AFI Fest Report: Dark Horse (Voksne mennesker) Review

Checking in once again from AFI here's Peter Martin with his thoughts on Dagur Kari's sophomore effort, Dark Horse

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The thing about good debut features is that it's hard not to want more of the same. Dagur Kari colored outside the lines with NOI ALBINOI. Though the broad strokes of the coming of age story were familiar, Kari placed a genuinely sympathetic character at the center -- marvelously played by Tomas Lemarquis -- and set him adrift amidst an overwhelmingly stark Icelandic background. NOI grasped at the meaning of life and love without trying too hard.

What's refreshing about DARK HORSE is that it's so consciously different. Shot in black and white 16mm stock, and set on the streets of Copenhagen (no ice or snow visible), it divides the film into clearly-labeled chapters. The early sequences lead us to believe we're seeing a jazzy modern take on the French New Wave.

Daniel (Jakob Cedergren) is a graffiti artist with no visible means of support. He doesn't seem bothered that he's only earned $7.00 in the past four years. He merrily drives the wrong way in front of a police cruiser. He waltzes into a bakery shop, takes home stoned counter girl Franc (Tilly Scott Pedersen), and beds her, even though his best friend Grandpa (Nicolas Bro) has professed his love for her.

Daniel's poverty catches up to him and his life begins to unravel. He sees a little girl conducting a yard sale, realizes that the belongings are his own, and that the girl is the daughter of his landlord with a catchy sales pitch: "Our prices are like cherry tomatoes - small but firm." Meanwhile, Grandpa gives up on love and concentrates fully on becoming a professional soccer referee.

With DARK HORSE, Kari's protagonist Daniel bears some resemblance to an older Noi -- if Noi had moved to Denmark and fully developed his anti-authoritarian inclinations. The problem is that the film stagnates after the breezy opening scenes, and without any forward propulsion, the initial buzz is drained away as the plot machinations grind endlessly. After a while, Daniel's careless attitude about life began to wear me out, the romance with Franc became annoying, and Grandpa's antics did not amuse.

Even though I was disappointed by the film -- fatigued is more like it -- NOI ALBINOI was so good and touched me so personally, I can't help feeling that I missed something of value in DARK HORSE. Something vital is beating in its heart, and maybe it takes more than one viewing to discover what it is.

More information -- including the trailer -- can be accessed via Trust Film Sales' web site.

DARK HORSE does not yet have U.S. distribution. It will have its North American Premiere at AFI FEST on
Wednesday, November 9 at 9:45 p.m. and will also play on Friday, November 11, at 4:00 p.m.

More information is available at the AFI FEST web site.

Review by Peter Martin