[CPH:DOX '24] The director's style extracts the reality of the lives of the inhabitants of Mandø, but more than an observation documentary it is a planning documentary. There is a preparation of the scenes that arise from small everyday details: the elderly Mie turns 99 and 100 years old, which marks the temporal space of the film, some neighbors gather around a radio frequency system that they use to play bingo with Neighbors from other islands, tractor buses transport tourists who visit the area, telling the story of the flood of 1634 and therefore reminding its inhabitants of the inevitable future that awaits them. Ingeborg goes to Ellen's shop and they talk about how the full moon nights affect them, while Søren seems to enjoy bringing up the topics of conversation that bother Gregers the most over coffee, such as the lack of resources that the Danish government provides to help area. This humanist look is fed by an observation of the environment, through wide shots that reflect the exuberance of the landscape and its contrasts, such as an area of the island where there are tanks and military cars abandoned for a long time. Peter Albrechtsen's sound design establishes a certain musicality in the rise of the tides and the sound of the birds that populate the island. The film thus adopts a temporal atmosphere awaiting the arrival of a decisive event, a kind of calm before the storm that provides a feeling of doom.
Review by Miguel A. ReinaBlockedParent2024-04-07T05:59:04Z
[CPH:DOX '24] The director's style extracts the reality of the lives of the inhabitants of Mandø, but more than an observation documentary it is a planning documentary. There is a preparation of the scenes that arise from small everyday details: the elderly Mie turns 99 and 100 years old, which marks the temporal space of the film, some neighbors gather around a radio frequency system that they use to play bingo with Neighbors from other islands, tractor buses transport tourists who visit the area, telling the story of the flood of 1634 and therefore reminding its inhabitants of the inevitable future that awaits them. Ingeborg goes to Ellen's shop and they talk about how the full moon nights affect them, while Søren seems to enjoy bringing up the topics of conversation that bother Gregers the most over coffee, such as the lack of resources that the Danish government provides to help area. This humanist look is fed by an observation of the environment, through wide shots that reflect the exuberance of the landscape and its contrasts, such as an area of the island where there are tanks and military cars abandoned for a long time. Peter Albrechtsen's sound design establishes a certain musicality in the rise of the tides and the sound of the birds that populate the island. The film thus adopts a temporal atmosphere awaiting the arrival of a decisive event, a kind of calm before the storm that provides a feeling of doom.