Northwest (***1/4) [screening]

Eighteen-year-old Casper (Gustav Giese) is a small-time burglar-for-hire who sees a chance for something better, though equally illegal. But as making money suddenly gets a lot easier, ditching his old business associates proves a lot harder. What makes this movie a cut above other stories of ambitious criminals is in Casper’s relationships to the other characters, particularly his younger brother Andy, played by the Geise’s actual brother, Oscar. Casper is basically a nice guy. He’s a loving brother to his little sister. He’s nice to his mother, who tells him to keep Andy out of his schemes but doesn’t ask how come Casper’s income seems to have swelled. He’s protective of the prostitutes he drives around on jobs for his new boss.

Danish director Michael Noer tells this story plainly, without any moralizing. (The title refers to the seamier part of Copenhagen.) Perhaps burglarizing empty homes and being a driver seem too antiseptic for Caspar to feel morally troubled by his activities. But he does eventually recognize the danger to himself and the difficult choices he’ll be required to make. And that no matter how he has tried to insulate his family from his activities and those choices, he cannot prevent their impact.

IMDb link

viewed 10/20/13 2:35 PM at Cinemark University City [Philadelphia Film Festival] and posted 10/20/13

Pistoleros (**1/4)

A whole mess of Danish gangsters double-cross and kill each other over a cache of cash hidden after a botched heist…as told to a couple of aspiring Copenhagen filmmakers. Director Sparky Gonzalez comes off as a low-rent Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Revolver), though with some spaghetti western touches, like the soundtrack. Without Ritchie’s sense of style, and a script that’s less clever than convoluted, the whole thing comes off as contrived.

IMDB link

viewed and reviewed 4/4/08; screened at Philadelphia Film Festival.