July 8th
Dogs Don't Wear Pants
A White, White Day
More from Melbourne Documentary  Film Festival - The Walrus & the Whistleblower
Sommerdahl (Acorn TV)

Scandinavia certainly features large this week, in online films, cinema features and streamed series. Uh-oh!! But since writing this, we've gone into lockdown again, so anything showing only in the cinema may transfer to online, or simply have to wait in the wings again. So, for the next few weeks my reviews will revert to what is accessible online, as we'll all have plenty of time for that. I feel an overwhelming sadness at what is happening, and also a modicum of anger towards those over-optimists, or those in denial, who think this pandemic is getting better, or not to be taken seriously. To me it was obvious that as soon as restrictions eased, numbers would start skyrocketing. We need to be super-vigilant, even paranoid, if we want to beat this thing and ever go back to the cinemas again. 

Dogs Don't Wear Pants
Dir: Jukka Pekka Valkeappa
Length: 105 mins

Available now VOD  via Google Play, iTunes, Fetch and Umbrella Entertainment

© Umbrella  -  kinky but compelling

Juha Pekka Strang) loses his wife in a drowning accident. Trying to rescue her, at the moment he goes unconscious he believes he sees her alive again. Years later he stumbles into an exclusive BDSM (Bondage Disciplie Sado-Masochism) club run by raunchy dominatrix Mona (Krista Kosonen) and starts visiting her for "strangulation sessions". Gradually he rediscovers a new passion in life. This much awarded film will sure please any fans out there of the Bondage and Discipline sexual oeuvre. It makes 50 Shades of Grey look like a kid's film, and won't be to everyone's taste. But it is skillfully made, beautifully shot, features great lead performances, and underneath all the kinky stuff manages to deal with issues of coming to terms with loss, self-awareness and identity, along with an engaging plot of Juha's relationship with his motherless daughter.  

Along with Nova, Classic, Lido and Cameo, Palace Cinemas were up and running on 2 July. A reminder that several of the films currently screening were reviewed by me last week: Love Sarah, The Taverna, Master Cheng, Romantic Road. Supposed to be releasing tomorrow was A White, White Day, winner of, and nominee for, umpteen high-profile festival awards. I promised a review so here it is, and I'll run it again when the cinemas reopen, as they close again tomorrow. Aargh!!!

A White, White Day
Dir: Hlynur Palmason
Length: 109 mins

© Palace  -  austere and compelling

Taciturn, gruff policeman Ingimundur (Invar Eggurt Sigursson) is still grieving his wife, who died in an accident on a remote road in Iceland. Tending his land and minding his beloved grand-daughter, one day trawling through old photos he becomes obsessed with the suspicion that his wife was having an affair with a man he knows. Lovers of bleak, Scandi, character driven thrillers should get a lot out of this. One draw card is the amazing central performance, depicting a man so embedded in his grief, and suppressing all emotions except a burgeoning rage, jealousy and desire for revenge. The endless white, bleak landscape becomes almost something to meditate upon, in what is an intense,  challenging but rewarding film.   


The Sommerdahl Murders
8 episodes, each around 45 minutes
Streaming on Acorn TV: https://au.acorn.tv/

© Acorn TV  - Scandi police drama well worth
a look

Set in Denmark, the first two episodes (that's where I'm up to so far) introduces us to police investigator Dan Sommerdahl, his wife Marianne, a forensic technician with the police, and Dan's best friend Flemming Torp. While celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary Dan is called away to investigate a body washed up on the beach, throwing a bit of a spoke in the marital harmony. The plot draws a nice balance between the interpersonal drama, and the police investigative drama, which also involves tracking down a newborn baby belonging to the dead woman. The series has hooked me, and ongoing episodes appear to follow the relationship threads, with new crimes thrown into the mix. Acting is strong, scripting believable, and characters are compelling enough to make me look forward to the next episodes. A treat for Scandi crime lovers. 

More from . . .
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival
Online now until 15th July 

For ticketing and synopses of films visit: mdff.org.au
Streaming via https://watch.eventive.org/mdff

© MDFF  -  who'd have thought?

The festival is in full swing and you still have a week to catch many terrific docos. See my previous two posts for earlier  reviews. This week I add:

The Walrus and the Whistleblower: If you remember the doco Blackfish from 2013, you'll know people have been protesting for years about keeping such mammals as dolphins and whales in captivity. This tense doco features the battle waged by Phil Demers, a former trainer at Marineland Niagara, Canada, who became a sort of surrogate mum to an orphaned walrus pup, Smooshi. Phil eventually realised many creatures were suffering (abused, neglected, mishandled - whatever you want to term it) at the facility, and decided to mount legal action against the owners of Marineland. The legal ins and outs of the case are great for law buffs, but it is the remarkable and moving relationship between Phil and Smooshi that makes this doco well worth seeing.