REVIEWS
DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT
Swe. 2011. 118mins Director Ruben Ostlund Production companies Plattform Produktion, Coproduction Office, Parisienne de Production International sales Coproduction Office,
www.coproductionoffice.eu Producers Erik Hemmendorff, Philippe Bober Screenplay Ruben Ostlund Cinematography Marius Dybwad Brandrud Editors Ruben Ostlund, Jacob Schulsinger Production designer Pia Aleborg Music Saunder Jurriaans, Daniel Bensi Main cast Anas Abdirahman, Sebastian Blyckert, Yannick Diakité, Sebastian Hegmar, Abdiaziz Hilowle, Nana Manu, John Ortiz, Kevin Vaz
Play REVIEWED BY MARKADAMS
Ruben Ostlund’s thoughtful and occasionally harrowing film Play, about youngsters in Sweden being harassed and robbed of their mobile phones and wallets by a gang of other youths, is a fascinating exercise in psychology in a specific social environ- ment, and acts as a companion piece to the director’s last film, Involuntary, which screened in official selection at Cannes in 2008. Set against the inner-city backdrop of central Gothenburg, the
film details an elaborate scheme known as the ‘little brother number’, involving role-play and gang rhetoric rather than pure physical violence. Based on a series of real-life incidents recorded by Swedish police, the scheme relies on subtle and implied men- ace rather than brute force. With its young cast, languid pace and lack of the dynamism
and quirky humour which defined Involuntary, the film could appeal to purveyors of high-end arthouse cinema, but will be a tough film to break into mainstream screens. Thoughtful news- paper articles could accompany, but reviews are likely to be respectful rather than passionate. Festivals will be a likely route. In a shopping mall in downtown Gothenburg, five youths (all
black, with ages ranging from eight to mid-teens) pursue a group of three clearly relatively well-to-do young boys and ask them the time. When one pulls out his mobile phone to check, he is accused of having stolen the phone from the first boy’s “little brother”. The youths then suggest the other boys accompany them a
short distance away to show the phone to its supposed rightful owner to clear matters up. Soon the threesome find themselves walking to a series of different locations, never allowed to leave and forming a relationship similar to kidnapper and kidnapped. Eventually the five boys arrange a running race, with the win-
ner to get all — with both groups pooling their wallets, phones and so on — but naturally, the five scammers cheat, and the oth- ers become their reluctant but consenting victims. The young non-professional actors are all pretty impressive,
but while their psychological manipulation is intriguing it is ulti- mately never clear why the three harassed youngsters do not just run away. Yes, they feel ‘threatened’, but all have moments when they could escape… plus it feels inconsistent that they would fall for such a scam in the first place, despite the issue that the story is based on fact. Play is elegantly shot — entirely filmed in static shots using a
Cineci t tà Luce at Cannes 2011: I tal ian Pavi l ion I n t e r n a t i o n a l V i l l a g e – S t a n d 1 3 2
Red 4K camera — and while languid at times, it is punctuated by unlikely moments of humour. There are two incongruous shots of a band of Native American Indians in full traditional dress playing music and then having lunch, while there is also a run- ning sub-plot about staff on a train worrying about a wooden baby’s cradle that is blocking exits. It is certainly a watchable and provocative film, though per-
haps feels more of a social exercise rather than a drama. But Ostlund remains a challenging and thoughtful film-maker and the film offers plenty of food for thought.
n 18 Screen International at the Cannes Film Festival May 17, 2011
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