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Border
****
Dir: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff
(Sweden, 15, 1hr 50mins)
A film that defies categorization, Border is an adult fairytale blending romance, horror, family drama, comedy and a sex scene that will remain etched in your brain forever.
Eva Melander plays Tina, a customs officer with an odd manner and unconventional looks who can smell if anyone is carrying contraband. She is fabulous at her job, even tracking down a child abuse ring thanks to her nose for evil. She is however, rather lonely, living with a feckless man, Jorgen Thorssen, who takes advantage of her and cares little about her, caring more for his dogs.
She is sheepish, putting up with the rubbish that life throws at her; her odd looks causing caginess from people, ostracizing her. This all changes when she meets a strange man, Vore (Eero Milonoff), who shares many of her unconventional looks and mannerisms, to whom she is unaccountably attracted to. He is animalistic and beast-like, unleashing something within her: she revels in the love she feels for this strange man.
This sideways swerve is well-handled as the film becomes about identity and belonging, taking a darker turn. Confidently handled by director Abbasi and anchored by a superb performance under grim prosthetics by Melander, Border takes in the joy of finding oneself alongside detours to family skeletons, child abduction and horror.
Somehow all these elements balance out, with Melander and Milonoff a believably odd coupling. The pain of Melander’s true nature is played with commitment and dexterity, as well as the moments of tension and comedy.
With fantastic cinematography, Border is unlike anything you will have seen before, subtly asking universal questions despite its ultimately fantastical answers.
words Keiron Self
Out now in cinemas