"When you always try to stay in the right track, it is nice to leave it". These are the words spoken by Mikael (Ulrich Thomsen), a 42 year old man who desires a change in his life. In this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - inspired drama, directed by Kristian Levring, Mikael is offered the opportunity to be a guinea pig and partake in a clinical trial for a new anti-depressant drug. Without even a slight hesitation, he accepts the offer to be a subject in the study, but fails to mention his involvement to either his wife Sigrid (Paprika Steen) or daughter Selma (Emma Sehested Hoeg). After a few weeks, the study is canceled due re- occurring dangerous side effects. This does not stop Mikael, who likes the way the pills make him feel and he continues on with the abandoned trial. Pretty soon, Mikael begins to lose control and no one, not even Mikael himself can predict what he will do next. Levring does an excellent job of keeping the audience on the edge of their seats throughout this suspenseful drama.
One of Levring's core beliefs is that "civilization is a wonderful thing, but we need to keep in mind that people are animals who need a certain freedom". This theme can be seen in almost all of his films and we especially see this displayed in Den Du Frygter. For most of his life, Mikael worked and lived a relatively ordinary life. While this is all fine and good for the majority of people, Mikael wanted to add more excitement and have more freedom in his life. We see this when he is out rowing with his good friend Fredrick (Lars Brygmann), who happens to also be one of the lead physicians in the study, if he can be one of the test subjects. He thought taking the anti-depressants might spice up his life a bit. Granted Mikael took things a little too far, but he also had so many years of boredom and frustration building up in his life that I think he would have eventually erupted whether he took the anti-depressant drugs or not.
In all the trailers I saw before actually watching Den Du Frygter, I was under the assumption that there would be a lot of violence shown in the film. This was not the case. I found this film to be interesting in the fact that it deals with some very violent situations, but it actually shows very little violence. After watching a post film interview, Levring made it clear that he did not want graphic violence to be represented because he believed it would take the audience away from focusing on the main themes and plot of the movie. I think this was a huge risk by Levring and it might ultimately steer some people away from viewing this film. For me personally, I think the omission of the graphic violence adds more suspense to the film and kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what Mikael is going to do next.
In terms of the film-making, Levring adds several little details which enhance the overall quality of the film. For one, the house used in the film has lots of windows and is very wide open, which is interesting because the film deals with people who like to conceal everything. The movie could have been made incorporating several shadows and darker scenes, but instead Levring decides to go against the norm and add his own unique flare to the film. Sticking with themes in the house, Levring takes particular pride in his set designs; he strives to get away from your typical "IKEA" house that you see in other films. Having been one of the four founders of the Dogma 95 movement in Denmark, Levring likes to add more naturalness in his films. For those who might not be familiar with Dogma 95, it was a cinematic political act in response to Hollywoodization. Den Du Frygter is not considered to be a Dogma 95 film, but some aspects of the movement are still visible in the film. For example, almost everything that was actually filmed was put into the movie. Very little extra footage was left out of the film, which is common in all of the Dogma 95 movies. Also you see some infidelity in this film, which was another popular theme during the movement. Even though details like these are minute, they help the film stand out and differentiate itself.
As long as you are not looking for a movie with extreme amounts of gore and violence, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with Kristian Levring's Den Du Frygter. The acting is superb, and the film pays significant attention to detail. I would recommend the movie to anyone looking for an intense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat while trying to anticipate what will happen next.
One of Levring's core beliefs is that "civilization is a wonderful thing, but we need to keep in mind that people are animals who need a certain freedom". This theme can be seen in almost all of his films and we especially see this displayed in Den Du Frygter. For most of his life, Mikael worked and lived a relatively ordinary life. While this is all fine and good for the majority of people, Mikael wanted to add more excitement and have more freedom in his life. We see this when he is out rowing with his good friend Fredrick (Lars Brygmann), who happens to also be one of the lead physicians in the study, if he can be one of the test subjects. He thought taking the anti-depressants might spice up his life a bit. Granted Mikael took things a little too far, but he also had so many years of boredom and frustration building up in his life that I think he would have eventually erupted whether he took the anti-depressant drugs or not.
In all the trailers I saw before actually watching Den Du Frygter, I was under the assumption that there would be a lot of violence shown in the film. This was not the case. I found this film to be interesting in the fact that it deals with some very violent situations, but it actually shows very little violence. After watching a post film interview, Levring made it clear that he did not want graphic violence to be represented because he believed it would take the audience away from focusing on the main themes and plot of the movie. I think this was a huge risk by Levring and it might ultimately steer some people away from viewing this film. For me personally, I think the omission of the graphic violence adds more suspense to the film and kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what Mikael is going to do next.
In terms of the film-making, Levring adds several little details which enhance the overall quality of the film. For one, the house used in the film has lots of windows and is very wide open, which is interesting because the film deals with people who like to conceal everything. The movie could have been made incorporating several shadows and darker scenes, but instead Levring decides to go against the norm and add his own unique flare to the film. Sticking with themes in the house, Levring takes particular pride in his set designs; he strives to get away from your typical "IKEA" house that you see in other films. Having been one of the four founders of the Dogma 95 movement in Denmark, Levring likes to add more naturalness in his films. For those who might not be familiar with Dogma 95, it was a cinematic political act in response to Hollywoodization. Den Du Frygter is not considered to be a Dogma 95 film, but some aspects of the movement are still visible in the film. For example, almost everything that was actually filmed was put into the movie. Very little extra footage was left out of the film, which is common in all of the Dogma 95 movies. Also you see some infidelity in this film, which was another popular theme during the movement. Even though details like these are minute, they help the film stand out and differentiate itself.
As long as you are not looking for a movie with extreme amounts of gore and violence, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with Kristian Levring's Den Du Frygter. The acting is superb, and the film pays significant attention to detail. I would recommend the movie to anyone looking for an intense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat while trying to anticipate what will happen next.