Flick Pick

The inaugural Scandinavian Film Festival is a modest affair in terms of numbers — just four films, only one of which is feature length. But it makes up in freshness what it lacks in width and breadth. The centerpiece flick, You, the Living, from director Roy Andersson, was described by...

By Michael Roberts

April 16, 2009

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The inaugural Scandinavian Film Festival is a modest affair in terms of numbers — just four films, only one of which is feature length. But it makes up in freshness what it lacks in width and breadth. The centerpiece flick, You, the Living, from director Roy Andersson, was described by one reviewer as “a morosely comic symphony on the meaning (or is that meaninglessness?) of life”; it served as Sweden’s official entry in the Academy Awards’ foreign-language-film category this year. And a trio of short films from the region prove just as appealing. In Mr. Mustache, for instance, Norway’s Ørjan Jensen pays comic tribute to men who see the patch of flesh between their nose and mouth as an opportunity for often wild self-expression. And Iceland’s Slurpinn & Co., a 1998 jaw-slackener from director Katrin Ólafsdóttir, is even more memorable: an absurd, wordless, elaborately choreographed office comedy that’s captured by a revolving but otherwise stationary camera without a single edit prior to its bizarre bang of a conclusion. In the case of Slurpinn, and the fest as a whole, size doesn’t matter.

The screenings get under way at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, at Starz FilmCenter, 900 Auraria Parkway; admission is $10. Learn more at 303-595-3456 or www.denverfilm.org.
Sat., April 18, 4-7 p.m., 2009

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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