Redoubt
Frightened by the nuclear threat of the Cold War, a farmer (a Swedish-speaking Denis Lavant) starts building his own bomb shelter in this off-kilter, minimalist historical drama.
The Cold War has reached its coldest years in the countryside of southern Sweden. Instructions on how to prepare for the possibility of a nuclear war are regularly delivered to every household. Reclusive Karl-Göran takes the instructions to heart and sets out to build a bomb shelter by a field. He collects scrap metal around the village and spends his days and nights by himself, tinkering away. The single-minded, socially awkward man is regarded with reservations by the villagers. Only the village children seem to truly understand Karl-Göran.
Redoubt delights the senses with the clarity of its sound engineering and the elegance of its black-and-white images, set aglow with natural light. The carrying force of this minimalistic piece, however, is the European art film regular Denis Lavant, who inhabits the role of childlike, paranoid Karl-Göran with every fibre of his being. The French virtuoso known for his bodily immersion has learnt the basics of Swedish in order to deliver one of the most memorable roles of his later career. The film leaves room for Lavant’s subtle yet viscerally physical acting. The result is an unusual depiction of alienation, obsession, and a daily life governed by dread.
Aatos Ketvel (translated by Ailiina Saaristo)
Screenings
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Maxim 2Fri 18.9. at 16.30–17.5181 min, 1/4
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Kino Engel 1Sun 20.9. at 21.00–22.2181 min, 2/4
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Kino ReginaFri 25.9. at 21.00–22.2181 min, 3/4
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Cinema OrionSun 27.9. at 16.00–17.2181 min, 4/4