Writer/director Aleksander Nordaas explores Norwegian
folklore in his film Thale (2012) in
which two cleaning people Elvis & Leo (Erlend Nervold and Jon Sigve Skard,
respectfully) stumble upon the secret hidden in the basement of their current
job. The two men get more than what they
bargained for when Thale (Silje Reinamo) appears out of nowhere. The men don’t know how to communicate with
her but they do know that something is strange about her and it is only through
the tapes and documentation left behind by Hvittkledd (Morten Andesen) that
they learn the truth about what she is but time is running out as there are
people looking for Thale and Elvis and Leo will find themselves caught in the
middle of something they don’t truly understand.
Thale is a fantasy
horror film that tries to base everything in reality which is very similar to
how fairies were treated in the film Don’t
Be Afraid of the Dark (2010). This
is more of a dramatic horror film that does an excellent job creating realistic
characters thrown into a situation that they do understand and how they deal
with it. Reinamo is especially effective
as Thale as most of her performance relies on body language and subtle
mannerisms.
Despite being completely in a singular location Nordaas
makes great use of the space which is anchored by amazing art direction and set
design that says so much about the world that Thale lives in especially when
she communicates so little to Elvis and Leo.
There is so much that is visually communicated creating a very rich and
atmospheric film. This is definitely a
film to seek out if you’ve never heard of it and you want to take a chance on
something different and unique.
No comments:
Post a Comment