LFO (2013)

Don't Believe the Hype

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Delightfully disturbing examination of human fragility that questions sanity, compassion and self-absorption . The 'sci-fi' vehicle gives a wonderful scope for all the main characters to express their individual pecadillos whilst opening up more global issues . Plenty of humour and pathos and a total lack of schmaltzy sentimentality raise this above the regular propaganda and into a truly thought provoking piece. Excellent acting , mood and score just add to a novel and well expressed plot. A joy to watch.

Robert is a lonely audio engineer. After much research he manages to develop a sound frequency that immediately puts anyone who hears it into an hypnotic trance and makes them totally bend to his commands. He immediately starts using the device to influence his neighbours, initially sparingly but then constantly. What could possibly go wrong?Novel idea. Pretty much plays to our fantasies of having some sort of magical power that allows us to control others. The scene- setting and the initial use of the device was quite interesting and even amusing at times.A pity then that the plot doesn't really go anywhere. With everything nicely set up for something profound or, at least, entertaining, the movies drifts from about the half-way mark. Instead of building on the start, we pretty much have the same scenarios being played out over and over again. The movie does ultimately find a direction, but it's a random one, one that is not developed or justified at all by what came before. Quite bizarre and random ending.Worth seeing for the first half. Second half is disappointing.

I just watched LFO yesterday, and boy was I satisfied. At the time of writing this review there were only two other user reviews - which I agree with; this Sci-Fi film is dark, comedic, serious, and a tad psychologically disturbing at times (not so much that I would tell anyone to stay away). I wouldn't really consider this a dark comedy despite its comedic moments, since I felt a more serious tone to the movie.I think the plot is well described and the other reviews encompass a lot of what I feel so I'm not going to elaborate on any of those. I really just want to say that I gave LFO a 7 because that is what I feel most people would agree with, but after viewing it I personally feel it's an 8. It kept my attention while I was trying to determine the fate of Robert, Simon, and Clara, but I walked away from this movie feeling as though I was hypnotized myself. I couldn't stop thinking about LFO for a good hour after completion, which typically wins me over.Watch this movie. Hopefully it's still on Netflix when you read this review, but it's totally worth paying for.

Actually, LFO is an acronym for Low Frequency Oscillation, but it is also the delightfully Heath-Robinson story of the excellent Patrik Karlson's troubled acoustician and his increasingly obsessive behaviour. Writer/ director Antonio Tublén (who also wrote the electronic score) has fashioned a fine morality tale that (as good writing dictates) is plausible after the initial conceit is accepted. The film's tone is cold, it is almost emotionless and often claustrophobic, but this only multiplies its effectiveness in provoking the viewer's contemplation of increasingly challenging events. Karlson is ably supported by forthright performances from Izabella Jo Tschig and Per Löfberg as his neighbours, and Ahnna Rasch as his wife. In a landscape of modern cinema in danger of becoming dominated by endless high-rise multiplex pap, it's refreshing to discover such oases of intelligent and thoughtful film-making as LFO, and you owe it to yourself to see this film, if only to recharge the batteries of your Bay-sh-t detector.