DVD Review: Storm (2005; Breidablick films; Danger After Dark)
What is it lately with great movies that have bad titles? (I’m thinking specifically of Room of Death but there are others.) Anyway, make no mistake, Storm is a great movie, as must see, even. It is literate, raw, and in some cases, profound. Plus, as with the most of the truly profound, it is funny as hell.
The story begins with a red herring that only appears so. An action hero type woman is fending off some bald Goth bad guys in a tunnel, only to be overpowered and then confronted by their master, (played by Jonas Karlsson, the mysterious Man in the Black Suit), who demands the return of a small silver box she is holding. She escapes his torture, gives the box to another similarly dressed for battle woman, and runs back into the fray to fend off the baddies.
Storm was directed by Mars Marlind, who keeps the atmosphere dark and rainy, adding a noir-ish feel throughout. Most of the film was shot in Stockholm, Vanersborg and Trollhattan (sometimes known as “Trollywood”).
We are then suddenly jumped into the life of Danny (Eric Ericson), a perverse, sarcastic Swede, a dissolute journalist who likes to drink, jerk-off—to avoid relationships—and basically brood alone. We follow his jaundiced summary of his life, told in Tarantino-style with pop-art touches, until his paths cross with Lova (Eva Rose), who is still fighting, and whose battle has now entered the real life of Danny’s world. It soon becomes apparent, however, Lova is more than she seems—is she a ninja? An angel? A comic book hero come to life? It is also apparent that Danny is more than he thinks he is; we soon learn that the curious battle being fought is over him.
Without giving away the truly inventive and poignant action that ensues, suffice it to say that from that point on the film is a rush of spiritual warfare, complete with all sorts of choices that have eternal consequences—or do they? At least, they show that the past, is not gone and, in fact, as Faulkner said, it is not even past.
Storm is little gem of a film that deserves a wide audience, who will be blown away by the visuals, the writing, and the fresh take on an old but enduring meme. It is a quiet masterpiece of Magical Realism.
The story begins with a red herring that only appears so. An action hero type woman is fending off some bald Goth bad guys in a tunnel, only to be overpowered and then confronted by their master, (played by Jonas Karlsson, the mysterious Man in the Black Suit), who demands the return of a small silver box she is holding. She escapes his torture, gives the box to another similarly dressed for battle woman, and runs back into the fray to fend off the baddies.
Storm was directed by Mars Marlind, who keeps the atmosphere dark and rainy, adding a noir-ish feel throughout. Most of the film was shot in Stockholm, Vanersborg and Trollhattan (sometimes known as “Trollywood”).
We are then suddenly jumped into the life of Danny (Eric Ericson), a perverse, sarcastic Swede, a dissolute journalist who likes to drink, jerk-off—to avoid relationships—and basically brood alone. We follow his jaundiced summary of his life, told in Tarantino-style with pop-art touches, until his paths cross with Lova (Eva Rose), who is still fighting, and whose battle has now entered the real life of Danny’s world. It soon becomes apparent, however, Lova is more than she seems—is she a ninja? An angel? A comic book hero come to life? It is also apparent that Danny is more than he thinks he is; we soon learn that the curious battle being fought is over him.
Without giving away the truly inventive and poignant action that ensues, suffice it to say that from that point on the film is a rush of spiritual warfare, complete with all sorts of choices that have eternal consequences—or do they? At least, they show that the past, is not gone and, in fact, as Faulkner said, it is not even past.
Storm is little gem of a film that deserves a wide audience, who will be blown away by the visuals, the writing, and the fresh take on an old but enduring meme. It is a quiet masterpiece of Magical Realism.
posted by Mike Wood at
4/23/2009 12:44:00 PM
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