X
- 2018
- R
- MoviePass Films
- 1 h 50 m
- 2018
- R
- MoviePass Films
- 1 h 50 m
Summary Tina (Eva Melander) is a border guard who has the ability to smell human emotions and catch smugglers. When she comes across a mysterious man with a smell that confounds her detection, she is forced to confront hugely disturbing insights about herself and humankind.
Directed By: Ali Abbasi
Written By: John Ajvide Lindqvist, Isabella Eklöf
- 2018
- R
- MoviePass Films
- 1 h 50 m
- 2018
- R
- MoviePass Films
- 1 h 50 m
Border
75
6.5
Where to Watch
Summary Tina (Eva Melander) is a border guard who has the ability to smell human emotions and catch smugglers. When she comes across a mysterious man with a smell that confounds her detection, she is forced to confront hugely disturbing insights about herself and humankind.
Directed By: Ali Abbasi
Written By: John Ajvide Lindqvist, Isabella Eklöf
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
75
92% Positive
23 Reviews
23 Reviews
8% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
75
92% Positive
23 Reviews
23 Reviews
8% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes Border. A thematically rich and deeply strange blend of romantic drama, magical-realist fantasy, and crime thriller, Sweden’s official entry to this year’s Academy Awards splits the difference between the highbrow cringe comedy of "Toni Erdmann" and the lowbrow cop fantasy "Bright."
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 65 User Ratings
6.5
58% Positive
38 Ratings
38 Ratings
29% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
12% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 65 User Ratings
6.5
58% Positive
38 Ratings
38 Ratings
29% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
12% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
One of the best efforts at fusing multiple cinematic genres that I've ever seen. It's part crime drama, part fantasy, part horror flick, part offbeat love story and part noir thriller all rolled into one sumptuously filmed, deliciously unusual Swedish offering. This one will take you places you don't expect at seemingly every turn, holding your interest intently, because you're never sure where it's going to go next. Director Ali Abbasi serves up a sometimes-funny, sometimes-twisted, sometimes-sweet tale that keeps viewers guessing right up to the closing credits. The changes in mood definitely keep you on your toes, but in the end it's well worth it.
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This is quite a dark film in tone. It struck a chord with me. Its about isolation, feeling out of place and being accepted for who you are. Its unsettling and quirky. Its hard to describe in any kind of detail. I think its worth seeing, definitely.
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While the film defies neat genre classification, it has elements of physical horror – like a mating between the mind of David Cronenberg and something that crawled out of a compost heap.
One of the things that truly impresses about Border is the way Abbasi successfully juggles so many disparate plot elements and then brings them together like a well tuned orchestra.
An exciting, intelligent mix of romance, Nordic noir, social realism, and supernatural horror that defies and subverts genre conventions.
Even the most open-minded viewers may have difficulty relating to the two lead protagonists in Border, a cynical Swedish romantic-fantasy that follows estranged border patrolwoman Tina (Eva Melander) and her unconvincing attraction to Byronic stranger Vore (Eero Milonoff).
Slow difference …and then surprises sent this film into a different ‘Twilight Zone’ seen before one were reality never so poignant failed, throwing faith in humanity further into a darken pit where left to abuse ourselves further excepted our faltering future.
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A Love Triangle.
Border
Abbasi asks for a lot; fortunately "please" is not one of it. He gives a lot too. But then what he gives can be too much for sensitive ones. It's just not everyone's cup of tea. Poignancy will have a new definition at the end of it as innocence gets peeled blatantly on screen. To balance the tone, he keeps his film thrive on its beauty. But this ongoing battle might leave the audience scarred for ever. Personally, I felt it challenging to go through this experience. Overwhelming it is, on both sides of the door, this romantic drama is a war that keeps **** your wound. The only complaint in here could be his fantasy. Yes, it was asked for, but should it have been pathos to that scale?
What's worse above all, is that the mythology that it is set in, itself is gore. One often escapes into such tale to get lost in its unique wonder. But not here, his graphic vision tests you more than it teases you. As anticipated, such characters or content revolving around a bullied persona often fuels itself with fragile eye popping elements to lure you in. For instance, the textbook formula of igniting the spark between the lead couple, is often a series of incredibly adorable and mesmerizing elements that makes us root for them.
