Portland (film)

Portland is a 1996 Danish drama film written and directed by Niels Arden Oplev, in his feature film debut.[3] It stars Anders W. Berthelsen, Ulrich Thomsen, and Iben Hjejle. The film, whose title is a reference to a Danish brand of cement,[1] was selected for competition at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.[4]

Portland
Film poster
Directed byNiels Arden Oplev
Produced byPeter Aalbæk Jensen
Ib Tardini
Written byNiels Arden Oplev
StarringAnders W. Berthelsen, Ulrich Thomsen, and Iben Hjejle
Music bySons of Cain / Morten Olsen[1]
CinematographyHenrik Jongdahl
Edited byHenrik Fleischer
Production
company
Release date
  • 19 April 1996 (1996-04-19)
Running time
103 minutes[1]
CountryDenmark
LanguageDanish

Plot

The film is set in northern Denmark[3] and depicts the "violent drug-fueled adventures of two brothers, Janus (Anders Wodskou Berthelsen) and Jakob (Michael Muller) at the bottom of Denmark's social ladder."[1]

Cast
  • Anders W. Berthelsen as Janus
  • Michael Muller as Jakob, the brother of Janus
  • Ulrich Thomsen as Lasse, the gang leader
  • Iben Hjejle as Eva, the sister of Lasse
  • Birthe Neumann as Lasse's mother
  • Baard Owe as Kaj
  • Edith Thrane as Mrs. Eriksen
  • Helle Dolleris as Irene
  • Susanne Birkemose Kongsgaard as Minna
  • Karsten Belsnæs as Kenneth
  • Preben Raunsbjerg as Johnny

Reception

Stephen Holden called the film "blood-chilling" with the "feel of a nihilistic prank. But although flashy, it has fundamental weaknesses. Partly because the actor playing him has no dramatic range, the transformation of Jakob from softhearted reform-school punk into sadistic iron man isn't the slightest bit convincing. Mr. Berthelsen's lank-haired, pill-popping Janus, however, is all too real. As this connoisseur of pain punches and lurches his way through the film, you see exactly how antisocial impulses can be warped into a code of outlaw values."[1]

David Stratton called it "violent, nihilistic and often repellent, and yet its bold visuals and unexpected elements of humor and romance make it riveting viewing."[2] According to Stratton, "as a director, Oplev shows he has talent: his mixture of moods works well, he gets strong performances from most cast members, and he pushes the narrative along at an urgent pace....But as a writer, he’s less successful; it’s surely not enough these days for Janus to blame his lifestyle on a lack of mother's love (which he does) or to have characters utter corny lines like “It’s us against the world.” There’s also far too much unmotivated violence (Janus assaulting a shopping mall security guard is a totally unnecessary sequence) and a few cheap and obvious jokes at the expense of authority figures."[2]

gollark: 'Tis legally required, apparently.
gollark: What is "tracker"? Is it this?
gollark: "Træcker"?
gollark: The osmarks.tk secondary computing server™ has an ultra-powerful™ Ryzen 3 1200 with more than THREE cores, 8GB DDR4-2933 RAM, and the most powerful GPU ever designed, the Nvidia GT 710.
gollark: It would have enough storage that I could actually keep backups, it would be great.

References
  1. Holden, Stephen (28 May 1997). "Crime, Drugs, Brutality and Love". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  2. Stratton, David. "Review: 'Portland'". Variety. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  3. "Niels Arden Oplev, director". DragonTattooFilm.com. Music Box Films. 2010. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  4. "Berlinale: 1996 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.