Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Out of Bounds (2011)

Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)
Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)
Genre: Drama
Director: Frederikke Aspöck
Starring: Carsten Bjørnlund, Stephanie Leon, Jakob Eklund
Language: Danish, Swedish
Duration: 73 min.
Rating: 6.0
Summary:
On a desolate, windswept island. Stella and Oskar, a young couple, visit her father Nathan who lives a simple solitary life in the company of his Labrador dog.
Out of Bounds is the feature film debut from Danish director and NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate Frederikke Aspöck, who won the 2004 Cannes Cinéfondation Award for her short film Happy Now. It screened Out of Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

The story follows Stella (Stephanie Leon) and her boyfriend Oskar (Carsten Bjørnlund), who travel to see her estranged father Nathan (Jakob Eklund) a reclusive artist who lives only with his dog, in a tiny shack on a deserted island in the Baltic Sea. With a bitter wind blowing and the chilly sea crashing, it doesn't take long for family secrets, old and new to get aired out, causing tension, anger, and resentment amongst all the characters.

The actors are convincing, particularly Eklund who plays the intimidating father-in-law extremely well; the characters are interesting and well fleshed out; and the remote setting is both unsettling and breathtaking, but there really isn't enough story or substance here. It's almost over, by the time it feels like the film is finally getting somewhere.

Sadly Out of Bounds is not the debut I was hoping for. Take away the amazing backdrop and all that's left is a paper thin open-air chamber play that feels stretched even with its brief running time; and despite some solid performances, really offers nothing unique or emotionally resounding.
Bonjour Tristesse
Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)

Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)

Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)

Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)

Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)

Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)

Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)

Out of Bounds • Labrador (2011)

4 comments:

Michaël Parent said...

Looks very Scandinavian. Too bad it is not as depth as the initial story evokes. The imagery looks good though!

The Angry Lurker said...

It sounds like one for a sad night....

d_4 said...

Now that's just sad. It really did seem like it was capable of just the right amount of substance for a decent watch. The trailer was visually pleasing, it jut didn't say much.. which I guess it just how the movie goes. Oh well!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Very, and that's part of the problem for me. Same old story syndrome.

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