DeUsynlige

Well-made and fairly good.

Despite the contrivances and strained, almost demonstrative cyclical structure of the film, Poppe's "DeUsynlige" offers genuine insight into its well-drawn characters. Faith, penance and forgiveness are the major, Bergmanesque themes here, and even though Poppe's film by no means is a modern "Winter Light", it's still worth seeking out. Impressive performances all the way round.

The knock that Nordic cinema is always crime drama can overlook a film like this richly humanist movie. The director's creativity shines as he tells a story that begins as two self-contained chapters, only to collide in the end in a wonderful piece of hyperlink filmmaking. It's achingly profound at building a tonal world as it explores the emotional fallout of grief and regret while trying to move forward with a life. And the organ solo scene is amazing. Highly recommended & unfairly overlooked.

I really love cinema when I "discover" a movie. You just sit in front of a movie without even knowing it's name and when it ends, you're mesmerized. Such a great experience. DeUsynlige is a really really well acted, strangely directed film with a great atmosphere. My mother leaped for the screen during a scene, I had to hold her back and I'm not exaggerating. A really well made movie, you just need 10 minutes to get adjusted, and then it flows like a river..

Harrowing and very moving story of forgiveness and redemption. Excellent photography and unusual direction and editing make this all the more powerful, even if events are a little too neat.

This film has an interesting narrative construction. You see events up to a point from Jan's point of view, and then double back to see them again from Agnes's, frequently flashing back to find out more about the death that drives the whole plot. It's an interesting meditation of forgiveness and responsibility.

The first act is heart-rending and compelling, while the second act (after the abrupt shift) doesn't work nearly as well. The film picks up again for the finale, though it never quite reaches the heights of its opening section. Overall, Poppe has crafted yet another engaging and humanistic film for grownups. The film focuses on showing us the world from multiple perspectives, and as its characters see more clearly, they have the opportunity to gain wisdom and be moved to compassion.

I'd recommend this to American mainstream movie-goers looking for a good foreign drama, as this is pretty accessible. The story is bit contrived, but the direction and script--particularly the way the filmmakers rearrange the sequence of events of the story, as well as offer different character perspectives of these events.

I liked the context and message of film.

Interesting drama brought down by a few flaws. At the halfway point, there's an abrupt shift and we see the same timeline from another character's point of view. This narrative switcheroo may seem like a clever idea, but I just didn't like this part of the film until the two storylines converge again. Also, hiding the motivations behind the crime accomplishes nothing except ambiguity for its own sake. However, the film has very good performances, great music, and a couple of powerful moments.