Border or Gräns is a unique and
fascinating Swedish take on mythical creatures living among us from
Scandinavian folklore. A fantasy film that looks and feels as real as the
contemporary world we live in today.
When we first meet Tina (Eva Melander), we
know she is different. Aside from the way she looks she also behaves oddly. At first,
we can rationalize her behavior as a product of her loneliness due to her strange
unsightly appearance. But slowly we realize it may be something else.
Tina has a live-in companion at home but they
have a platonic relationship and his pet dogs are instinctively hostile toward
her. She likes to walk alone barefooted through the forest surrounding her
remote backwoods cabin home. Wild forest animals are attracted to her and are
not threatened by her. She seems to have an almost supernatural connection with
nature and wildlife. And her fear of lightning is more than justified.
Tina works as a customs security officer in
Sweden on the border with Finland where she uses her extraordinary ability to smell
people’s emotions and feelings, making her valuable for picking out criminals
or people who are hiding something.
Many things in this film aren’t what they
seem. We are given clues but even Tina is not aware of the truth about herself.
The questions she has, slowly come to light after she meets a man named Vore (Eero
Milonoff) who resembles her with many similar physical features.
After her second encounter with Vore, she
becomes curiously intrigued by his strange behavior and senses that he’s hiding
something when he reveals his knowledge of insects that she has always had a
fascination with since her childhood.
As they get to know each other and become romantically
involved, Vore eventually opens her eyes to a whole new world, making her aware
of her true identity and powers. But what she discovers about herself will
change her life forever, forcing her to make the toughest decision of her life.
Thanks to the fearless daring performances
of Eva and Eero, the characters of Tina and Vore are nothing short of
mesmerizing and totally convincing. Border
captivates with a world that reimagines ancient Nordic mythology for a modern
audience while staying true to mythic traditions.
Directed by Iranian-Swedish filmmaker Ali
Abbasi and winner of the Un Certain Regard award at the 2018 Cannes film
festival, Border is a dark, mysterious
thought-provoking drama unlike any other film I’ve seen and will leave audiences
stunned in amazement, wondering what they have just witnessed.
JP
