Dark Horse

2005
7.1| 1h40m| en
Details

A young man spurs romance and helps his friend and himself go through the struggles of their ordinary life in Denmark.

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Reviews

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!
SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Camera Obscura DARK HORSE (Dagur Kári - Denmark/Iceland 2005)."Volksne mennesker" is the second feature from Icelandic director Dagur Kári, after his much praised debut "Nói Albinói" (2003), which I haven't seen yet, but I can't wait after catching this little gem. For this film, he relocated the story from the icy coasts of Iceland to the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where we meet Daniel (Jacob Cedergren), a graffiti artist who sprays some stylish love declarations on the wall. Not his own love interests, but from others who want to surprise their girlfriends and pay him some under the counter money for it. In many ways Daniel is the working definition of the term loser. He has no money, no work, he's lazy and hasn't got a clue what going on around him ('How am I gonna be a father? I don't even know the name of the prime minister?'). He doesn't really care about anything and doesn't bother to pay the rent until he's kicked out. Above all, his social skills (more clumsy than impolite) leave a lot to be desired, but by sheer luck, charm and good looks he seems to be passing by just well. The film is filled with many absurd but very funny conversations, that are sometimes explained through Daniel's supposed dyslexia. When Daniel drives around the city and ignores a 'no turn left' sign, he excuse to the police is: 'I didn't understand, I thought I was obliged to turn left, I'm dyslexic.' Almost every character in the film seems to have lost it, and can be categorized from a little quirky to completely off the wall. His obese friend Roger (Nicolas Bro), nicknamed "Grandpa", works at some kind of sleep research clinic, and dreams of becoming a professional football referee. He is just as crooked as him, but in a slightly different way with a rather misplaced sense of self-righteousness and self-confidence. But one day Daniel meets the mysterious girl Franc (a wonderful performance by Tilly Scott Pedersen, I'm absolutely smitten about her), who works at a local bakery. When the two meet, she is under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms and vomits all over the floor of the bakery and gives her a ride home in his little Fiat. But he falls in love with this girl, who still lives with her twisted sex-starved mother and is practically the female version of him, going through life just as careless as he does. Near the end the initial comedic element makes way for a more dramatic turn, when the characters have to face some real choices. In the first hour, they're all so sketchily introduced, it hard to see them as real characters. And I wasn't very impressed by the much praised 16mm black-and-white cinematography by Manuel Alberto Claro, which was kind of sloppy and inconsistent, with many scenes inexplicably down lit. But these flaws are easily forgiven, with this kind of fresh and observative writing and all these wonderful performances. Tilly Scott Pedersen's smile and her infatuating on-screen presence alone had me going till the end. This is not just some desperately quirky indie, it's filled with wonderful characters, very funny and with a beautiful music score as well. In some scenes, the score seemed exactly the same as in the German MUXMAÜSCHENSTILL (2004). Not a perfect film, but very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to any of Dagur Kári's future work.Camera Obscura --- 8/10
Cquilty This movie is about the fortunes and misfortunes of three socially not so well integrated young people and a judge. By following the life of these four characters several features of contemporary life are illuminated. In a funny way during the first half of the movie, more serious in the second.I like Dark Horse very well. It has lots of very different going ons, without becoming boring or hard to follow. Its creators arranged the movie in twelve chapters, probably to avoid confusing the audience with the movies richness. Through this richness of different life episodes, the four main characters are very well explored. In this, the movie has a positive attitude to live without being sentimental or uncritical.In spite of the first part of Dark Horse taking a humorous look at the three young people, it never ridicules them. The change from the funny part to the serious one is short and fluid. Despite changing its tone this way, the movie remains coherent. The second part hasn't many lines for its protagonists to speak. Nonetheless, mostly by images, the judge, introduced in this part, is well explored.All in all a movie deserving it to be seen by a large audience.
hgunc This movie is first icelandic movie I have seen. Before I entered the cinema, I had no idea what the film was about. When I exit,my feelings were so complicated that I can't find the right word. This film is fully equipped with tiny details,which makes it deeper for focused viewers.Sometimes it gets out of the borders of absurdity,you find yourself laughing unconsciously. Sometimes you feel yourself so desperate,melancholic that you freeze in your seat,not knowing what to do.To tell the truth,this is what makes a movie see-able. Techniques used in the movie are seen before but director added some new details from himself. Repetition of some scenes is like emphasizing the importance of them just like in poetry or prose. Coloured scene is great. Turning point of the movie. really liked this movie and looking forward to see it again.
selsoe This is a welcome renewal of the Danish cinema! Kári is telling a traditional story of finding yourself in life, but in an untraditional way. First of all, it's in beautiful black & white, which really suits it. Second, he's not afraid of throwing the viewer off course by the characters' unexpected reactions to everyday events, their ignorance, naivety and way of tackling what life gives them.It's funny, has fresh new talent (Tilly Scott Pedersen) and some oldies that does their job really well. At certain points in the movie the pace slows down and I felt the director didn't really know where to take the movie, and ends up with some unfinished stories - but then again it's maybe just one of those "figure it out yourself" stories. I really liked 'Voksne mennesker' and look forward to see more from Dagur Kári!