Charter (2020)

Directed by: Amanda Kernell | 94 minutes | drama | Actors: Ane Dahl Torp, Sverrir Gudnason, Troy Lundkvist, Tintin Poggats Sarri, Johan Bäckström, Eva Melander, Siw Erixon, Sofia Jannok, Caroline Söderström, Anna Granquist, Anton Hennix Raukola, Gudrun Ella-Marge P. Nutti, Aydhil P. Nutti Nutti, Luis Luifer Fernandez Munoz, Gabriel Guevara, Rodrigo Corzo

After a painful divorce, Alice has not seen her two children for months. While waiting for the custody case, her ex-husband forbids her all contact with their children, but when her 8-year-old son calls her crying at night, she decides to travel to the north of Sweden to find out what happened to the child. hand. Once she has arrived she notices that she is no longer part of the family and again all contact with her son and daughter is forbidden. Seeing only one way out, Alice, in a final attempt at reconciliation, kidnaps her children and takes them on a journey to the Canary Islands.

In ‘Charter’ we see a mother who has made mistakes, but loves her children dearly. She desperately tries to reconnect with her son and daughter. In this sense, kidnapping sounds a lot more violent than it actually is. Alice wants nothing more than for her children to be happy and she wants to prove that she can take care of this. Especially to her hurt 14-year-old daughter, who resents leaving her family, she has some explaining to do. However, the biggest fight takes place between Alice and her ex-husband and unfortunately the kids are in the middle of the line of fire. What ‘Charter’ also shows is that the problem cannot be solved immediately. Not with jokes, indulgences or fancy words. Sometimes something that is broken simply cannot be made anymore.

‘Charter’ takes us into two completely different worlds. On the one hand we see the icy cold Sweden, where you tend to pull an extra sweater just by looking at it, and on the other hand, the oppressive Tenerife, where you would rather open an extra window. Both conditions are stifling and fraught in a way. That again contributes to the desperation that you constantly feel as a viewer.

From the beginning you know almost for sure that the children will end up with their father again. Alice’s reckless act of desperation can hardly lead to a happy ending and the police are soon on her trail. All the more important are the vulnerable moments where Alice does manage to get through to her children and you somehow feel that unconditional love between mother and child. ‘Charter’ manages to get close here with a number of scenes, such as when they sing karaoke, but unfortunately never really grasps this feeling.

Alice is powerfully portrayed by Ane Dahl Torp, one of the foremost actresses in Norway. Director Kernell doesn’t say much about Alice’s background, but as a viewer you get a good idea of ​​her complicated but firm character. Ex-husband Mattias, who despite not being in the picture much, still takes on a dominant role, is played by Sverrir Gudnason (‘Borg McEnroe’). He subtly shows that this bitter man is mainly hurt because his wife has left him. The children, both debutants, are a little less convincing than their well-known parents.

‘Charter’ is a harrowing film, which will unfortunately be recognizable to many broken families. In fact, in reality it will most likely be much more painful. What makes ‘Charter’ interesting, however, is that we see a scenario that seems to occur less often, namely that of a mother who decides to leave her family. To what extent can you choose for yourself or do you have to fight unconditionally for your family?