FILM – Scandinavian Film Festival – Underdog – 4K

By Peter Maddern

One of the Scandinavian Film Festival’s highlights (Adelaide from 22 July til 29 July) is this Chicago and Zurich Film Festival award winner by director Ronnie Sandahl.

Set in Oslo, Norway, Dino (Bianca Kronloff) is a 25 year old Swede struggling to make ends meet; living rough and with her job opportunities hampered by a broken forearm. But she manages to get baby-sitting work with Steffen (Henrik Rafaelsen), a former tennis star who now runs a string of restaurants and who looks after his two daughters while his wife is away working in Botswana. Of course, they fall in love but a uncomfortable triangle develops when his wife returns home unexpectedly.

This is a most emotionally engaging film with the older Steffen struggling with an identity beyond the notoriety of his younger days and a distant wife about whom he has mixed feelings. Dino similarly struggles but coming from the other direction, of poverty and of no status at all. Kronloff seems to become increasingly more beautiful and sensually captivating as the story develops and Sandahl’s direction utilises close up camera work (bordering at times on queasy-cam) that highlights the growing connection and intimacy between not only these two main players but also between her and Ida, his 15 year old daughter.

There are a couple of clumsy scenes which seem somewhat odd but otherwise this is a classy love story that resolves itself with a better understanding of life for all the main players. There is also a terrific line about how the formerly dominant Swedes view their Scandinavian cousins – ‘they are like retarded cousins who won the lottery – good luck to them’, a position that is not reciprocated by the Norwegians.

Kryztoff Rating 4K

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