IslandGuru Who payed the critics

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

agndubec I'm disappointed.. When I was looking for this film I was hoping to watch some kind of human drama. That's way all my hopes I put in the main character. And she failed... Such a big role ! Miss Vikiander has the same (face) expression the whole movie. The same, I must say annoying, kind of b.t.ch.y one. When in her place would be someone else- like male (just example) Jack Nicholson this film would be OK, or even better than OK. I renember like he played in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest someone who has emotional problems- he was amazing! I remember Anelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted- she was so, so magnetic- to the pain, so badly ! I've seen a lot of actors who has something hard to play, and I must say, that most of them I can remember- I can remember even not famous at all Catherine Deneuve in Roman Polański's movie- and I won't say any bad word about her role. But there in this Lisa Langseth's movie? There was nothing- I hope I'll forget as fast as I can this creepy main female role. Beside that it was sooo sooo funny what happened when in the end - when parents of little boy caught him with some strange guy early NAKED playing on the floor. And what have they done? Just nothing! Holy Moly! Isn't that weird? Some kind of abstraction we have here... Sory- NOT in the real world. That kind of things. And most important- not today! Also when creepy main character ruin the room in the hotel parents didn't even say a word. It OK for them when strange woman just lacerating their stuffs.. And her trip- firstly she goes about 5 hours without any wearinessor even one sweat-drop, that when she goes back and its dark she remember the way to the hotel and walks about a couple of minutes... Not the real word - this film has lots lots of unrealistic moments- the funniest thing is the second one hotel- when they get to him he lays on the sideless, and some evening when the girl look through window she sees a few high bulding outside- what a heterogeneousworld !

nathaliepottier Alicia plays Erika, a traumatized mother of a newborn baby in whom she caused brain damage because of her fear in giving birth in the natural way. Is her best character, Alicia gives everything for this role. Who sees her in this one can hardly remember that she's not that girl that is suffering because of a mistake she committed, the one that will follow her for all life. The film could be a drama like any other: some problematic people come together trying to cope with their fears and traumas. And yeah, they are being able to help each other, BUT it has a goal point here: Erika! She is suffering a lot and she's carrying some heavy feelings, effects of her trauma, BUT she doesn't let it show. We follow Erika's point of view and we can barely feel her soul. Of course part of the job is coming from Alicia's performance, but the really well written script is also something to add up. From the beginning of the movie till the end, we keep waiting to see WHY Erika is the only one not being healed, after all she's the one that got the idea, and she's the one funding everything. We want to see this group therapy having some effect on her, but it doesn't. So she needs more than that, she needs "the drop in a cup full of water". And she gets it. So the movie is about life and how we all repress our feelings, every time. The movie is about let it out and don't mind what people thinking about us. This movie is about the human being in its greatness.

