the bothersome man Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Discuss: The Most Pleasant Surprises
Filed under: Comedy », Foreign Language », Independent »
One of the benefits of attending film festivals is that it offers someone who sees pretty much everything the chance to finally see pretty much anything without knowing about it one iota in advance.It's a strategy that's led me astray before, but at the Florida Film Festival a couple of years back, a sold-out screening of Hard Candy (okay, it would've been my second time) forced me to bumble instead into a showing starting right there and then of something Norwegian called The Bothersome Man.
Lo and behold, I actually very much enjoyed this deadpan tale of a man who finds himself dropped off in a banal purgatory of sorts, an Ikea-laced hell where money won't buy you happiness, drinks won't get you drunk, sex won't get you laid, and suicide won't get you killed. For the Netflix-savvy among you, it remains available on their Instant Watch format, and even on pesky ol' disc, I heartily recommend it.
Of course, I told you that to ask you this: What's the last time that you stumbled across a movie on pure and complete accident or convenience -- dragged on a date, came across on cable, etc. -- and with no recommendation that took you by total and utter surprise?
TIFF Review: The Bothersome Man
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Horror », Mystery & Suspense », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie »
The Bothersome Man is a dark, nasty little movie that's never quite as deep or as clever as it imagines itself to be. Based on a Norwegian radio play, the film tells the story of Andreas (Trond Fausa Aurvaag), an office worker who throws himself under a subway train seconds after the film opens. The next time we see him, he's the lone passenger on a battered bus to the middle of nowhere. Stepping out of the bus, Andreas finds himself standing on a wide plain, with dark mountains in the distance. Nearby is the only building as far as the eye can see, an old gas station sporting a makeshift "WELCOME" sign. The station's solicitous attendant drives Andreas to "his" apartment in a large, modern city, and tells him where to go to work in the morning.
This, then, is the afterlife. And, in director Jens Lien's new film, the afterlife looks a whole lot like western Europe today, complete with glass-clad skyscrapers, classical facades, and an old town full of winding streets and elderly people who look like they've lived there for 50 years. Everyone is well-dressed and friendly, albeit it in a superficial way. Marriage is encouraged because it looks good; what goes on inside the home or within the heart is of no consequence. No one actually forms emotional attachments, but the appearance of closeness and happiness is in place, and that's what's important. Food has no taste, alcohol no kick, and it's impossible to die, but hey, those are the breaks.
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