Truly Human (2001)

Touches You

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Walter and Charlotte live with their 7 years old daughter Lisa in a Danish town. There is nothing unique about them. They are two small time Yupies in their 30's, leading lives which resemble the lives of many people of their social class, and probably the lives of many of the spectators. Both of them are hard working people, they have a few good, loyal friends, they own a small apartment and they are not happy. At the same time Lisa, their daughter, imagines to have an older brother, living behind the wall paper. The question raised at this point by director Ake Sandgren is, what would happen if this imaginary figure, made up by the innocent fantasy of a child, would become a real human being. When this happens one day, the imaginary brother begins a long and painful learning process. He will find out, that the gap between the expectations of a child (the one that made him up, in this case) and the realities of the adults is huge. He'll find out that the values preached by adults are there to mislead him and cover up their own true intentions. And he will have to find out, that people don't refer to what he really is, but rather use him for their purposes and perceive him as what they want him to be. With an excellent script that reminds of Lars von Trier (whose production company, Zentropa, produced the movie) and a great piece of acting by Nicolaj Lie Kaas (the imaginary figure), Peter Mygind (Walter) and Susan Olsen (Charlotte), Ake Sandgren challenges the spectator with the question, weather or not it is possible to live in modern society and remain a human being. A masterpiece of film art, which pulls the best out of the Dogme 95 principles.

There are a few movies today that make you think about society when you leave the darkness of the cinema. Et Rigtigt Menneske does. Åke Sandgren has created a magic story that entertains, puzzles and stays in your mind for a long time. It's a beauty.

Walther and Charlotte are a not-so-happily married couple with a daughter named Lisa, and would have had an older son if they hadn't chosen to abort him. Lisa imagines that her brother lives inside the wall of their apartment. As this Dogme95 film opens, the building that they live in is about to be torn down, and when it is torn down, we see someone crawl out of the rubble. He thinks he is Walther and Charlotte's son and he appears to be in his early 20's, but he doesn't know his own name or have any idea about even the most simple aspects of daily life. How this simple man interacts with the not-so-simple world is reminiscent of Chauncey Gardner in "Being There," while the strange aspects of his origins makes it feel just a little like "The Sixth Sense."This fantasy aspect makes this an unusual Dogme95 film, and would seem to break rule #8 (genre movies). It seems likely to me that rule #2 (sound) was also broken at times, and I'm not sure about #5 (optical work and filters). As far as the acting, which is normally what makes or breaks a Dogme95 film, the parents and other "normal" people were fairly good, while the main character was a bit weak. If you're a fan of Dogme95 films or if the description sounds intriguing, this film is definitely worth seeing. Seen at the San Francisco International Film Festival on 5/1/2002.

This is a story of a hero.It is the story of the child-like "P" or Achmed, as his name quite surprisingly gets to be. It is a tale of how his refreshing wiev on life today touches - yes, that is the real Oprah word - the lives of various people. May it be the struggling career couple of Valther and Charlotte, the poor and alone and somehow deranged mr. Stromboli, the young-at-heart Tanja who has a crush on him etc. With his naïvety and stubborn believing in man's good side, he has a tremendous impact on his surroundings. It is as the crystal clear voices of a boy choir leads him wherever he goes. And in the end we are all better people, now when true love and trust has touched us deeply and moved us.In the beginning and in the end this Dogme film is rather annoying. But in between there are some quite nice scenes, who with humour, wit and poetry describes the amusing struggles for "P" to become a real human being. Especially his escapades at the refugee center or the initial scenes with Valther and mr. Stromboli has a great blend of sadness and fun. In the end, however, as the lesson comes to an end, the film underlines the importance of the values "P" brought us. And that is perhaps a bit over the top.Nikolaj Lie Kaas portraits "P" like his character in the second Dogme film "Idioterne". If you still aren't fed up with looking at him, you'll probably be it after this one. He has a limited acting ability, and he is putting it to the limits. Peter Mygind struggles with his image as the fun boy and actually get's away with it. But Susan Olsen's Charlotte is probably the most authentic character that must grant her a breakthrough in Danish movies.Åke Sandgren has made a 'humanistic fable'. Sometimes it is too humanistic, sometimes it is too fable, but it has it's moments - still it is one of the weaker Dogme films.6/10