Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Everyone's favorite fanboy, Quint, sent me two decidedly non-typical fanboy reviews recently, and I thought I'd run them both tonight. First up, we've got this look at a film that has stuck with him and become a real fave over the past few months, BEFORE THE STORM. Take it away, Quint!
Ahoy there, squirts. Quint, the as of lately landlubbing crusty ol' seaman, here with a look at a film that I'm willing to bet 99.9% of you out there have never heard of, yet is without a doubt one of the best films I saw last year, Before the Storm.
I saw this film at the Vancouver Film Festival last October and meant to get a review up to you folks as soon as I possibly could, but then the Austin Film Festival happened, then Butt-Numb-A-Thon and it just sorta fell between the cracks. I feel terrible because this film absolutely blew my socks off. So, a little late, but here is my review. I hope that some of you will see it playing at a film festival near you sometime soon or even (fingers crossed) maybe at your local art house theater.
Before the Storm is one of those films that you just want to scream and scream and scream about until somebody else sees it. Anybody who has ever attended one or more film fests has had a similar experience, I'm sure. For those who haven't... think of the frustration you had when nobody saw Iron Giant. Now imagine that you are the only one who saw it. You tell every one of your friends it's a great film, but with this film you can't just run to the video store and show it to those unenlightened souls.
Before the Storm is amazingly timely in its subject matter (a middle eastern terrorist faction play a large role in the film as well as violence in the school yard), superbly acted and paced... It's one of those great films you expect to see headlining the big art house theaters around the US, to hear about through your film school or indie world friends. Before the Storm is a Swedish picture, but it doesn't feel like a foreign film... Maybe because of the subject matter, which is decidedly American headline news type stuff as there are two intertwining story lines, one about a small kid being bullied to the point of bringing a gun to school, the other of a middle eastern taxi cab driver who we soon find out is an ex-terrorist who ran out on his group for moral reasons and is now being slowly pulled back in.
The film just hits every beat at the exact right time. The characters are complex, real, interesting and full of life or sorrow or fear that you can't help but understand them completely. The bullied 12 year old, Leo, played amazingly by young Emil Odepark, runs the gamut of emotions and you're strapped in for the ride, taking each twist and turn, up and down with him. The same can be said about Ali, the middle eastern taxi cab driver, played just as terrifically by Per Graffman.
What's great about the film is it follows these two separate characters as they go through their day, every once in a while bumping into each other, setting each of them off in a direction they might not have gone in had they not happened to be in the same place at the same time. I know it sounds like a Pulp Fiction rip-off, but it certainly doesn't play out as one. I was so wrapped up in the characters and the impending doom and tragedy that seemed to be stalking them to think "Tarantino" while watching this movie.
The relationships in this film are its real heart and what ultimately what made me fall in love with it. The friendship that grows between the kid and the cab driver, both of whom find themselves helplessly watching their lives spin out of control, is terrifically real. The relationship between the kid, Leo, and his cop mother brought tears to my eyes. The long distance crush Leo has on the cute girl at school (coincidentally the cab driver's daughter) is, again, very real in that he's the geek and she's the popular girl and he doesn't "win" her by the end of the film. The friendship between Leo and his American film dialogue spewing girl friend (as in a girl who is his friend, but is obviously crazy for him) is both innocent and frustrating. You just want to shake him and tell him to quit thinking about the bitchy, popular girl at school and see what's right in front of his face.
I'm looking back at what I just wrote and while I scratched the surface, I don't think I'm doing this film justice. You guys have a basic understanding of the plot and the dynamics of the main characters, but it's impossible for me convey how deeply involved I got in this film and how deeply the film got into me. It really toyed with my emotions. It made me wish I could be there to tell Leo not to take his mom's gun to school, to help Ali find a way to get his former terrorist activities buried once and for all.
I think it's a crime and a disservice to film lovers everywhere that this film isn't being shown or available on video/DVD. The much acclaimed In the Bedroom has a bit of the same tone as Before the Storm, but, in my opinion, In the Bedroom, as much as I liked it, doesn't hold a candle to Before the Storm.
Where is this film? Does anybody know? If you happen to stumble across it at a film festival or find some sort of Swedish DVD of it get in line or buy it up quickly. Take my word for it. You won't be disappointed. Unless something drastically changes, I'll always look at the gaping hole in my DVD collection where Before the Storm should be. I'll miss the opportunity to introduce the film to my closest friends. Hell, I'll miss not being able to even watch the film again.
On that note, I think I'm gonna leave you folks. Again, if you find yourself lucky enough to be in a theater or in front of TV that's playing Before the Storm, don't pass it up or you'll have to answer to me! I'll be back in the very near future with some cool goodies, squirts. 'Til that day, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
email: Foreign films are neat! Now, if only I could read the subtitles...
