Helmer & Son
Starring: Per Pallesen, Steen Stig Lommer, Ditte Hansen, Margrethe Koytu
Directed by: Soren Pilmark
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Short, Comedy, Drama
Length: 13 minutes
2006
Times Seen:
Tim: 1
Summary:An elderly man locks himself in his closet at a nursing home and his children try to talk him into coming out.
Review:
Tim: I found the Danish film Helmer & Son to be a quirky, odd little comedy that proved to be better than I first expected. The story starts out with us discovering that an elderly man has locked himself in the closet of his nursing home and the nurses can't get him to leave. His son shows up and tries to convince him. There's obviously some historical family tension between these two. His sister and niece arrive later. The whole thing feels a bit absurd and like a soap opera. At this stage, I was wondering what was going on with this film from Denmark and why it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action short.
From there, though, the movie ultimately achieves some moments of touching family drama. In a relatively short run time, it hits on the ups-and-downs of families. They can be the most aggravating, soul-crushing things. And they can be poignant and powerful. The movie ultimately tells a story that surprised me with how much it hits the heart. From an inauspicious beginning, the movie delivers an effective emotional punch at the end.
This is a simple film and I'm not surprised it didn't win the Academy Award. Still, it's worth seeing. I wouldn't say it's the most memorable short I've seen, but it's entertaining and effective. It throws a few surprises in the mix, those twists were definitely appreciated. I still wonder about the "coming out of the closet" metaphor- it absolutely doesn't work in the context of this film, maybe that's an American expression? The film doesn't seem like it has the highest production quality, but it tells a humanistic story and it's absolutely worth seeing.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A
If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: West Bank Story