It's a mystery how Peter Schonau Fog manages to combine child abuse, a study of a rural community, affecting tragedy and black comedy into a satisfying whole, but in "The Art of Crying" he pulls it off. A gently offbeat study of a Jutland family in the early 1970s as seen through the merciless, innocent gaze of an 11 year-old boy, this refreshingly unconventional pic tackles its taboos with
compassion, grace and wit. Jonathan Holland, Variety

Emotionally devastating and astonishingly mature, this is a unique feature debut. Steve Gravestock, Toronto International Filmfestival

A young Scandinavian genius tackles Bergmanesque themes of family taboos and relationships with pathos, humor, and a loving eye. Chiseko Tanaka, Tokyo International Film Festival

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Craig at the Toronto International Film Festival - Blog

http://filmfest.tnir.org/2006/tiff-2006-day-5

The Art of Crying
Next up for me was a Danish film called THE ART OF CRYING, and black comedy and family tragedy about child abuse. Using the word comedy may cause you to think that a serious subject was being trivialized, but that was not the case here. CRYING concerns a family whose eldest son has escaped to university while 14 year old daughter Sanne and 10 year old son Allan are left unprotected by their mother from the most insecure and manipulative father you ever seen, but can unfortunately believe. The comedy comes from seeing all of this through the eyes of the 10 year old who initially misunderstands what’s happening about him. As Allan starts to put the pieces together, the comedy begins to give way to tragedy, while never completely succumbing to it: Allan’s deeply desired hope for a normal life keeps utter calamity at bay. You won’t know the names of the people involved here, but all of the work is top notch and CRYING will likely launch some careers. Check out the credits on the CRYING page at bell.ca/filmfest if you’d like to know more.

Indsendt af PSF kl. Tuesday, September 19, 2006

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