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In Order of Disappearance–Plowing through Suspense

In this combination of black comedy and Nordic noir, we are treated to a series of scenes involving gangster mobs, drug trade, a father’s revenge, kidnapping, and snow plows. In Order of Disappearance is part “Fargo” and part other Coen brothers’ comedic treatment of snow country.  The main character, Nils (the Scandinavian acting legend Stellan Skarsgard), is a Norwegian government employee, a snow plower,  who has  recently been awarded a Citizen of the Year Award. When his only son is murdered for being at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong friend, Nils seeks revenge. Winning a blood feud isn’t easy, especially in a welfare state with organized crime expertly hidden beneath the radar. But Nils has something going for him: his spotless reputation as a devoted civil servant, heavy machinery that can plow through more than snow, and the strategic and tactical skills required for plotting against a mob.

In Order of Disappearance involves, as the title suggests, a morbid body count. Nils  soon turns ruthless, laser-focused avenging angel. Greven,   drug lord and “godfather ” to a cutthroat Norwegian drug syndicate, is a borderline psychotic.  Nonetheless, and somewhat incongruously, there are some bizarre, comic scenes with Greven’s child who is bullied at school.

Beautifully filmed, In Order of Disappearance brilliantly evokes the white cold and brutal conditions of a Norwegian winter.   With a sense of isolation and desolation of soul in a white-out, there is nothing visible except blood and mayhem.

This irresistibly nasty little film combines snowplowing roads for commuters, with contemplating suicide, and dumping corpses over water falls.  Skarsgard brings a stoic detachment to the revenge he he is determined to see to the end–served cold.   Just as you will never look at a table saw chopping wood in the same way after seeing the movie “Fargo”, you’ll never watch a snowplow with the usual disinterest again.

Well worth seeing.

Note: “In Order of Disappearance” is available to stream on Netflix and was remade as “Cold Pursuit” starring Liam Neeson earler this year. 

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Kusama–Infinity

The art of critically-acclaimed Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama,  now commands the highest price for any female artist alive today.  As an art-world superstar, Kusama has attracted millions of  museum-goers worldwide who wait for hours for the chance to take selfies to post on Instagram in one of her mirrored Infinity Rooms.  Yet little is known of this nonagenarian artist obsessed with dots and the film Kusama-Infinity reveals much about the artist.  She committed herself to a mental hospital in the 1970s, out of fear that she might commit suicide.  Her long arduous road to success was painful and took decades to reach.

Infinity follows a young and beautiful Kusama whose tortuous path not only reveals the artist’s persistence, resilience, and confidence but also her understanding of women’s rights, sexual freedom,  and gay rights in the US.  She symbolically performed the first gay marriage in the US,  in Central Park,  long before most Americans were cognizant of the cultural revolution about to take over the mainstream psyche. 

Endlessly courageous, Kusama aggressively promoted her work in the male-dominated artworld of New York City, only a decade after the end of the Second World War.  Despite staggering odds, this petite, unassuming Japanese woman, speaking faltering English, was determined to exhibit her art as she wanted, not as the gatekeepers of the artworld demanded. 

Infinity suggests that Yayoi Kusama’s mental illness may have stemmed from a traumatic childhood.  Both her parents wanted her to have a traditional Japanese marriage, with an upper class lifestyle.  Instead, the young artist escaped to New York City. While Kusama was waiting for recognition, she had an intimate but nonsexual relationship with the famous artist, Joseph Cornell. Under the mentorship of Georgia O’Keefe, Kusama had her first important gallery show.  Frank Stella became an avid collector of her work as well as a supporter.

Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg, among others, “borrowed heavily”from Kusama’s work which was still relatively obscure while these male artists became sensations.   This repeated pattern, with white male artists being recognized for work that seemed influenced by her own innovations, understandably upset Kusama. The theft of her ideas may have been a catalyst for her depression and decision to return to Japan in the late 70s.

Slowly, as Kusama reached her late sixties, her art became fully acknowledged and skyrocketed in value. The 1993 Venice Biennale exemplified the art world’s recognition.

Infinity should have broad appeal as this film is also a condemnation  of the patronizing art overseers and their impact as gatekeepers of  what art becomes internationally recognized.

Note:  Kusama–Infinity is available on Netflix DVD.  “Velvet Buzzsaw” (see my  February 12, 2019 review),  a dramatization of a fictionalized and futuristic artworld is a fascinating metaphor for what Yayoi Kusama experienced over half a century ago.

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Hanna–“Handmaid’s Tale” meets “Jack Ryan”

Hanna Amazon Original Series
Hanna, starring Esme Creed-Miles

On the surface Hanna (Amazon original series) might appear to be another conventional espionage thriller/dystopia about discovery of identity and revenge against those who hid the truth.  However, this reinterpretation of the 2011 action movie starring Saoirse Ronan, is also a dark sci-fi treatise on fascism and violence in society.  In this new release we follow an isolated teen (newcomer Esme Creed-Miles) with almost super-human powers.  She learns both survival and assassin skills from  her ex-government operative father (Joel Kinnamon), both of them hiding deep in a forest in Poland, after escaping Romania. Hiding from a CIA agent (Mireille Enos) who is determined to kill them, the father and daughter’s  cat-and-mouse game  leads to evermore sinister conspiracies.

Those expecting consistently fast-paced action may  be disappointed.  The soundtrack, languorous chase and car scenes are for Bourne Identity and Jack Ryan fans.  The narrative has plot holes, often involving how someone was located and why a change of venue occurs as we move from Romania, to Poland, Morocco, Amsterdam, Germany, and London.

The casting of  Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnamon (both starring in “The Killing”  TV series 2011-2014) was a perfect match for supporting Esme Creed-Miles in her coming-of-age story.  However,  the nine episodes could have been edited to seven or eight for a tighter, more cohesive drama.

Nonetheless, I was hooked by this young superwoman and found Hanna enjoyable and intriguing, especially the dynamic between father and daughter.  Do not compare this mini-series with the film, because so much of the story has been revised. This is one of the better Amazon series we’ve been offered in the past few years.  Highly recommend!

Note:  Available on Amazon Prime.