I think the fact that I came across "Babycall" by chance has some thing to do with it, combine the fact I saw it in a near perfect mood, it was just what I had hoped it would be, fresh, new, inventive, unforgettable. It's definitely a "word-of-mouth" film, you are most likely not to of heard of it, there was no big publicity hype campaign, no TV DVD release ads, in fact it was passed on to me by a friend at a "tailgate sale", who said "You like collecting strange films, don't you?"
It's a minimalist Norwegian film from 2012, starring Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Trilogy and Prometheus) as Anna and Kristoffer Joner (King Of Devils Island) as Helge, directed by Pål Sletaune. A sparse cast of seven actors only, plus a script of less than probably a thousand words, no cgi and no massive sets. What it does have is real-time very limited location filming in and around a large, foreboding tower block, school, shopping mall and a small secluded wooded lake area.
The direction and photography are observant, fly-on-the-wall, almost drama documentary in style, for example it might be reminiscent of a Ken Loach film, very easy on the eye but one that is executed with such ability and expertise of "story-telling", it came as no surprise it was from a Scandinavian director, Pål Sletaune, it really has to be seen to understand the superb dread realizing, painfully slow, meticulous narrative, that winds it's way right up to the shock ending of utter disbelief.
It has an atmosphere of extreme high-anxiety coupled with life's unavoidable moments of ultimate desolation. It's character's situations are those of people confronting their worst fears, the camera hangs on expressions, framing and capturing frowning faces in their own personnel desperate situations, in the case of Anna (Rapace), losing her son and in the case of Helge, his mother's impending death.
It also tackles as the sub-narrative, which I later realized after seeing it, the ugly face, reality and violence of domestic abuse, also covering the need for and fear of, child fostering against someones will and it also touches on the sensitive subject of medically advised euthanasia of a family member, the impact these social problems and the effect these heartbreaking decisions will have upon people. So, no rainbows, no unicorns, it's utterly sombre, melancholic and morose, all the way, save for a little romantic humour mid way.
Anna and her young son Anders have been relocated to a new home by social worker officials because of domestic violence perpetrated by her husband, we are told, but there is more to it than is first revealed. Anna has been mentally damaged by the trauma of the events, she sometimes can not be sure of what she sees, so we are left to wonder has what just has happened really occurred, or was it Anna's damaged imagination?
She is trying to re-adjust, pick up the pieces and begin her life anew with her son, at first her and Anders seem well and fairly happy, they are both away from her violent husband. They manage to have some good times and Anders appears to be more content with his new home and school, but still has a few nightmares, so ends up sleeping back in with mum in her bedroom. The social workers, when they return back to check on things a few days later, it seems are not happy with this arrangement, although attentive the male social worker seems angry and warns Anna that Anders must sleep in his own room and that the bad behavior must stop or else their will be complications with the housing transfer, he also offers some unwanted attention towards Anna.
Concerned over her son's safety in their new tower block apartment, Anna buys a babycall monitor microphone set, so she can hear if Anders wakes up or cries. One night over the monitor she hears a young boy screaming and thinks it's Anders having a nightmare. Anna runs to his room but he is fast asleep but the screaming child and shouting adult voices can still be heard through the monitor.
Anna returns to the shopping mall where she bought the monitor and tells the assistant, Helge, she could hear strange voices through it, he reassures her it could be from another monitor nearby in the apartment building and to change her frequency to a new setting to avoid this happening again. Along with the fear that her ex-husband may find out where she and Anders have moved to and come and kidnap him, this unsettles Anna even more, as she seems totally petrified with fear and depression most of time and walks around completely disconnected from her life and the rest of society.
Meanwhile back at her apartment one evening, Anders start talking that he is not happy at the new block and taunts his mother, Anna, that if she's not careful he will ask the social workers to return him to his father. Anna shouts and scolds the young boy and shakes him for a second and makes young Anders cry and he runs off out of the flat and down through the building, Anna chases after him and while looking out a window for him sees a man load a blue sleeping bag with something heavy inside it, into a transit type van.
At one point, after what seems like a few weeks, Anders runs off again and while she is looking for him in the wooded area surrounding the apartment building, near the the lake she also witnesses a couple and their young son. The couple are rough handling their boy and from her vantage point a few hundred meters away, she hides and watches as the man of the two adults, drags the young boy into the lake and appears to drown him, right before her eyes.
There is definitely something special happening within this film, it "talks" on many levels, observing and documenting the issues ordinary people put to one side and deal with by donating to a charity of some kind, the brief violence in the film is shocking and realistic, as would be if you were defending yourself from a life and sanity threatening situation, it has so much going for it, I can see it hitting Channel or Film4 very soon. You will either love it, and want to watch again to tie up the loose ends that were expertly hidden, by director, Pål Sletaune the first time round or find it confusing and action-less, I am in the former category, it's hypnotic and dreamlike, a modern day fairy-tail meeting the supernatural, you will either love it and believe it or write-off as nonsense.
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