Mifune (1999)

Excellent adaptation.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Minor SpoilersIn Copenhagen, the yuppie Kresten (Anders W. Berthelsen) has just married Claire (Sofie Gråbøl), the daughter of his employer. While in his honeymoon, he is informed that his father has just died. He had omitted his origin from the country and the existence of his family, composed of his father and his mental-ill brother Rud (Jesper Asholt), to his wife and his father-in-law. Claire wants to travel with him for the funeral, but he says that it is not necessary and he would travel alone and be back to Copenhagen in a couple of days. Once in the simple family's farm, he feels the need of a housekeeper to help him with his retard brother. The young prostitute Liva Psilander (the gorgeous Iben Hjejle) applies for the job and is hired by Kresten. Liva brings her troubled brother Bjarke Psilander (Emil Tarding) to live with them. Meanwhile, Claire arrives in the night without previous notice, and when she sees Liva drinking wine with Kresten, she returns to Copenhagen. Kresten is fired by her father and she asks for the divorce. Kresten and Liva falls in love for each other, and Rud and Bjarke becomes friends, forming a weird family. This Dogma 95 film is a delightful Danish dramatic romance. The story is very nice, without being corny. The title of this movie is a game of samurai between Kresten and Rud, and a homage to Toshirô Mifune, the Kikuchiyo from `The Seven Samurai'. The beauty and the smile of Iben Hjejle highlight in a movie without any special effect or lighting. Another great example that it is possible to make a great low-budget movie. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): `Mifune'

Well this is my third Dogme movie, and it makes three great movies in a row. 'Mifune' isn't confrontational fare like 'Festen' and 'The Idiots', but shares a similar honesty and naturalness that is usually missing from most contemporary American movies. Plot-wise it is by far the most conventional of the three, and isn't a million miles away from quirky indie relationship based comedy/drama like 'Bottle Rocket', 'Palookaville', 'Walking And Talking', 'Trees Lounge', etc.etc. Fans of any of those movies or early Tom DiCillo will appreciate 'Mifune's subtlety and wit. Iben Hjejle went on to 'High Fidelity', a movie I enjoyed to a certain degree, but is given a much stronger and more complex role here. However she is overshadowed by Anders W. Berthelsen and Jesper Asholt as the estranged (and strange) bothers, who are both superb. In fact there isn't a bad performance in the whole movie. I highly recommend 'Mifune' and hope Dogme keeps up their high standards. I have been impressed by their work so far and want to see more.

A movie by Soren Kragh-Jacobsen. The third movie directed according to the principles of Dogma95. A touching story that I particularly liked: about a carreerist who suddenly realizes that his idea of leaving his wretched family behind and starting a new life is wrong, about a hooker who is trying to escape from the harrassing phone calls by an aberrant and their brothers who are also miserable and helpless. As the story develops these people manage to realize that even though they cannot change the harshness of their life, relying on each other's empathy and love can make things easier. As the hooker says at one point (no guarantee on the exact words): "Life is s*** and you will taste it with large spoons every day, but this is not an excuse to hurt the ones who are close to you". The happy ending suggests that there is hope for these people: I would be inclined to believe so...

I was looking forward to this film as being a fresh and interesting piece of modern cinema. I was disappointed, it was complete rubbish. Reasons for my comment would be: annoying characters, dire script and boring direction. I may be wrong with this evaluation, I doubt it, but this my opinion.