Don't get me wrong, it does make us root for them, but the procedure is a wee bit different, it bubbles up the raunchy wilderness among them that might scatter your heart into pieces and fix it back with temporary promises- and this is of the least inedible substance in the film. And now as far as the practicality of the world and society that we revolve around is concerned it is simply cringe worthy. Humanity,- if I dare call it- the exploration of it has been a bless and a curse.
Blessing for how honestly it conveys and a curse for how honestly it conveys. It felt more like documentary than it was cinematic. Tina- our protagonist- played by Eva Melander has done a fabulous work on foliating her performance through tiny meticulous notions of an animalistic nature. The way she keeps herself distant from everyone, the way she sniffs, her understanding of an innocent being afraid of her whether it be then babies or dogs, her performance is her awarenesses of the suit that she is covered under.
Vore, his love angle, portrayed by Eero Milonoff is equally good on supporting her where he doesn't get that wide a range. This chemistry is somewhat equivalent to- if I dare compare-Titanic. As in, a guy of his own set rules and laws enters into her calculative and well bordered lifestyle, invading through exhilarating new schemes ties the knot that she fails to unhook herself with; for a brief period. What was disappointing to me is that those schemes could have been more tantalizing. Border does differentiate the uniqueness of oneself, it asks for you to sit side by side comfortably, for hours, ages and lives.
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(Mauro Lanari)
In order to be truly unpredictable, Abbasi should not have had to direct the adaptation of a short story by the highly predictable Lindqvist, another who, like del Toro, talks about genetic freaks, body shaming, identity minorities and sexual diversities not with the realism of Browning, Herzog, Lynch but with the fantasy genre, therefore with the symbolism of the many Magneto against Xavier. In his case, of Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore to give himself a more artistic and authorial tone instead of mainstream for teenagers. And it's obvious that the result doesn't change.
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I went into this with relatively high expectations, and to put it shortly I was thoroughly disappointed. I tend to enjoy indie films, especially foreign ones, and as this is an indie Swedish film, it seemed like it was trending in the right direction. Although the first act was quite decent and seemed like the movie held some potential, it was a downward spiral from there. The performances that were given by Eero Milonoff (Vore) and Eva Melander (Tina) were truly quite transformative and deserving of a better movie. The creature effects were also quite stunning, especially when compared to the unaltered appearances of the actors. This movie introduces many elements that are interesting, but it doesn't truly commit to any of them. By the movie's resolution, there were so many unresolved subplots, that I was more so confused than satiated. Noted, that this was less the kind of confusion that had me rethinking the movie than it was the variety wherein I was unsure of the validity of what I had just watched. When the end finally came, it felt long overdue, being as the prior scenes also felt like they could have provided resolution. The movie ground to a halt near the end, getting slower and slower, seeming like it should end, but never truly doing so, until the second fade to black. This movie's biggest flaw also seems to be its greatest praise, this being that it cannot commit to any genre or idea. Going in between a thriller, a drama, and a fairy tale (amongst other things), it certainly felt choppy. With unresolved plot elements and multiple endings, I wouldn't be surprised if this was an amalgamation of multiple other movies that didn't quite get proper funding. It certainly felt like something stitched together. I don't recommend this one, but if you are into alien/troll sex, maybe check this out, or don't.
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I appreciate the creativity that went into the project but that doesn't necessarily make it a good one. The film seemed to keep this grinding slow pace throughout and it never really picked up. And it never really stayed interesting either, Either with the main plot or the other subplots featured.
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Production Company
Meta Film Stockholm,
Black Spark Film & TV,
Kärnfilm,
Film i Väst,
Sveriges Television (SVT),
Meta Film,
Copenhagen Film Fund,
Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI),
Eurimages,
MEDIA Programme of the European Union,
Nordisk Film & TV-Fond,
Det Danske Filminstitut
Release Date Oct 26, 2018
Duration 1 h 50 m
Rating R
Tagline Sense Something Beautiful
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Guldbagge Awards
• 7 Wins & 10 Nominations
European Film Awards
• 1 Win & 6 Nominations
