During his childhood traumatic things happen which shapes the rest of his life.

The filmmakers then focus on his career. A career which best could be described as a spicy dish where the ingredients are praise, money, love, scandals and infidelity. In other words a dish you wouldn’t want served at a Sunday dinner.

Towards the end of Cornelis Vreeswijk’s life he had debts up to his neck and an audience that wasn’t there. Ironically after his death in 1987 his popularity exploded and his albums sold in record numbers.

So how did screenwriter Antonia Pyk and director Amir Chamdin portray the legend? The first word that comes to mind is honest. It feels like they’ve wanted to tell a story as honest and straight as possible. There aren’t any sugarcoating or varnished corners. This and the fact that the film is packed with music makes Cornelis a very pleasant film, even if the things happening on the screen aren’t always as pleasant.

If there’s something that this film needed it would be another hour. The film feels too short and this result in that a lot of things get rushed and the feeling of fulfillment is left behind. Some of the most interesting parts of his life end up on the fast forward button and that would trouble if the film didn’t look this good. I can’t dislike something that looks this good and to sweeten the deal the film is full of absolute fantastic acting. Hans-Erik Dyvik Husby as Cornelis is the best choice any movie has done since Frank Langella nailed the role as Nixon in the film Frost/Nixon. I know, a tall order but hey, I’m Swedish.

(Sorry, no subtitles.)

And here you can listen to one of his most popular songs.

Chris Gardner - Film

November 23, 2010

Inside the actor’s studio..ish

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Do your home work and show up on time is more valued than hours of rehearsal says Swedish actor Lukas Loughran. PHOTO: Lukas Loughran

It’s been a busy film week here in Stockholm. Not only have I been running back and forth from my day job to the Stockholm Film Festival, I’ve also managed to squeeze in this blog and a review for Swedish Radio. Yes I’m taking over. Today radio, tomorrow the world. Well not quite but I could maybe squeeze it in on Thursday.

This week I’ve seen The Killer Inside me by Michael Winterbottom and Monsters by Four Lions by Chris Morris. Not a lot of Swedish film in other words. Much due to the scheduling problems. But that haven’t stopped me from getting some great stuff about Swedish film, or at least about somebody IN Swedish film.

I bumped into Lukas Loughran, a Swedish actor that has played in multiple feature films, shorts and commercials. He has acted with some of Sweden’s most famous actors. Mikael Nyqvist and Mikael Persbrandt are just a few of them. I quickly put on my superhero suit and turned myself into Interview Man again. I saw the opportunity and I took it, can you blame me?

What got you started in acting? Was it a childhood dream or just something you found interesting?
Yes it was but I was to scared to try it since my grades is school where so poor that I thought that something like grades would matter becoming an actor. Needless to say, I was wrong.

What people in the industry inspire you?
It’s all about being totally naked and showing a part of your soul. Anyone who can do that will touch me and inspire me greatly.

Is there any particular role you have done that you are particularly proud of and why?
Both no and yes. I try to always be proud but never satisfied, so that I will try harder next time.

What is your dream project? What director and co-actors would be involved?
That’s a hard one. Susanne Bier is my absolute favorite director and would sacrifice my left hand to work with her. Actor… anyone who likes to play and be serious at the same time, it’s hard to find.

If you only had to watch one film over and over again for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
Der freie Wille by Matthias Glasner

Can you tell us a little bit about the process of an actor i Sweden.
Acting in Sweden on film is more trying to find the essence of the scene in the moment, not so rehearsed always. Do your home work and show up on time is more valued than hours of rehearsal.

And as Interview Man I have to honor Mr. Lipton. What turns you on?
True tears

What turns you off?
False tears

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
Why does life need to be so hard?

A clip from Iscariot where he plays against Mikael Nyqvist

Trailer for The Man With All The Marbles where Lukas won Best supporting actor at LA movie award 2010. You can see the whole short here (no subtitles I’m afraid)

Chris Gardner - Film

November 21, 2010

Stockholm Film Festival is full of Swedes. Is that odd?

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The very prestige bronze horse. Only a few get to go home with this little pony. Photo: Daniel Rohlin

The Stockholm Film Festival is now up and running, and is looking better than ever. This year Sweden’s biggest film festival is graced with the presence of no other than Holly Hunter. She’ll be the head of the jury this year.

When she arrived at Norrmalmstorg square in Stockholm the other day the street was lined with people holding torches. This greeting of fire was very much appreciated as you can see in the Youtube clip below. If you are in Stockholm now on Saturday and want to see Holly Hunter you can buy a ticket to her Face2Face here. I highly recommend it to everybody that loves cinema.

