AFI FEST

by Ari

The Art of Crying - Peter Schønau Fog
 
The Art of Crying is a very strange and unusual black comedy from debut filmmaker Peter Schønau Fog. The film is an ambitious attempt at balancing dark humor, twisted thematic content, and touching drama, but it never fully reaches the emotional complexity it means to convey. Too often does The Art of Crying switch between humor and drama mid-scene, creating an awkward, somewhat distant feel. And while it can be argued that the peculiar atmosphere is the point of the story and characters, the overall effect is still uneven. The tonal shifts don’t prevent The Art of Crying from being an impressive and worthwhile debut feature, but it does show an inexperience that almost always accompanies first time directors. Like 13 (Tzameti) earlier this year, The Art of Crying has an intriguing central premise, with smartly written characters and a strong thematic basis. Schønau Fog layers the characters with an honesty and realism that helps you identify with their problems and relationships. The Art of Crying centers on a small family living in a remote town in Denmark, which according to director Schønau Fog, has a dialect that is so thick and specific to its area that the film is subtitled even in its own country.

Allan (Jannik Lorenzen) is a charming young boy who lives with his dysfunctional small family. His father, Henry (Jesper Asholt) is a tormented man who constantly threatens to kill himself, even though he never actually will. His mother has given up all hope and care, and his older sister, Sanne (Julie Kolbech) is distant and lonely. Allan wonders why his father is so unhappy, wanting nothing more than to see him enjoy a life of peace and normality. He has an unconditional love for his father, thinking of his well-being before anything else. He’s a precocious young boy that lives a very sheltered and simple lifestyle. Allan barely understands the world, lacking any real moral center. When his sister goes downstairs late at night to comfort her father, Allan thinks it’s common and helpful. What he doesn’t understand is that his father is using her for sexual satisfaction, and when he finds out, he has no idea what it means.

The one thing Allan knows very well about his father is that he gives deep, profound eulogies at funerals. He notices people pay Henry respect and admiration after he speaks, so Allan does whatever he can to keep the funerals coming and have his father gain respect. In one case, Allan puts on a mask to try to scare his sick aunt to death, and in a very unexpected way, he actually does. When his sister gets herself a boyfriend, he basically acts as a spy to his father’s request. Morality is completely ambiguous to Allan. In his eyes, his father is the most important thing in the world. He doesn’t understand why his mother so helpless all the time, why his older brother hardly ever contacts them, and why his sister is possibly in need of psychiatric care. When Sanne refuses to be a sexual object for her father, Allan is so oblivious about its meaning that he decides to do it himself. As previously stated, The Art of Crying is particularly disturbing and sad at certain moments. It also tries to make you laugh as often as possible - its most disarming and perplexing element. To Schønau Fog’s credit, he does manage to inspire laughter at some extremely bizarre moments.

The best thing about The Art of Crying are the performances. Jannik Lorenzen is amazing as Allan. His performance is charming, sad, provoking, and completely real. Most child actors have no understanding of natural performance, but Lorenzen, like the Moroccan boys in Babel, is absolutely incredible to watch. According to the director, he has no real ambition to have a career in movies. He lives on a farm with his father and plans on following in his footsteps. Also impressive is Julie Kolbech as Allan’s sister, Sanne. This is another child performance with surprising depth and emotion. Her work is deeply tragic, one of the film’s most notable features.

The Art of Crying is a flawed, but intriguing debut film. The pacing was a bit too slow, the length a bit too long, but Schønau Fog certainly has talent with directing actors and posseses strong visual sensibilities. He’s definitely a name to watch for.