HenrikAjax Reviews

Life During Wartime (2009)

The great Todd Solondz did it again.

[9/10 · 21 August 2010]

Few people possess the ability to unmask human weaknesses the way Todd Solondz does it. With virtuoso technique he shows the silliness of the protagonists behavior and I find myself laughing out loud to situations that would be extremely painful, had I been in them myself. What I am most amazed by is that, just like in 'Happiness', the only characters who feel true and free of "phoniness" are people, who usually would be antiheroes or simply to immoral to ever show up in a normal Hollywood drama. The pedophile and the divorcée, who calls herself a monster, belong to the very few who actually try to express what the really feel. The great Todd Solondz did it again.

Religulous (2008)

He misses one thing

[5/10 · 22 February 2009]

What bothers me a bit about this fairly entertaining documentary is that most of the people Mr. Maher talks to are intellectually on a much lower level than he is. They haven't got any prepared arguments, because they really don't care about arguing rationally, which sort of makes him the winner even before they begin.

Like most intellectuals of today, I haven't the slightest doubt that evolutionary theory is accurate and arguing against it with the help of the Bible is a mistake in that it applies your inner most precious emotions and hope to something purely rational and logical. I would like to claim, though, that what Mr. Maher is doing is basically the same thing in reverse. He applies a logical, scientifically point of view to peoples love of god. I'm not talking about some money loving preacher or some guy thinking dinosaurs coexisted on earth with homo sapiens; they are just too obviously dumb and cannot be taking seriously by any thinking person. I'm talking about that black guy, who, about ten minutes into the film said that "it's a faith thing". Me, being a non religious person, cannot help but noticing the radiance of some believers, which makes the whole thing with the biblical stories seem of less importance. Maybe Jesus wasn't the son of god, maybe there where no miracles and maybe nothing in the bible is based on facts (this is what I actually believe); but still this doesn't change the love of god within a believing person, I mean the phenomenon of loving god. Even if the god he or she believes in doesn't really exist, the love is still there and there certainly is something true about that.

The Green Planet (1996)

Simple and beautiful

[10/10 · 25 October 2006]

Once again I am struck by the original talent of Coline Serreau, who shows in "la Belle Verte", in a very simple and yet beautifully profound way, all the insane sides of humanity. Very much unlike her later film "Chaos" (2001) ,the choice of style and expression for "La Belle Verte" is a very undemanding form of comedy, which gives the movie an altogether very light tone, totally free of complexions and not at all inviting to intellectual debate. She simply points to the almost ridiculously obvious differences between a life of beauty and respect of life and one of disease, stress and egoic battle. Interesting is off course also to see the director herself in the leading part. Merci Madame! /Henrik Ajax

Zozo (2005)

Beautifully convincing

[9/10 · 20 September 2005]

Third movie by young Lebanese/Swedish director Josef Fares. While his first two movies "Jalla, Jalla!" and "Kopps" are pure comedies, "Zozo" uses humor very subtle to make a tough destiny bearable. This well-acted story is inspired by Fares' own childhood, which is something you clearly feel while watching young charismatic Imad Creidi portraying the sensible but strong little boy Zozo, who manages to leave Beirut and the war and makes his way by himself to Sweden, only to bump into other kind of problems – ones of a more personal nature than the more concrete and directly life threatening ones of his native town.

Throughout the movie Josef Fares skilfully lets us go very near young Zozo with all the emotional twists and turns of , for someone of his age, life changing experiences.

With this, the most serious film so far by Fares, he reveals a whole different pallet of qualities than in his earlier works; a far more sensitive side. Hats off gentlemen! /Henrik Ajax

Lilya 4-Ever (2002)

A small but important light of hope in the darkness

[10/10 · 24 August 2002]

Swedish film maker Lucas Moodyssons two first movies 'Show me Love' and 'Together' let us know of a talented and very interesting young artist, capable of capturing the broad audience in very warm movies. In his third work Moodysson proves himself to be the mature artist he now is expected to be. In the realistic masterpiece 'Lilja 4-ever' he lets the audience face heavy, dark and unfortunately very existing problems- that of prostitution and that of poverty in eastern Europe. As in his earlier works, Moodysson makes very unexperienced, young actors perform in a very impressing and convincing way. We follow 16-year old Lilja from "somewhere in what used the be the Soviet Union" on her dark and lonesome road through pain and misery, but every now and then also to catch a glimps of light. 'Lilja 4-ever' is truly a great movie.