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Kent and his wife Sara live in a
small Swedish town with their son Stefan. Although the
neighbors do not realize, Kent is violent and abusive
towards his family. One day Sara returns home to
discover Stefan has suffocated Kent while he slept,
leaving him apparently dead. Sara and Stefan dispose of
the body in the woods, only to discover the next day
that Kent has survived, but is paralyzed. As the
wheel-chair bound husband returns home to his family, no
one is sure how much he remembers about what happened.
Then, when Kent attempts to return to his abusive ways,
tragedy strikes. |
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Nöjesguiden:
In order for anyone to be misled, let me immediately
emphasize that this movie title is ironic. For the home
with the unemployed caterer and his wife and almost
teenage son, the sweet life is a mere memory. A memory
that flares past the family's video, maybe a few times
too much, during the course of the film, to inform us
that there's actually an explanation that these people
once met and provided children. They look happy on the
jerky and low-resolution images. But between then and
now something has happened. Something like debuting
director Dan Ying, who also wrote a script, never really
puts his finger on. It is a mystery we never get answers
to.
There are scenes where the father is bothering the boy
and the wife is physically uncomfortable to take part
in. It is a family picture far from the Swedish trivial
films that populate our cinemas presently (2001). All
three actors stand out from the screen as exclamation
marks and for half an hour, or three quarters, we sit
like a screwdriver and witness the most sensational film
devoid for decades.
By the end, we are invited to a dinner scene that would
not disappoint Norén, but once it's over, we only see
new question marks hanging in the curly smoke. There are
difficult things Dan Ying deals with in his debut. A
complicated, psychological family drama with rough daily
violence. Such strong expressions can not only be
expressed in our face without being resolved and
explained. And there Ying goes to bed. Or, so he tries
to find a shortcut through the boy's inner monologues,
mostly for the thoughts of "My life as a dog". A kind of
hobby philosophical thought, which in its worst section
rather serves as annoying anti-climax. But. And I really
want to add one but. Not least because it's a debut that
wants something and not least for the spectacle. Dan
Ying's film stands bravely at the side of the middle. It
takes risks. And it dares. There should even be special
gold coins for this.
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