Allegro (2005/I)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Christoffer Boe

Writers:

Christoffer Boe (writer)
Mikael Wulff (writer)

Release Date:

30 September 2005 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Allegro dwells on the romantic world in which character flaws and personal mistakes alter one's universe.

Plot:

Famous pianist Zetterström returns home to his native Denmark, to give a concert, just to find out that the choices he has made in his life have affected his love life greatly. |

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Ulrich Thomsen	...	Zetterstrøm
Helena Christensen	...	Andrea
Henning Moritzen	...	Tom
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Simon Bonde	...	Guard 2
Nicolas Bro	...	Terence Sander
Per Fly	...	Spectator
Benedikte Hansen	...	Piano teacher
Ellen Hillingsø	...	Clara
Tommy Kenter	...	Professor
Svetoslav Korolev	...	Young Zetterstrøm
Jon Lange	...	Morten
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Alex in the Zone
Peder Pedersen	...	Guard 1
Knud Romer Jørgensen	...	Man in shorts
Niels Skousen	...	The Cook

Runtime:

Denmark:88 min | USA:88 min | Argentina:88 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

AlphaVille Pictures Copenhagen

Quotes:

Zetterstrøm: I have a concert in a half hour, I want my skills back, and I want them now!
Tom: Well...
Zetterstrøm: I don't want to hear any "well"...
Tom: Well...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Offscreen (2006)

a strangely absorbing mind puzzle

The Danish film, "Allegro," is that rare science fiction film that uses only the barest minimum of special effects to tell its story (a slight wrinkle in the picture is about as high tech as the filmmakers are willing to go). Instead, the fantasy and surrealism play out almost exclusively in that far more intriguing venue known as the Theater of the Mind.

Zetterstrom (well played by Ulrich Thomsen, who appeared in the excellent "Brothers" a few years back) is a concert pianist who has never been able to find true happiness in his life, even after he's met and formed a relationship with Andrea (Helena Christensen), the supposed woman of his dreams. Zetterstrom may be a brilliant musician, but he suffers from an innate distrust of other people, including those who are nearest and dearest to him. When Andrea decides to up and leave him virtually without warning, Zetterstrom imposes a form of amnesia on himself that effectively wipes out all memory of his life prior to her departure. At the same time - and this is where things really get strange - the section of Copenhagen where he was born and raised undergoes a bizarre transformation, suddenly becoming cut off from the rest of the world by some inexplicable supernatural force. Though no one can physically enter this area - now officially re-named The Zone - Zetterstrom is determined to force his way in, when, after ten years of not being able to recall his past, he begins to suspect that his memories may actually be residing in that mysterious place.

Needless to say, this is not your average science fiction movie, nor is it your average tale of lost love. But by combining these two usually distinct genres into a single story, director and co-writer (with Mikael Wulff) Christopher Boe has come up with a work that is both thought-provoking and haunting in its otherworldly strangeness. Zetterstrom wanders through the maze of this "pseudo" city like one in a trance or a dream, searching for clues to his forgotten past and trying to figure out the identity of the strange woman (Andrea) who flits in and out of the shadows of his imagination.

The message of this strange little parable seems to be that even the most tragic events of our lives make up a crucial part of who we are - and that any effort to dull the pain of those events by tucking them away in a corner far out of reach of our memory only winds up diminishing us as a person in the end. Zetterstrom learns that lesson the hard way, but at least he does learn it. It reflects well on the filmmakers that they've presented their case in as uniquely fanciful and absorbing a way as they have in "Allegro."