Shootout at the Norskie Corral is the grand Finale of Snowplow Opera "in Order of Disappearance". Old Bruno Ganz is still full of P. and V. and Stellan Skarsgard is literally awesome.
"In Order of Disappearance" (Kraftidioten, or "Power freaks" in German) directed by Hans Peter Moland is the surprise of the week at Berlin 2014. Stellan Skarsgård is a snowplow driver who will stop at nothing to reap revenge on his son's drug lord killers in this wildly rib-tickling Norwegian crime thriller. In a followup to his sympathetic listener in Nymphomaniac senior Swede thespian Skarsgård is suddenly a powerful star presence at age 61. Elderly Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, now 71, also amuses as an unlikely gun-toting Serbian Mafia godfather. The film title is a take-off on the familiar cast credit introduction: "in order of appearance". In this film the cast members are not named at the beginning, but as each one is knocked off in creatively brutal gangland fashion the name appears ~ in order of disappearance! ~ on a black screen as a death notice, with a small cross -- in one case, a Star of David as one of the victims happens to be Jewish (Horowitz). The body count is enough to fill the entire screen at the end -- nearly everybody who appears gets killed and disappears.
Not only is this a rip-roaring actioner but also a heady satire of right wing politics, left wing politics, especially the socialist welfare state, and the very conventions of the Godfather genre. For example, the main villain is a tall handsome clean cut leading man type who is a practicing vegan and has all his henchman drinking bio fruit juices. "Graf", as he us called, is a totally callous killer but weeps tenderly when his his own son is kidnapped. This picture has it all, fast action, thrills and spills in a breathtaking setting of arctic snowscapes, raw and subtle humor, terrific deadpan acting, high concept everything and was applauded wildly for something like ten minutes at the end. In my book this should be the Golden Bear hands down with Stellan Skarsgård a shoo in for best festival actor with two outstanding performances back to back -- this and Nymphomaniac. However Berlin is not noted for awarding crowd pleasers, no matter how well made. Morose depressers with unknown actors destined for quick oblivion have a much better chance for prizes here -- however, as a certain Dirty Harry might say, "In Order of Disappearance" made my day and justified suffering through two other soporifics on Berlin festival day number 6.
"In Order of Disappearance" (Kraftidioten, or "Power freaks" in German) directed by Hans Peter Moland is the surprise of the week at Berlin 2014. Stellan Skarsgård is a snowplow driver who will stop at nothing to reap revenge on his son's drug lord killers in this wildly rib-tickling Norwegian crime thriller. In a followup to his sympathetic listener in Nymphomaniac senior Swede thespian Skarsgård is suddenly a powerful star presence at age 61. Elderly Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, now 71, also amuses as an unlikely gun-toting Serbian Mafia godfather. The film title is a take-off on the familiar cast credit introduction: "in order of appearance". In this film the cast members are not named at the beginning, but as each one is knocked off in creatively brutal gangland fashion the name appears ~ in order of disappearance! ~ on a black screen as a death notice, with a small cross -- in one case, a Star of David as one of the victims happens to be Jewish (Horowitz). The body count is enough to fill the entire screen at the end -- nearly everybody who appears gets killed and disappears.
Not only is this a rip-roaring actioner but also a heady satire of right wing politics, left wing politics, especially the socialist welfare state, and the very conventions of the Godfather genre. For example, the main villain is a tall handsome clean cut leading man type who is a practicing vegan and has all his henchman drinking bio fruit juices. "Graf", as he us called, is a totally callous killer but weeps tenderly when his his own son is kidnapped. This picture has it all, fast action, thrills and spills in a breathtaking setting of arctic snowscapes, raw and subtle humor, terrific deadpan acting, high concept everything and was applauded wildly for something like ten minutes at the end. In my book this should be the Golden Bear hands down with Stellan Skarsgård a shoo in for best festival actor with two outstanding performances back to back -- this and Nymphomaniac. However Berlin is not noted for awarding crowd pleasers, no matter how well made. Morose depressers with unknown actors destined for quick oblivion have a much better chance for prizes here -- however, as a certain Dirty Harry might say, "In Order of Disappearance" made my day and justified suffering through two other soporifics on Berlin festival day number 6.