NOW PROUDLY PRESENTING Feature Films from St:Knutsgruppen

SYNOPSIS

Peter is a documentary filmmaker with the perfect idea for a new film but his subject is reluctant, to put it lightly, to be involved. Undeterred, Peter goes ahead, capturing a “behind the scenes” “making of a documentary” style film that captures his every step and misstep, as artistic determination devolves into predatory stalking.

OUR TAKE

The Sweet Sweetness of Success might stand alone in a new sub-genre of exploitation films – the mockumentary. But Wiren’s masterstroke is how he plots a twisting and twisted narrative to the very end, where at last we begin, with the title card, to see the film’s subject. 

SYNOPSIS

The facade of Robert’s suburban lifestyle quickly dissolves when he discovers a sound pattern that gives him complete control over others. When his experiments on the neighbours have unexpected consequences, Robert begins to realise the full power of his new weapon. 

OUR TAKE

Tublén builds an impressive psychological horror out of the wish fulfilment of a lonesome tech nerd. We watch with dread as Robert satisfies his private desires at the expense of others’ autonomy. Although the film ultimately takes an entirely different tact than its real world analogue, the figure of the shadowy megalomaniac character may easily be seen in phenomenon of QAnon in the United States. When the film was released in 2013, suspension of disbelief was something fiction writers relied upon. In 2020, the film makes us feel nostalgic for fiction.