Fascinating, moving, and wryly humorous
Writer and director Annette K. Olesen’s first feature film for nearly ten years is the cinematic equivalent of a short-story anthology. Five very different stories are tied together loosely by the theme of “trust”.
A Matter of Trust tells the story of a doctor on a repatriation flight from Denmark to Pakistan; a man having an extra-marital affair in an Air B’n’B run by a nosey woman; a little girl being dragged along a lonely beach by her mother; a young man with a crush on his high-school Danish teacher; and a young, pregnant woman, accompanying her husband to the funeral of one of his old school friends. In each of these stories, written by different authors, trust is examined in its many guises, including trust of one’s own instincts.
Overall screenplay is in the hands of Olesen herself and Maren Louise Käehne. Both with a strong history in long-form television such as Borgen and The Bridge, they are perfectly placed to turn something episodic into something epic. Olesen’s direction lingers on faces allowing the extraordinary cast to delve deep into emotions.
Each story has a slightly different flavour, not just in terms of narrative, but also in genre. Here is the almost slapstick humour of a cheating couple constantly being interrupted in flagrante; here is the heavy drama of being a doctor having to watch people being beaten by officials, and knowing she has no jurisdiction to intervene; here is the almost supernatural scene of a woman wandering deep into a forest, questioning her marriage; here is a psychologically tense scene between mother and young daughter; and finally here is the horror of a school-boy crush gone terribly wrong.
This is certainly not the first time a feature film has been made out of a series of narratively unrelated short-stories: several of Somerset Maugham’s great stories were pulled together into films in the 40s. But it is not a common form. Perhaps because there is a lack of a final drawing-together, it lacks some satisfaction in a feature-length production.
Despite this, the outstanding cast, including Trine Dyrholm (also appearing in the eponymous role of Margrete-Queen of the North), Morten Hee Andersen, and Emil Aron Dorph give their all in their respective sections. Editing by Denniz Göl Bertelsen pulls it all together as smoothly and intelligently as possible.
A Matter of Trust is an endlessly fascinating, surprising, and moving piece of work, and a worthy selection in this year’s crop of Scandi treasures.
A Matter of Trust screens as part of the Carlsberg Scandinavian Film Festival from July 19th at Palace Nova Eastend.
Click here for further details, and to book tickets.
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