Rating: 3/5
Hoop-Tober | 27/31 The score swells as headlights shamble down a dirt road. Cut to a bright pool setting in the countryside. Bjørn and Louise are on vacation with their daughter, Agnes. A man named Patrick is quite friendly and perhaps a little forward. He and Bjørn continue running into one another. He meets Bjørn’s wife, Karin, and their quiet son, Abel. Their families hit it off.
When they return home, Patrick sends a postcard inviting them to stay at their Dutch country home. Things feel weird, but Bjorn is too much of a people-pleaser to leave.
The cinematography stands out most in the landscape shots, which feel expansive yet flat.
The performances are excellent — moving at times in their vulnerability and heart-wrenching in their manipulation.
I find it difficult to understand why the family stays as long as they do. It has something to do with repression and social norms, especially in Danish culture. But I don’t have a firm enough grasp on that to argue it.
— Why are you doing this? — Because you let me.
The film has several Biblical allusions, but I’m unsure how it all adds together to say anything.
I like this — it has one of the more terrifying scenes I can recall — but I feel like it’s a little empty.