Nordvest (2013) Reviews

• Well told story about street violence, youth crime and its impact on family relationships. Enough developments to keep us interested for 95 minutes

  JvH482013-05-02

  I saw this movie at the Rotterdam film festival 2013 (IFFR), where it was part of the Bright Future section. It is a story around 18 year old Caspar, who starts modestly as a burglar stealing valuables or electronic equipment on demand. He has a fixed "contract" with Jamal, who buys the loot from him. However, Caspar has plans to scale up, and gradually comes to terms with tough guy Björn. He gets accepted in those circles, and assigned more and more responsible tasks. All is going well and according to plan, until the moment that Jamal decides to have his revenge. This gets out of hand very soon, and you hardly can expect a smooth escape out of this situation, and thus assume a not so very happy end. The film is named after Northwest, a suburb district of Copenhagen (Denmark). Not only because of a strong reputation of youth crime, this area was also chosen for a simple practical reason: it was open enough to let the film makers in and to cooperate with them. Much knowledge about the neighborhood was acquired by asking around and talking with locals living there. The director made documentaries before, and this was the usual method of operations for him. Moreover, they really tried to blend in while shooting, by living in the apartment (together with mom and kids) that was used in the film as decor. The information in the previous paragraph was gathered from a final Q&A with the film makers, a considerable subset of them present with the screening. It was the 2nd screening ever, on the day immediately following the world premiere in Sweden. Some of the crew were still recuperating from a hangover, but answered as best as possible on questions from moderator and audience. From the Q&A we also learned that none of the actors is educated as such, but most of them played before in movies or TV series. The way this director makes movies is working without a detailed script, leaving much improvised. The scene and setting is rehearsed before the shooting, but what actually happens after the camera switches on, is merely ad-hoc and left to the actors. All in all, an interesting plot, giving some insight in how the criminal mind works, and opening lots of opportunities for even so interesting developments. Maybe also a bit about second generation immigrant Jamal versus native Björn, and upholding respect from their respective gangs?? Apart from portraying street violence and youth gangs, the story is also about the impact that this dangerous way of living can have on family relationships. It is really a "way of living" to survive in such circumstances, and not always easy to keep your family out of it, be it to repair the damages when you come home wounded, or when people are waiting for you outside to collect money or have an argument. And it gets easily from bad to ugly by throwing things through the window, or even threatening to set the house on fire. The festival visitors gave an average score of 4.268 (out of 5), thereby ranking it 21st (out of 178) for the audience award. As far as I'm concerned, this film maker shows indeed a Bright Future, deservedly put in the festival section with that name.

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• Nordvest (from a local's perspective)

  Rasmusolesen12013-11-11

  The review's I have read above are very much accurate in their description and rating of the movie. So I will not speculate further on this matter. This review is merely to bring some supplementary information to the table. First and foremost I must tell that I live 1 mile from where the movie takes place, but in a, crime wise, less exposed area. The story portrays the development of North West very well and in according to the organized crime trends we see in Copenhagen. The director was so passionate about making this movie "real", which is seen by the actor who plays Bjørn, who is actually an ex-con (who have now devoted his life to help people get out of their life as criminals). I must say that this movie left a big impression on me, and helped explain how the young people living in the tough areas around Copenhagen gets exposed to criminal behavior and therefore are easier to slip into a wrong path. I look forward to see more form the director, Michael Noer and the main character, Gustav Dyekjær Giese and his younger brother (who also plays his younger brother in the movie), Oscar Dyekjær Giese.

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• Seemed entertaining

  peter072013-07-22

  I saw this at Pifan 2013 in Bucheon, South Korea, and while I've seen several Danish movies that were so-so to lackluster, this one was entertaining. Caspar is a young man who has a single mother and two siblings in Copenhagen. He burglarizes homes and sells the stuff he steals to an Arab thug, Jamal, who cheats him all the time. Caspar is later offered a job with a pimp named Bjorn and starts to earn good money. But Jamal is angry that Caspar is working for someone else and seeks revenge. The movie was interesting and the characters seemed real, though I don't know much about Denmark. I'd say this was worth a watch, though the ending seemed a bit flat.

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• Well told, even if heard before

  kosmasp2014-05-04

  A nice story of small gangsters trying to stay above water. The relationships in this and the characters are well drawn and avoid getting into too many cliché traps. The movie/script is well written too of course, but it is the actors who carry the weight. It's tough playing off each other and making the audience buy that. I doubt this will be your first venture into crime story foray, but if you have a knack for European style of showing things (read: not as fancy as a Hollywood Blockbuster would show them), you will really relish watching this. There is violence and there is many adult situations happening, so you should be fine with watching that. If that is the case, there is a more than decent movie to enjoy here

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• A realistic escalation of violence

  badtast-tom2015-05-15

  This movie relates the story of a young man living in a modest suburb in Denmark. Skilled burglar, he will try to rise the grade of the criminal underworld, underestimating the dangerousness of the consequences of his acts. Far from Hollywood gangster movies, the way this movie was recorded, the scenery as well as the actor's performances plunge the viewer into a deeply realistic violence. Interestingly, the film maker (Michael Noer) succeeded in showing a violence that will knot your stomach without being gore at all which is very rare nowadays. An excellent movie, in the direct line of Gomorra (Matteo Garrone), in a radically different geographical situation.

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