Jan, a nurse who is also a father, was sexually abused by his father as a teenager. Working in Nuuk, Greenland, he tries to connect to the culture with sex. When someone calls him a Kalak, a Greenlandic word with a double meaning of both a "true" and "dirty" Greenlander, he wears the epithet as a badge of honor. Ultimately, he has to confront his father.
Michael Krotkiewski David Herdies Maria Ekerhovd Maria Møller Kjeldgaard Leontine Petit Erik Glijnis Ilona Tolmunen Emile Hertling Péronard Pipaluk K. Jørgensen Gary Cranner Kristina Börjeson
Made Manna Film Film i Väst Mer Film Lemming Film Momento Film Polarama Greenland Beofilm DR SVT NRK YLE
格陵蘭最爛的男人, 卡拉克
Spain
Taiwan
Taipei Film Festival
Netherlands18
Sweden15
Denmark15
Canada
Canada
Denmark
Netherlands
Spain
Sweden
Taiwan
cool, never want to see that again 👍🏻
Jan feels so obviously allegorical, a symbol for colonialism, that it’s almost implausible for the story to be based on an autobiographical novel rather than fully fictional.
It’s a heavy hitter, starting off so explicitly as well, and depicting quite dark but honest moments. When Jan uses his own demons as a kind of excuse for his terrible behavior, he gets constant blows of reality checks and still can’t manage to change his own damaged self.
And suddenly I remember why I stopped going to film festivals.
Don't mind me though, since this post dogma miserabilist treatise on damaged (toxic!) masculinity with a dash of white man's burden thrown in indeed was tailor-made to annoy me. At least parts of the large audience I saw it with seemed to enjoy it. Good for them. Just want to add that I am extra pissed since a film that starts with an explicit handjob has even less business being that terrible.
J'avais adoré le Holiday d'Isabella Eklöf pour sa fougue, son audace et sa présentation éclatée. Avec Kalak, on est complètement ailleurs avec quelque chose de plus lourd, tant dans le sujet que dans sa réalisation plus sobre.
J'aurais aimé que le film reflète la première scène qui annonce quelque chose de plutôt choquant, mais le résultat est quand même bon et on ne peut faire autrement que de s'attacher au protagoniste, brillamment joué par Emil Johnsen.
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Kalak starter med en rystende, grafisk scene, hvori Jan, som teenager, bliver misbrugt af sin far.
Efter det følger ca. 1,5 times stemningsbilleder fra Grønland, der hovedsageligt omhandler Jan, som prøver at være sammen med så mange grønlandske kvinder, som muligt.
Men bare rolig, han fortæller sin kone om det, og hun er ok med det.
Og det er her, jeg begynder at kede mig, for udover at vi finder ud af at Jans far har kræft, og Jans ene grønlandske kæreste banker på døren, og kradser ham i hovedet, er her ingen konflikt, ingen fremdrift.
Farens kræftdiagnose er måske det eneste, der gør noget bærende udslag for filmens historie, før den sidste halve time.
Men i den sidste halve…
Nuance and humanity given to taboo. A watch that shouldn't challenge us, but it does. It's a challenge because "hurt people hurt people." There's a need to hate them. A need to drown that part of ourselves they formed.
I've not seen something so challenging, audacious, and bold since The Celebration (please forgive the irrelevant and traumatic connection). And I've not seen something as tragically human since Dancer in the Dark.
The director stood in front our theater and said "it's ok if you don't like it." I refuse to be gaslit. I loved that. I hated it. So Kalak.
‘Kalak’ is Isabella Eklöf’s new movie that revolves around main character Jan, a nurse, a father, and victim of sexual abuse by his father when he was a teenager. In the film, Jan, portrayed by Emil Johnsen, works in Greenland and wants to be accepted by the natives and become a “Kalak”, a true or “dirty” Greenlander.
The movie deals with serious themes, such as, sexual trauma, the Greenlandic culture and the difficult relationship between Danes and the Greenlanders.
The movie can be seen as deeply provocative as it showcases a shocking first scene, or because of the political issues surrounding Greenland and its attachment to Denmark.
Jan, the protagonist, uses sexuality to cope with the trauma he experienced and…
Acho que ainda estou muito curioso
...
Sobre a vida, cada centímetro dela.
Kalak é filme estranho, legal de poder ver uma sociedade que pouco conheço como a Groelândia, mas numa perspectiva de um imigrante.
O personagem principal é complexo, mas um tremendo de um fdp, a ideia da não monogamia tratada aqui é quase um harém, ou seja, funciona para ele.
A cena que sabia que ia dar merda e deu, com os cachorros foi uma das coisas mais estúpidas que um personagem poderia fazer.
Enfim, filme diferente mas esquisito.
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Todos filmes assistidos em 2025
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[02/20]
That opening scene bro wtf 💀
Skulle have set Kong Fu Panda i stedet, rip
Film #13 at the Göteborg Film Festival 2024.
Like my friend Claudio said, "Kalak" puts focus on the least interesting parts. We've already seen stories dealing with compulsive cheating disorder, and that becomes a bit zzz... Paedophilia and drug abuse is shown, but rarely, and thus never dealt with (maybe that's the message?). Yes, we've seen those movies as well, but when a great film maker like Isabella Eklöf is in charge, I expect something more hard hitting than cheating.
Besides that, I have a soft spot for Danish films. They're almost always well crafted and feature good actors.
Wow. Un regard neuf sur des sujets difficiles à bien traiter. Eklöf s'attarde à l'inceste, le colonialisme et l'adultère de manière mature, originale et indulgente. Un coup de force.
Bien envie de lire le livre sur lequel le film est basé.
