Border

Neon | Release Date: October 26, 2018

6.6	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 64 Ratings

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Brent_MarchantOct 28, 2018

One of the best efforts at fusing multiple cinematic genres that I've ever seen. It's part crime drama, part fantasy, part horror flick, part offbeat love story and part noir thriller all rolled into one sumptuously filmed, deliciouslyOne of the best efforts at fusing multiple cinematic genres that I've ever seen. It's part crime drama, part fantasy, part horror flick, part offbeat love story and part noir thriller all rolled into one sumptuously filmed, deliciously unusual Swedish offering. This one will take you places you don't expect at seemingly every turn, holding your interest intently, because you're never sure where it's going to go next. Director Ali Abbasi serves up a sometimes-funny, sometimes-twisted, sometimes-sweet tale that keeps viewers guessing right up to the closing credits. The changes in mood definitely keep you on your toes, but in the end it's well worth it.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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fredericwoodOct 31, 2018

Outstanding film making. I'm impressed with many details of the film, particularly the atmosphere, the acting and the makeup. However, there is a strong Hollywood-like sensational tendency which is a turn-off to me.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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tonyGreenAug 25, 2021

Attractive and well made, Border really draws you in. Refreshingly, the film does not talk down to the audience but keeps engagement by hinting and nudging towards a series of conclusions. The ending however is a little disappointing and aAttractive and well made, Border really draws you in. Refreshingly, the film does not talk down to the audience but keeps engagement by hinting and nudging towards a series of conclusions. The ending however is a little disappointing and a bit distasteful.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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JLuis_001Dec 1, 2019

Often movie lovers like me ask and crave different things. Narratives that challenge us and that feel diverse or peculiar. Border is that.

The story deals with Tina, a strange customs worker with an appearance that goes without saying isOften movie lovers like me ask and crave different things. Narratives that challenge us and that feel diverse or peculiar. Border is that.

The story deals with Tina, a strange customs worker with an appearance that goes without saying is more than peculiar but that's not the only thing unique to her. She also has a special talent to detect contraband or when people hide something. Saying it like that sounds pretty simple but obviously it isn't.
To explain more would make it inevitable for me to release a few spoilers but it goes without saying that what follows is not an ordinary journey.

The plot is based on a short story by writer John Ajvide Lindqvist who also co-wrote the script. If you saw the movie or read the book of Let the Right One In, you will have a little idea of the tone and atmosphere of this film and yet is more obscure and bizarre.
Perhaps what can be puzzling is its mix of genres and its narrative slowness but its unpredictability, the performances and its good production make it an option that falls outside the norm and is therefore so attractive.

This is a story with magic but its type of magic isn't probably the one you imagine.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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Bertaut1Mar 20, 2019

Supremely weird, but thought-provoking, even if a little morally ambiguous

Based on the short story by John Ajvide Lindqvist, written for the screen by Lindqvist, Ali Abbasi, and Isabella Eklöf, and directed by Abbasi, Gräns is aSupremely weird, but thought-provoking, even if a little morally ambiguous

Based on the short story by John Ajvide Lindqvist, written for the screen by Lindqvist, Ali Abbasi, and Isabella Eklöf, and directed by Abbasi, Gräns is a psychological drama, a study of loneliness, a romance, a body-horror, an investigation into what gives us our humanity, and a thriller. Set in a half-realist/half-fantastical milieu, no matter how fanciful the plot becomes, it remains always grounded in emotional realism. Problems include a subplot that feels disconnected from the main narrative, a ridiculous coincidence, a twist you can see a mile away, and a pronounced moral ambiguity that's difficult to parse. Nevertheless, this is unique filmmaking, raising all manner of questions about how we act towards the Other.

Tina (Eva Melander) is a customs officer with the ability to smell guilt. Suffering from deformities that give her a somewhat Neanderthal-like appearance, she is shocked to encounter Vore (Eero Milonoff), who has the same deformities. Although she smells something on him, she isn't sure what it is, and she lets him through customs. A few days later, he passes through again, this time volunteering to be searched. This leads to a shocking discovery, and the beginning of a strange relationship.

Given the fantastical components of the plot, one of the most interesting things about Gräns is how grounded in realism the aesthetic is. Indeed, o of the strongest elements of the film is how emotionally relatable Tina's arc is; the events may be fantastical, but the emotions are quotidian - loneliness, shyness, fear, love, disgust etc.

An important example of this is that Abbasi sets up a contrast between the forest which surrounds Tina's home and the rest of the locations. Presented as a somewhat magical place, whilst everything else is filmed with a cold palette of greys and washed out light blues and greens, the forest is shot with richer colours; the design elements are more imaginative; the camera work more fluid; even the sound design is more varied, suggesting the whole place is vibrantly alive, in stark contrast to the cold concrete and steel world seen elsewhere.

The film's opening scene establishes Tina's attraction to the animal world; as she gently handles a bug, before carefully placing it back into the grass. Later, there's a scene with a moose, another with a fox, and a scene in which she is rushing her neighbour to hospital to give birth but stops to let a family of deer cross the road. These scenes are shot by cinematographer Nadim Carlsen with a sense of wonder, and an almost ethereal quality, as far removed from the mundanity of the customs desk as you can get. For all her closeness to animals, however, Tina is equally as distant from humans, and is desperately lonely, in a society that judges based on appearance. On the other hand, Vore is introduced as a rebel against social norms; whereas Tina is ashamed of her differences, he is proud of his - seen most clearly at a buffet, where he takes all the smoked salmon, and then hungrily eats it with little concern for etiquette.

The film also probes what gives us our humanity, suggesting that in a world populated by humans lacking in humanity, maybe Tina and Vore are the most human characters, or certainly the most humane. Tied to this is the notion of finding one's tribe, and what kind of sacrifices and subversions of one's moral code, if any, are acceptable in that search. However, the film does end in an extremely morally ambiguous manner, and I've rarely come out of a movie with such a pronounced case of "what was the director trying to say with that?"

Elsewhere, a child porn subplot does little but detract from the main plot. I get that it's there to show us Tina's abilities and her moral code, but too much time is given to it without it ever being made to seem urgent or important. And when it is finally integrated into the main narrative, it happens with a plot twist so telegraphed, if you don't see it coming, you've never seen a movie before. Also, when we learn how the two plots connect, and when we backtrack to the start of the film, we find that the entire house of cards relies on a monumental movie coincidence.

These missteps aside, Gräns exposes the layers upon which our society is built, and is unafraid to suggest that exclusion has become a major facet of Western civilisation, an important topic at a time when there are increased calls for closed borders and increasingly irrational fears of the Other. The morality of the dénouement is a little questionable, but this is still a fine piece of work with a lot on its mind.… Expand

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frannorthstarMar 3, 2019

Slow difference …and then surprises sent this film into a different ‘Twilight Zone’ seen before one were reality never so poignant failed, throwing faith in humanity further into a darken pit where left to abuse ourselves further excepted ourSlow difference …and then surprises sent this film into a different ‘Twilight Zone’ seen before one were reality never so poignant failed, throwing faith in humanity further into a darken pit where left to abuse ourselves further excepted our faltering future.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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DawdlingPoetNov 22, 2021

This is quite a dark film in tone. It struck a chord with me. Its about isolation, feeling out of place and being accepted for who you are. Its unsettling and quirky. Its hard to describe in any kind of detail. I think its worth seeing, definitely.

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