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

Sunday, October 29, 2006

THE ART OF CRYING at AFI FEST Hollywood

THE ART OF CRYING
KUNSTEN AT GRAEDE I KOR

Denmark, 2006, 106 min, Color, 35 MM
In Danish with English subtitles
US Premiere

DIR: Peter Schønau Fog
SCR: Bo hr. Hansen NOVEL Erling Jepsen
PROD: Thomas Stenderup
DP: Harald Gunnar Paalgard
ED: Anne Østerud
PROD DES: Søren Krag Sørensen
MUS: Karsten Fundal
Cast: Jannik Lorenzen, Jesper Asholt, Julie Kolbeck, Hanne Hedelund, Thomas Knuth-Winterfeldt

At times both horrific and comedic, THE ART OF CRYING is a stunning debut film. Director Peter Schønau Fog's film is filled with potent observations about the innocence of childhood and the starker reality.

South Jutland, the early 1970s, and life isn't easy for 11-year-old Allan. Allan reveres his father, Henry (Jesper Asholt), the local milkman, and can't understand why others don't feel the same way. His father has 'psychic nerves' and regularly threatens to kill himself. His mother has given up, his older brother has moved out and the family's small dairy store isn't doing well. When his eloquent eulogies that make mourners weep in chorus become his father’s only reason to live, Allan soon lends a hand to make sure the funerals keep coming. Schønau Fog adeptly peppers the plot with moments of comedy that are pitch black perfect.

Much of the film’s quiet intensity comes from the exceptional central performances, their authenticity adding layers of meaning. Fog displays a marvelous capacity for storytelling that combines lightness and darkness, people and place in a perfectly balanced composition.

- Shaz Bennett

Screening Schedule
Date Time Venue Tickets
Fri, Nov 3 7:00 pm ArcLight Theatre 12 $12.00
Sat, Nov 4 3:15 pm ArcLight Theatre 14 $12.00

AFM Screening
Fairmont 3 - November 5, at 11 am
Fairmont 2 - November 7, at 5 pm

Indsendt af PSF kl. Sunday, October 29, 2006

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