Watched this at the ICA today. Fantastically directed Scandinavian take on modern life; the perils of the IKEA-esque lifestyle. Highly pertinent.
We begin with a sombre landscape; dry and parched flatland surrounded by equally uninviting mountains. In the middle of this dreary dust-bowl lies a two pump petrol station where our protagonist is dropped off by a creeky old bus that then disappears along the same dusty track it emerged from. Our hero is told that he has a job as an accountant in a good firm
Fast forward ----> the world our protagonist finds himself in is a bourgeosie nightmare of banal professionals, living in an IKEA fantasyland. Decor is minimalist, un-cluttered and functional. This applies to both his office space; which is metallic-silver, tidy and free of obstructional devices. The entire city and indeed world is coated in subdued colours, opaque with a hint of bluesy hues. The cinematography helps in this regard. Even the light is cold as if filterd through a gelatin filter. It's a dreamlike world of order. This also extends to the people who are robotic without emotions. Somehow our hero realises that it doesn't quite feel right. There is something not quite right about the world. The chocolate doesn't taste good, foods have no smell and there are no children. No children making noises, being dirty and running around. It's a world of fake smiles, disposable friendships and polyvinyl relationships.
The movie is a subtle attack on our modern culture of hard-work, obsession with interior design, capitalism; that has taken the place of traditional family life, children, warmth and real food that tastes good; not the processed gunk we are force fed everyday; overpriced, trite, unwholesome, un-nutritious. It also takes a swipe at modern relationships, seeing them as merely mutual contracts devoid of any real emotional attachment.
The other problem our protagonist finds is that he can't escape from this IKEA-esqe world. He tries to kill himself by jumping under a train with gory but darkly comic results. He is trapped in a comfortable lifestyle of champagne parties, designer furniture and predictable boring people. Dull, life-less and totally pointless!
