A Hole in My Heart [DVD]

 

 

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For those, who, like me, were greatly impressed with Lilya 4 Ever, and were expecting an equally great follow up, then prepare for disappointment. I admire Moodyson for not taking the easy option, but my problem with this film is it becomes a symptom of the emptiness and vacuousness it portrays.

Moodyson's characters portray desperation brilliantly, however in Lilya 4 Ever the narrative was strong as was the tension as we followed Lilya's constant misfortune culminating in her imprisonment at the hands of child trafficers. In A Hole In My Heart, narrative is dispensed with, and an improvised tableau occurs in the cramped setting of a tiny flat. It's certainly a bleak depiction of 3 characters engaged in the making of a pornographic film, as the fourth character, the teenage son Erik becomes the moral conscience, his humanity acting as moral opposition to the immorality of the other three, whose behaviour threatens to dissolve into murderous anarchy. The claustrophobia is emphasised by the frequent close up shots of the protagonists, and the fast cutting which occurs throughout the film. It's difficult to follow or get engaged with a character as the camera pans quickly around the room from one person to the other. It's not pretty camerawork and is even more excessive than the Dogme style pioneered by Lars Von Trier. All this contributes to the alienation of the characters from the audience, and this distance certainly arouses disgust at the characters antics. Of course, this is the point of the film, as Moodyson chooses to attack the exploitation of pornography and reality tv. It's rather tragic when Tess, in a quiet moment, breaks down and confesses she's been turned down by the Big Brother television show.
Aspirations have been reduced to becoming bit part players in increasingly worthless television shows and high production values have been eroded. Moodyson depicts this situation brilliantly, as his film style banishes the sweeping arthouse long take for the MTV style fast cutting of cheap television.

A Hole In My Heart makes it's point well but it does become a symptom rather than a cure to the malaise it portrays. It's far too empty as a film to sustain interest and I feel Takeshi Miike's Visitor Q sent up the "reality" format much better. Perhaps Moodyson's duplication of the format results in the film's failure, and a critical voice was required. Erik, the teenage son, is too weak and too wrapped up in his new age philosophy to intervene in the chaos occuring around him. Ultimately a failure, and perhaps too messy a film to get its message across, unlike Lilya 4 Ever which was thought provoking and challenged us as viewers to confront an injustice. Unfortunately A Hole In My Heart offers no such challenge.

This is certainly a very different type of film to the usual hollywood, mass-media nonsense. I think this is a deliberate ploy by the independent-minded genius that is Moodysson. I took this film to be a vehicle for venting his rage at all the (aforementioned) rubbish spewed out in the name of consumerism. Perhaps it's because i sympathise with his sensibilities there, that i loved the film, but perhaps there's more to it.

It's expertly shot, visually very exciting, with fascinating use of different media, and has some magnificently portrayed characters - the porn "director's" adolescent son, for example, is a massively empathetic character who it's very easy to identify with, i would have thought.

To summarise - the film is trying to make a point, and does so through the 'choppy' and direct style (we are the MTV generation, after all) as much as the content and irony deployed. Great film, pushing the boundaries, but not one for your gran. Give it a try if feeling adventurous, or just if you're not closed-minded and very set in your ways.

By the time Moodysson made this movie in 2004 he had already achieved a huge degree of commercial success with "Together" (5*) and "Lilya 4-Ever" (5*). One of the privileges of "making it" is that it allowed him the freedom to do whatever he wanted afterwards. Any project he chose to do next would receive not only all the funding it needed but also a wide audience of people who had enjoyed any of his earlier masterpieces. Fans of his earlier films, including even the brutally hard-hitting Lilya 4-Ever were in for a real shock!

The entire cast consists of four characters and the story (if you can call it that) takes place almost entirely within the confines of a small flat that they share in a Stockholm suburb. Richard and his son Eric do not get on, and the latter spends all his time in his room listening to thrash metal on his headphones with the blinds closed, while his dad and his friend make porn videos starring themselves and a pretty young woman who believes that this kind of work will one day lead to better things.

