Reconstruction (2003)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Christoffer Boe

Writers:

Christoffer Boe (writer)
Mogens Rukov (writer)

Release Date:

26 September 2003 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A young man who thought himself already in love with a nice girl is drawn into a literary drama when he is captured by a deep and stimulating love affair.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Love Affair | Writer | Author | Hotel

Awards:

10 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Klaus Mulbjerg	...	Tryllekunstner
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Alex David
Maria Bonnevie	...	Simone / Aimee
Krister Henriksson	...	August Holm
Nicolas Bro	...	Leo Sand
Peter Steen	...	Mel David
Ida Dwinger	...	Monica
Malene Schwartz	...	Fru Banum (Mrs. Banum)
Helle Fagralid	...	Nan Sand
Mercedes Claro Schelin	...	Mercedes Sand
Jens Blegaa	...	Waiter
Isabella Miehe-Renard	...	Journalist
Katrin Muth	...	Bartender
David Dencik	...	Bartender

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and brief strong language.

Runtime:

France:91 min (Cannes Film Festival) | Germany:89 min (Filmfest Hamburg) | Argentina:91 min | USA:90 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish | Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Hungary:14 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, Amager, Denmark

Company:

Director's Cut

Quotes:

Alex David: If you are my dream then I am yours.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Året der gik 2003 (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Adagio for Strings

sheer glossy beauty, backed by smart editing

First things first: I find pointless to summarize the plot, therefore I'll stick to my own thoughts about it.

Grainy fade-outs, near-flawless performances, mind-gripping in its non-linear simplicity plot, endless possibilities (if you are prone to indulging in analysis) and a precise, clean-cut overall aspect- are all there, in Boe's beautiful, if slightly formal, first long feature.

This film dodges, quite effortlessly, the one major shortcoming (if you ask me)of Last Year In Marienbad, to which it has been compared; unlike the former, Reconstruction manages, through unmistakably warm-bloodied and wrapped in smoke actors'performances, to surpass the cartoonish, slightly de-humanized concept that pervades Resnais's (i dare utter the word) masterpiece. In other words, the characters are a significant little more than archetypes, they are individuals. Subsequently, the three A's (Alex, Aimee-stunning Marie Bonnevie- and August) stir vaguely-rooted emotions in the spectator, aided by the 3-dimensionality of their acting and enhanced by innumerable, purposeful close-ups and near-perfectly-fitted music.

The intelligent rather than inventive script receives "thumbs up" not for itself but for its glossy, yet not sultry, rendition by often unbearably beautiful shots. Also, the demure approach to sexuality speaks volumes about the power of the camera&actors unity to suggest powerful feelings.

The coherent-enough story (don't let yourselves taken in by deceptive ambiguity) escapes down-and-out moronic de-constructivism for its own sake, allowing thus the average movie-goer to suck the film in, irrespective of his cultural background.

Although data about the characters arrives in dribs and drabs, the film is carefully plotted and succeeds in keeping the spectator's interest up till the end. August, in spite of apparent filmic omnipotence, is bare-handed against the efficiency of tender, scintillating and dizzying love story; the real puppeteer is the director, through his double, the cigarette-levitating, literal charmer, who pulls the strings in this bittersweet faerie. So, once you've learned the ropes of his editing choices and non-linear story ( the 3 possibilities/photos the woman has and other details), which require at least one viewing, Reconstruction becomes more than a feast for the eye. It allows a sensitive insight into a terribly fragile dreamlike world: Orpheus is supposed never to doubt the flesh-and-bone unseen certainty of being followed by Euridice on their way out of the Inferno. The visually enticing, effective portraying of Alex and Aimee's every movement offers precious glimpses of their innermost thoughts.

Speaking flaws, a restraint from taking risks in points of frame composition (aka predictable angles, never going off the beaten track) is quite obvious BUT it actually seems reassuring. Also, the absence of a clear message might affect the appreciation of a part of the public, BUT this is small concern for the director, whose primary aim (stated in August's voice off, in the beginning) is not to convey a moral attitude or a manifesto, but to ease pure delight on the spectators. Nevertheless, the I-cannot-relate-to-it factor breeds suspicion as to the actual relevance of what we see = Why should I care? Meaning, this seemingly inconsequential display of beautiful shots and silences can't extend its influence beyond the immediacy of the 90min viewing. BUT this is highly-debatable, if you take into account different responses from different people.

What I've just said about Reconstruction is hopefully not a gratuitous eulogy, but a considerate comment on what seemed to me a remarkably 'polished' if visually engrossing experience. Throughout the film, one gets the impression of intruding, of being a nosy Parker in an almost perfect, smoothly-trimmed, classy-as-heaven human landscape. Not an emotionless cine-verite, not a sweeping melodrama, not a frowningly guru-ish food-for-thought crap, Reconstitution proves warm enough to be cherished, praiseworthy in terms of cinematography, an outstanding and promising debut.