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Sorry, this movie sucks

Dreadfully Boring

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Casper, our main character earns a living by skillfully breaking into peoples homes and sell the stolen goods to the local receiver (Jamal). He doesn´t get any respect from Jamal and his men, he is humiliated and it seems that he doesn´t get fair prizes for the goods he has stolen. So one day he is approached by a stranger, that makes a proposition. You get the feeling that Casper senses danger, as well as we does for that matter, as he does not accept the proposition in the first place but later he changes his mind and then the real drama can begin.The stranger is a guy named Bjørn who is involved in organized crime. He has a brothel (this is usually Hells Angels in Denmark) and needs somebody to handle transport, security and economy and slowly, no, very fast as a matter of fact, is Casper in charge of these assignments. Casper wants to be involved but at the same time we get a very clear notion, that at a certain point he cannot pull out without problems. He is slowly losing control over his own life. When the old receiver sends out his guys to get Casper back into his old business a conflict of interests has started that can only be ended in one way...... Casper is together with his kid brother brought out into a forest and taught how to use a gun. By the instructions given you get a very, very clear notion that an execution is going to take place.It´s rare to watch social drama wherein everybody doesn´t stand out on some pathology scale. Casper and the rest of his family doesn´t stand out as sociopaths or having a drug/alcohol addiction. Casper is very affectionate towards his little sister and really seems resourceful here. The mother isn´t introduced much but there is nothing that stand out as suspicious. So the big question - why does Casper and his brother get involved in criminal activities? Well, the explanation cannot be found within the family so instead....? Its the simple fact of growing up in Northvest - or a ghetto for that matter. Its a society within the society governed by its own laws. The mother knows what is going on - suddenly he wears a Rolex watch and it is as if she wants to have a conversation about this but in the same moment gives up. Alone she cannot fight and win the battle to get Casper back on track. The pace of the story, the portrait of the characters and the description of the milieu in "nortvest" is put very well together in this movie. A small masterpiece..../Simon

Michael Noer's 'film 'Northwest' tells the story of a couple of petty criminals in Denmark, who make the mistake of getting into more serious crime than they had perhaps intended. The aesthetic is very similar to one of the sub-plots in the recent television series 'Follow the Money', although without that drama's ludicrous plot. The story is quite convincing, but what's absent is the air of redeeming tenderness that a director such as Ken Loach might have brought to this subject matter: the protagonists are not particularly likable even at the start of their unfortunate journey, not clearly nicer than those who threaten them. The ambiguity of the ending seems wrong as well, nothing is added (and something is missed) with the decision to end the story at what should be its point of climax.

This movie relates the story of a young man living in a modest suburb in Denmark. Skilled burglar, he will try to rise the grade of the criminal underworld, underestimating the dangerousness of the consequences of his acts. Far from Hollywood gangster movies, the way this movie was recorded, the scenery as well as the actor's performances plunge the viewer into a deeply realistic violence. Interestingly, the film maker (Michael Noer) succeeded in showing a violence that will knot your stomach without being gore at all which is very rare nowadays. An excellent movie, in the direct line of Gomorra (Matteo Garrone), in a radically different geographical situation.

I saw this movie at the Rotterdam film festival 2013 (IFFR), where it was part of the Bright Future section. It is a story around 18 year old Caspar, who starts modestly as a burglar stealing valuables or electronic equipment on demand. He has a fixed "contract" with Jamal, who buys the loot from him. However, Caspar has plans to scale up, and gradually comes to terms with tough guy Björn. He gets accepted in those circles, and assigned more and more responsible tasks. All is going well and according to plan, until the moment that Jamal decides to have his revenge. This gets out of hand very soon, and you hardly can expect a smooth escape out of this situation, and thus assume a not so very happy end.The film is named after Northwest, a suburb district of Copenhagen (Denmark). Not only because of a strong reputation of youth crime, this area was also chosen for a simple practical reason: it was open enough to let the film makers in and to cooperate with them. Much knowledge about the neighborhood was acquired by asking around and talking with locals living there. The director made documentaries before, and this was the usual method of operations for him. Moreover, they really tried to blend in while shooting, by living in the apartment (together with mom and kids) that was used in the film as decor.The information in the previous paragraph was gathered from a final Q&A with the film makers, a considerable subset of them present with the screening. It was the 2nd screening ever, on the day immediately following the world premiere in Sweden. Some of the crew were still recuperating from a hangover, but answered as best as possible on questions from moderator and audience. From the Q&A we also learned that none of the actors is educated as such, but most of them played before in movies or TV series. The way this director makes movies is working without a detailed script, leaving much improvised. The scene and setting is rehearsed before the shooting, but what actually happens after the camera switches on, is merely ad-hoc and left to the actors.All in all, an interesting plot, giving some insight in how the criminal mind works, and opening lots of opportunities for even so interesting developments. Maybe also a bit about second generation immigrant Jamal versus native Björn, and upholding respect from their respective gangs?? Apart from portraying street violence and youth gangs, the story is also about the impact that this dangerous way of living can have on family relationships. It is really a "way of living" to survive in such circumstances, and not always easy to keep your family out of it, be it to repair the damages when you come home wounded, or when people are waiting for you outside to collect money or have an argument. And it gets easily from bad to ugly by throwing things through the window, or even threatening to set the house on fire.The festival visitors gave an average score of 4.268 (out of 5), thereby ranking it 21st (out of 178) for the audience award. As far as I'm concerned, this film maker shows indeed a Bright Future, deservedly put in the festival section with that name.