Melbourne International Film Festival, 03/08/2010
Status: Behind by 15 films
Forget Romeo and Juliet. You want to talk about forbidden love? Let’s discuss gay Danish neo-Nazis.
At a loose end after being kicked out of the military (for making drunken passes at his subordinates), Lars (THURE LINDHART) joins up with a local neo-Nazi group mostly to piss off his mother. There he meets Jimmy (DAVID DENCIK) who is to mentor him for a fast-tracked A-membership. They end up doing other, more recreational things instead.
Although the set up is a bit of a stretch, the script is so compelling and the actors so convincing that I was completely taken along. In his first feature, writer-director NICOLO DONATO has crafted a brutal and beautiful story about repugnant yet sympathetic characters with a satisfyingly ambiguous ending.
I liked that there were no easy answers about neo-fascism, hatred, machismo, violence or trauma, just complex ideas about who people are and what they believe. All wrapped up in some pretty excellent performances.
