If the Wayans/Zucker/Seltzer/Friedberg faction ever get ambitious and make something called Scandinavian Movie, it might look a lot like the work of Thomas Vinterberg. Granted, it'd take a good degree more irony than any of them have displayed yet to pull it off successfully, and Vinterberg himself is Danish, but his work so encapsulates the bleakness and horror that the rest of the world projects onto the cinema of our North Sea brethren that it seems to verge on parody, or perhaps a plant from some warring country to sabotage the Cannes Film Festival. Vinterberg first came onto the scene in 1998 with The Celebration, a technically revolutionary (one of the first and major Dogma 95 films) that was nevertheless profoundly emotionally unconvincing. Submarino is a step in the right direction, but it is nevertheless so ruthless in its desire to package the most depressing product possible that it's nearly impossible to find any sort of entry point to relate to its characters.
Submarinoopens with one of the boldest and most upsetting deaths that a narrative can (or can't) withstand, being that of an infant. Its fatality comes after a good ten minutes of cooing, playing and general marking-for-death with its two older brothers Nick and Ivan, who work together (though unsuccessfully) to protect the baby from the neglectful predations of their own drug-addicted mother, whose irresponsibility doubtlessly leads to the death of their sibling. Years later, their mother dies when both have grown to be adults, and have sets of adult problems to match their mothers. Nick (Jacob Cedergren) is a criminal adjusting uneasily to life on the outside, spending most of his time drinking or socializing with others who are likely to get him sent back. Ivan (Morten Rose) is father to kindergartener Martin (Gustav Fischer Kjærulff), but is nursing a serious drug addiction that's likely to get his son taken away. The two have barely spoken to each other in years, but as their mother's death clarifies for them, they are still very much reliant on each other, and will have to work together if they are to divert from the path that their tragic childhood set them on.
There’s a phrase that has yet to catch on called piggybacking (author’s note: yeah, I made it up), and it refers to films, books, or tv shows that draw on the inherent weight of their subject matter for impact, rather than the artistry of anyone involved. For example, was Sophie’s Choice sad because you were really concerned about the main characters, or simply because the Holocaust was really sad? It’s hard to think of anything more horrible than the death of a baby, and it's certainly a dour note to begin a film on, especially when the first ten minutes have been spent reminding us, in case we forgot, that babies are very cute. The rest of the fllm, though considerably less cloying, never provides any real relief from that initial shot of depressant. There are moments of presumed intimacy, but for most of these characters, the world is far too large and frightening to ever truly be taken hold of, and the best one could hope for is to withstand it.
That’s not to say that there’s no artistry at play here, because there clearly is. Vinterberg’s handle on how to stage a scene and frame a shot is worlds beyond what it was when he directed The Celebration, and there isn’t a false performance in the entire ensemble, with Nick especially convincing. But there is a subjective line between narratively generated emotion, and downright antagonism towards the audience where a reaction is all but forced, and Submarino spends much of its running time wavering between the two sides. Where exactly that line is placed is up to an individual to decide, and appreciation of this film will depend largely on where the viewer believes it to be. Certainly, many will find a great deal to appreciate about Submarino, and find its portrayal of grief and addiction entirely truthful; others will see a thinly conceived and felt film hiding behind a wall of import, as if it had assumed a degree of importance simply by invoking such grim topics. But most people will likely find it to be something of a conflicted experience, in which a great human tragedy has been suggested but not truly realized.
DVD Bonus Features
The film's trailer is also included.
"Submarino" is on sale October 11, 2011 and is not rated. Drama, Foreign. Written and directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Starring Gustav Fischer Kjærulff, Jakob Cedergren, Morten Rose.
