“Border,” the new movie that is Sweden’s submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, is an adult fairy tale, part “Snow White,” part “Eraserhead,” part “CSI: Stockholm.”
The protagonist Tina is an exceedingly homely woman who believes her freakish looks to be the result of congenital chromosomal anomalies.
Tina feels out of place in society but she does her best to fit in. She works. She has a sponge of a live-in boyfriend. She cares for an aged parent.
Beyond her Neanderthalish facial features, Tina has abilities that are unknown to humankind. Tina can smell strong emotions in others. This gives her an edge in
her job as a customs agent in a port city, sniffing out smugglers and other ne’er-do-wells.
And she has a rapport with the natural world that is beyond human, displaying a psychic link with the wildlife in the woods outside her house.
Tina’s routine is upended when she meets a man coming through customs who shares her facial features — and maybe more.
Tina pursues a friendship with this person in hope of better understanding her true nature.
This is a thoroughly engaging story, adapted from a novella by John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of Let The Right One In.
It’s a terrific movie, a beautifully realized fable of finding one’s place in the world and, pardon the cliché, living one’s truth.
Thanks Bruce!!!
Border premiers November 30th! Tickets will be available on our site using the ticket link.