mel-piruski-1990 ''I want to be someone... somewhere else'' exclaims the heroine of Hotell in one of the key scenes of the film, and she literally means what she is saying. When life twists and turns in unexpected and unpleasant ways people often grant themselves the desire to take a break from their devastating daily routines. But for Lisa Langseth's characters this desire goes much deeper: they want to take a break from their own personalities and from the repression and the obstacles that they seem to impose to themselves. Checking out from their realities and checking into a hotel seems like a logical thing to do. Away from their own houses and lives they have the chance to experience how it is to be someone else somewhere else.The idea of assuming a new identity and erase the past after a crisis happening in life is not new. One can easily recall Edward Norton giving up his old monotonous life to participate in Project Mayhem in Fight Club, Jim Carey and Kate Winslet paying to have their memories erased in The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Old Boy's Oh Dae-su asking for the help of a hypnotist to forget his guilty present and past. A new identity has in any case to do with deleting past and constructing a clean present but in the case of Erika (Alicia Vikander) things are not so clear-cut because the point of her past that she wants to forget about is her own new born child. Erika was leading a life that appeared to be perfect: she had a committed husband, a successful job, money and most importantly she was expecting to be a mother. She was spending her time in fancy parties with her colleagues and when she was at home she was taking care of the room of her upcoming baby. Everything had to be flawless: the cradle, the decoration, the teddy bears. But because of a complication her pregnancy was disrupted and she gave birth to a child who is brain damaged. Now she has to face reality but she is not ready to do it. For the first time in her life she has to run away. And the world that she knew and lived in for so long will collide with a new one.After refusing to see her own son and negotiating the problematic situation with her husband she is assigned to participate into a group therapy that would help her to handle the new state of things. The other members of her group seem to be also disoriented and the treatment doesn't help. While talking to each other they spontaneously come up with the idea of going to a hotel and start developing and acting in accordance with a new personality that they would choose for themselves. Hotell seems to follow the structure of a psychotherapy treatment. Erika has to pass through all of these stages that will lead her to reconciliation and catharsis but this process is not an easy one. Checking out from one hotel only to check in in another one, the rooms seem to take the shape of precisely these stages until the time for the inevitable reality check arises. What is she going to do when that happens?Confusion and fear are always apparent in Erika's face and body. While everyone of her friends seems to find a way to feel better through this weird hotel tour that they are having she remains detached having only some brief moments of tenderness lighting up her mood. Her detachment becomes even stronger because of Langseth's choice to deny the spectator any glimpse of what is going on inside the heroine's head. There are no voice-overs to help us understand what she is thinking and no subjective shots showing how she feels. The tension of her inner world is illustrated by the rough editing of the film but that is not adequate to give any clues about Erika's plans.This denial for a pass into the heroine's thoughts is perfectly supported by Alicia Vikander's solid and structured acting which is contrasted with the personalities of her four friends . All of them are true misfits and their goofy behavior seems to make the whole atmosphere of the film more light-hearted and funny, balancing the emotional dead end of Erika. Their weirdo way of acting is becoming so exaggerated at some points of the film that it highlights their poor character development that often makes them look one dimensional. Especially in the case of the introvert Ann-Sofi, whose elvish voice haunts the opening and the ending of the film, the need for a more generous depiction of her personality became more than apparent.Hotell succeeds in telling the story of a traumatized woman by focusing on her and not on the events that happened or may happen around her. Her actions and reactions become landmarks of a process which seems to be more important than the outcome that it is going to produce and Erika's improvised self-psychotherapy leads to an unexpected catharsis whose starting point seem to overlap with an ending and vice versa.

Sindre Kaspersen Swedish playwright, screenwriter and director Lisa Langseth's second feature film which she wrote, is inspired by personal experiences regarding identity. It premiered in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival in 2013, was shot on locations in Sweden and is a Sweden-Denmark co-production which was produced by producers Frida Jonason and Patrik Andersson. It tells the story about a mother-to-be named Erika whom after learning how her upcoming birth will affect the health of her and the father-to-be named Oskar's child, begins thinking about becoming someone else. Distinctly and engagingly directed by Swedish filmmaker Lisa Langseth, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws a remarkable and heartrending portrayal of Pernilla, Rikard, Ann-Sofi, Peter and Erika who connects after being introduced to each other in a conversation group. While notable for its atmospheric milieu depictions, reverent cinematography by cinematographer Simon Pramsten and production design by production designer Catharina Nyqvist Ehrnrooth, this character-driven and dialog-driven story about handling pain and how much you can change yourself to become another person without losing yourself by a director whom is sincerely remembered for her commendable directorial debut "Pure" (2010), depicts a gripping and psychological study of character and contains a great and timely score by composers John Berthling and Andreas Söderström. This appraisingly humorous, humanely reflective and lyrically romantic drama which is set in Gothenburg, Sweden in the 21st century and where newly acquainted members of a conversation group decides to realize their thoughts, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, rhythmic continuity, the emphatic and poignant acting performance by Swedish actress and dancer Alicia Vikander, the sparkling acting performance by Swedish actress and musician Mira Eklund and the noteworthy acting performance by Swedish stage and film actress Maria Bjerkerud. A densely cinematic and harmoniously atmospheric narrative feature.