The haphazard editing which includes some extremely unpleasant random close-ups of human bodies under surgical operation and several interludes of random gore (for no reason that is related to the main story) creates an unsettling feeling of carnage and chaos throughout . As the film goes on the movies the characters make get more and more extreme and it soon becomes clear that Richard has no intention of sending them off to anyone or even watching them. He is just doing it for kicks. Meanwhile, the only character we sympathize with, Eric, continues to stew in his room hating what is going on outside.

None of the characters appear to have a life outside this sordid little flat. Both men appear to have serious issues about their childhoods and their parents but there is not sufficient character development to say with any certainty what we are supposed to think about that. In a way, that is precisely the point. The movie does not tell you what to think, does not give you anything in the way of a serious story to keep you interested, and does not conform to any conventions of structure or style.

There is no question that most (not merely some) viewers will find A Hole In My Heart offensive. Some scenes are gruesome, and few are entertaining. But somehow it keeps your attention all the way through and it is utterly convincing, even when it is banal and nonsensical. Completely devoid of any answers, it is not even clear what the questions are. At one point, Moodysson appears to be asking whether there is any ethical difference between hardcore porn and a movie about hardcore porn. Later he seems to be questioning whether a history as a victim of abuse inevitably leads to abusive tendencies. It is impossible to know what questions - if any - he is trying to raise. Does he deliberately sidestep the violent climax we are dreading throughout the film? And if so is he trying to make us feel guilty for being disappointed? Who knows...

Maybe he just wants to show viewers lives that they would never ordinarily witness (hopefully) and thereby make viewers feel something they would never usually feel.

Usually I hate it when artists or works of art are described as "important" but in this case it is totally appropriate. If it weren't for Moodysson and others like him who push the boundaries of acceptability and challenge our pre-conceptions of what is considered to be art, then art would cease to evolve. A Hole In My Heart is not his best film, but comparison with his other works - or indeed, any other movie - is futile. I am pretty sure that he does not care whether anyone enjoys watching his characters meander listlessly through their debauchery.

Give a man like Lukas Moodysson free rein (reign?) and this is what you get. It is a movie that only he could possibly have made; a weird, almost indecipherable assault on the senses the like of which you have definitely never seen before.

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4.0 out of 5 stars The film is original, but not for every one.
The first Lucas Moodysson film I watched was Show Me Love, which was good. This was followed by Lilya4-Ever, which was better. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Shaun

3.0 out of 5 stars 4 Stars for the first hour, 2 stars for the last half an hour.
I watched this film in 2 parts the first hour late at night then the last half an hour the next morning. Read more

Published on 4 Aug 2009 by Dazman

1.0 out of 5 stars one of the worst movies ever
Four people in a flat behaving badly,thats it!Must have cost nothing to make and it shows.Words like dire,awful,boring,can not describe how bad this is.

Published on 3 April 2009 by N. Tate

3.0 out of 5 stars Movie that you don't want to watch but do it anyway.
Not nearly as good as Lylia 4 Ever. It's a disgusting movie that one wants to watch. After you watch it you want to forget it but you can't do that easily. Read more

Published on 10 July 2006 by Ayez

4.0 out of 5 stars I respecfully disagree
It is true that this movie is difficult to watch. Not to say that is boring. However, if watched with empathy and the right sensibilities it is very rewarding. Read more

Published on 8 Dec 2005 by Mr. J. E. Taylor

4.0 out of 5 stars Where it stops and where it begins
I've seen all of Lucas Moodysson's films and in my opinion this is in no way his best. But it's certainly not his worst either. Read more

Published on 14 Oct 2005 by Mr. S. J. Robson

1.0 out of 5 stars S I C K
When you consider that the director of this movie has produced ( in my opinion ) two of the greatest movies, it came as a shock to watch this sick movie. Read more

Published on 27 Aug 2005

1.0 out of 5 stars awful
Simply awful. minus 1 more like. Never seen anything like it. Not even artistic. Thank goodness I got this free in a goody-bag at a premier! Read more

Published on 18 Aug 2005 by Mr. Shahid Miah

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful
This is a terrible film. Not the slightest bit interesting.

It's all the more terrible when one considers Lukas Moodysson's other films.

Published on 2 Jun 2005

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