Winter Brothers – Vinterbrødre (2017)

Directed by: Hlynur Palmason | 94 minutes | drama | Actors: Elliott Crosset Hove, Simon Sears, Victoria Carmen Sonne, Lars Mikkelsen, Peter Plaugborg, Michael Brostrup, Anders Hove, Laurits Honoré Rønne, Jannik Jensen, Christopher Lillman, Frédéric André, Mikkel Frederiksen, Stefan Mølholt, Birgit Thøt Jensen

Darkness. The camera moves cautiously to a hint of movement in the distance. The stuffy background noise slowly turns into a wild roar. Barely perceptible lights, like fireflies in a vacuum, become bright beacons. The cascade of sound is drowned out with great difficulty by human screams. The claustrophobic space where the spectator finds himself turns out to be a mine shaft.

The lamps on the helmets of the miners present are the only light source in the tunnel. Water is scarce, the heat unbearable. The heavy underground life is made more tangible through the use of handheld cameras, because the viewer is enabled to experience the same lack of freedom of movement as the workers. The oppressive atmosphere effectively feels like a confinement.

The mine, part of a limestone quarry, is the daily work setting of brothers Emil (Elliott Crosset Hove) and Johan (Simon Sears). They would like to escape the hard life underground, but the mine is the only place where they are welcome. Life is not much better above ground, thanks in part to the incessant icy winter landscape. The brothers have no friends. They like the same girl, but she doesn’t like them. They earn a little extra by selling home-brewed alcohol to their colleagues, but that hobby is not without danger. Not only are the homemade brews illegal, the risk of poisoning is also not small. As if the appalling living conditions weren’t enough, a military rifle also appears on the scene.

The above suggests a heavy drama. The Danish-Icelandic ‘Winter Brothers’, however, has a more layered approach. With their subtle, but also somewhat wry humor, the brothers make life bearable (and the sense of madness for the viewer is only increased). The wonderful imagery – then playful, then tight again – gives the film a lighthearted feel. The two brothers are not big words. The film has little dialogue anyway, the mines are too noisy for that. Their state of mind therefore mainly remains subcutaneous, resulting in more subtlety. Because ‘Winter Brothers’ sometimes works almost documentaryly, without emotional tricks, the film leaves the interpretation to the viewer. Although some perspective problems arise from this, it stands in the way of an excessive seriousness. What remains is a pleasantly absurdist tone, with only a slightly bitter undertone. Life is hard, don’t live even harder.