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Bothersome Man (The) AKA Den Brysomme Mannen
R1 - America - Film Movement Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (3rd January 2008). |
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The Film
 One of the great things about reviewing films is you are exposed to films that you would otherwise never have heard of. And especially with some of the lesser known films, you can often have little idea what it is truly about. I honestly can't say what initially attracted me to "The Bothersome Man", but its clever story and black humor left me pleasantly amused and with the strange desire to discuss interior design. Andreas (Trond Fausa Aurvaag), the protagonist, starts his journey by throwing himself in front of a train to assumedly end the drudgery of his meaningless life as an office drone. Instead he finds himself transported to a strange, sterile city somewhere in Iceland, and immediately set up with all the things he needs to be happy: A job with a jolly cheerful boss who expects basically nothing from him; a cute Nordic girlfriend who has a large house and a fetish for interior design; and a mistress to boot. Unfortunately for Andreas, there is trouble in paradise, and it soon becomes apparent to him that once he has what he thought he wanted, that there is a sour note to his new life. There is no flavor to the food that he consumes, no effect from alcohol, no music, no litter or graffiti, nothing that would elicit emotion or feeling. Everything from work to sex becomes methodical and pointless. It is there, because it is part of a happy balanced life, but there is no joy to be derived from the activity itself. Despite his growing unease and testing the limits of his invisible cage, Andreas still tries to fix what it is that he thinks is making him unhappy. But as he tries to exchange one thing for another, he starts to realize that it is the lack of discontent in others that is fuelling his own discontent with his new life. As he bends the will of others to try and satisfy himself, he finds their calm acceptance of their new circumstances to only dissatisfy him further. Finally he comes to the realization that he cannot be happy with this new life, any more that he could in his old life. The telling of Andreas' tale is subtle, and unassuming. It doesn't force themes or excessive exposition at the viewer, but allows the audience to observe the subject, and reflect on their own lives. The humor too is subtle, and is artfully expressed in the widespread obsession all the characters have with interior design; flicking through glossy books looking for the perfect sofa and discussing shades of blue at dinner parties like there is a perfect combination, when in reality, they would be content regardless. At times some of the scenes seemed a little padded out, and this is possibly because at 95 minutes it is coming in a lot shorter than most of what Hollywood is now putting out. It was a fairly minor flaw in what was an excellent film that I thoroughly recommend you try for yourself. In many ways, it felt a little like a passive-aggressive "Fight Club" (1999) but without the self-realization and closure at the end. "The bothersome Man" has a natural conclusion, but the moral is left for the audience to decipher as they reflect on their own lives, and their own choice of sofa.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer appears a bit flat. I found that colors are real dull adding to the flatness and blacks appear murky (even though the color palette was deliberate). There was some grain and compression artefacts scattered throughout the print. On the plus side the image is mostly clean from any dirt and specks and most mid and close-up shots hold up well and appear ok. There's nothing overly distracting about the transfer or terrible, it's just not all that impressive.
Audio
A single Norwegian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is included, I wish that Film Movement would spend the extra cash and start releasing some films in 5.1 because this film could have benefited from an immersive audio track but instead we get a paint-by-numbers stereo number that just barely does the job. The dialogue is clear but that means nothing to anyone that doesn't speak or understand Norwegian anyway... Optional subtitles are in English, and appear for a readable length and don't seem to have any spelling or grammatical errors.
Extras
Film Movement have included a short film, biographies plus some bonus trailers as supplements on this disc. Below is a closer look at them. First up is a short film entitled "True Story" (2006) which is from director Stephanie Via and runs for 3 minutes 14 seconds. The film appeared at the Sundance Film Festival and is a black and white film about an old woman that recalls a traumatic childhood experience. It's not really my cup pf tea but some people may like it. A series of 3 text bios are included for: - Director Jens Lien which features 1 text page. - Trond Fausa Aurvaag which features 1 text page. - Petronella Barker which includes 1 text page. Bonus trailers for other Film Movement titles are also included for: - "Ginger and Cinnamon" which runs for 2 minutes 11 seconds. - "Morlang" which runs for 2 minutes 7 seconds. - "Film Movement" spot which runs for 31 seconds. Plus a single text page is included that lists other titles available at the Film Movement website as well as a single text page with 'about Film Movement' information.
Overall
This film has been reviewed by Joe Harbridge, the technical specs and extras reviewed by Noor Razzak. Copyright © 2008 Noor Razzak/Joe Harbridge.
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