This year’s festival is packed with fantastic film. Some of the highlights are Shanghai, by the Swedish filmmaker Mikael Håfström, and Shelter by the Swedish duo Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein. They debuted 2005 in Sweden with Storm. A film that really showed that Swedish cinema is on a new wave of filmmaking. That they then ran to Hollywood is kind of funny but who can blame them? The boys in Hollywood have bigger and more expensive toys.

The festival will also hold the world premiere of the film Four More Years (Fyra år till) by Tova Magnusson-Norling, who did the critically acclaimed film The Girl (Flickan) last year. The much beloved actor Björn Kjellman plays the lead. IMDB had a great description of what the film is about:

Political party leader David Holst, one of Sweden’s most popular politicians, is handsome, funny, popular and predicted as the country’s next prime minister. But what at first appears to be an easy victory turns into a grueling defeat as another party wins the elections and four years of leading the country, When David suddenly falls in love, the problem is not that he’s already married or that he’s fallen in love with another man. The problem is that the man he’s fallen head over heels in love with, Martin, is the only man on earth he can’t love. He is the Secretary of State for the rivaling country that won the elections.

Trailer to Four More Years (no subtitles sadly enough)

Tickets and all the films that will be screening at the festival can be found here.

P.S. Did I mention that Gus Van Sant will be present at this year’s festival? No? Well now I have.

Chris Gardner - Film

November 18, 2010

Short films – Make them, all the cool kids are doing it

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Claes, a man fighting his inner jail. Photo: Martina Carlstedt

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s Interview Man. Fighting films, one question at a time. Well maybe I’m not that bad but every time I get invited to a screening I immediately need to fire a couple of questions at the people involved. Yes, I’m weird that way and friends stop inviting me to things but it’s totally worth it. This just gives me more time to watch films.

The other day I got invited to the first screening of a short film called Claes, directed by Martina Carlstedt. She’s currently studying documentary filmmaking at the University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre (Dramatiska Institutet) and this is her latest baby.

Reality often outperform fiction says filmmaker Martina Carlstedt. Photo:Martina Carlstedt

Since visiting Uppsala Short Film Festival I’ve gotten completely hooked on shorts. I get really inspired excited by good short films and I have to say that the Uppsala festival really missed a great one because after Claes I felt like going home and paint a Jackson Pollock.

First off I want to say thank you for the screening. You and your producer, Geir Hansteen Jörgensen, were great hosts and the film was fantastic. A simple film with a huge heart that managed to catch the complex life of an old man with a fear of leaving his front door. Would this be a good way of describing the film?

Yes that is a good way of describing it. But it is also a film about fighting fears. Fears that sometimes creates an inner jail. It also highlights what lonesomeness and isolation can do to a person.

Tell me a little about the film Claes. How did it come to life?

I knew Claes when I was a little child. He was almost like a step-dad to me, a very kind, loving and social person. But when i was 6 years old he moved away and we didn’t have any contact for over 18 years. Last year I was in Gothenburg with another film project and decided to visit Claes where he lives nowadays. When I realized how he changed since i was a child, and what kind of isolated life he lives, I got very affected and sad. But I also felt his need of talking to someone about his situation. So i started filming him, without any intention of what i was gonna do with the material. His brutal honest way of describing his fears and angst in life made me feel that i had to do a film about him.

How come you decided on focusing on the genre of documentary? Is it a genre you enjoy more then others?

To me documentary and fiction have the same purpose. To tell a story that affects people in one way or another  and hopefully make people reflect a little bit differently on their own life or the world that we live in. But what I’ve experienced is that the reality often outperform fiction and I often find the stories I want to tell in my surroundings, in my reality as I see it.

Tell us a little bit about the process, how has it been? Has it been a struggle? A labor of love?

The process of making this film was really hard from time to time. It’s hard to be close to a person who is suffering. I wanted to understand his inner conflicts and isolation. This affected me mentally more then I could have imagined. I reflected a lot on my life during this process and filming claes was a bit like  therapy for me and him. I felt like Claes looked at the camera as someone who finally listened to him.

How do you feel now when you’ve released Claes into the world? Nervous, excited, sad?

I feel both nervous and excited. The most important for me was that Claes felt OK with me doing this film. He has seen it and feels good about it. Now i just hope that people will see it and hopefully gain something.

Since Uppsala Short Film Festival has already been this year, are there plans on next year? Have you sent it to any other festivals?

I’ll try to send it to Uppsala next year. Now we’ll see if Gothenburgs Film Festival and the documentary film festival Tempo wants a piece of it.

Chris Gardner - Film

November 14, 2010