Following a car accident, which kills her mother, 17-year-old Ida moves in with her estranged aunt and her aunt’s grown sons. The home is filled with physical tenderness and love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life.
Blodsbånd, Koed og blod, Koed & blod, 血肉之地, Мясо и кровь, Αγριότοποι, Vahşi Bölge, 와일드랜드, Dziki kraj, Jsme jedné krve
Germany
Berlin International Film Festival
Sweden15
Denmark15
Spain
UK
Ireland15
France
Germany16
Denmark
France
Germany
Ireland
Spain
Sweden
UK
AFI 2020: film #16
“but for some people things go wrong before they even begin”
finished the fest with less films than planned but glad to be ending on this, bleak as it is. a subtle examination of complex family dynamics, the loyalty we’re born with even when it’s not familiar, even when it’s wrong. i was always invested in it here, the push and pull of the family business intertwined with their personal lives and driving their every move, both the good and the bad. by the final scene it’s a clear portrait of devotion in the blood and how sometimes you can’t buy (or cut ties with) a bond that strong
Wildland has a good idea, but it never becomes fully executed. It's an interesting portrait of a family, but it was entirely predictable at times, and it never grabbed my full attention.
Danish drama about an introverted 17 year old girl who is involved in a car accident in which her mother dies and social services place her with her aunt (mother's sister) and her 3 grown-up sons plus wives/girlfriends and babies. At first the house seems full of life and love but it's not long before they include her in their violent criminal activities.
Although well made, I just couldn't get into this at all. I found it slow and tedious with no likeable characters and, even at 88 minutes, it felt very long.
Watched on MUBI.
Film #15 of 30
Denmark
The mandatory Danish entry. Wildlands is a solid effort but I preferred it more as a coming of age drama than a crime thriller. The domestic elements of the story work the best, although I appreciate one intertwines with the other and they're fairly inextricable. It seemed to become a little formulaic in the final act.
Props to the strange musical score, it made me feel like I was hearing something other than the movie (I thought my next door neighbours were listening to something at one point). I cant really explain it, ethereal, perhaps.
Sandra Guldberg Kampp is superbly subdued, she does a good job of keeping her character’s emotions simmering just at the surface. Overall a good film, it's not particularly original but it is engaging and the good performances go a long way.
Fantasia 2020: Film #19
A very confident feature film debut by Jeanette Nordahl! Complicated family dynamics are always a potent and interesting topic to explore, and Wildland aims to do just that. For the most part, it succeeds, and the strong performances, particularly from the women in the cast, really bring the characters to life. However, I do wish that the writing dug even deeper when it came to the characters and how far people (particularly mothers) are willing to go to protect their family - there was definitely room for further exploration, especially towards the end.
I've gone back and forth since I watched Wildland this morning as to whether its 85 minute running time was exactly what this story needed or whether aspects of it needed to be fleshed out in more detail.
Under almost all circumstances, obviously, I'd welcome such a running time. But I'm still struggling to shake the feeling of being slightly dissatisfied in places by Jeanette Nordahl's otherwise impressive feature debut, like it perhaps never quite goes for its narrative jugular as it might have done in more experienced hands? I'm not sure.
Or maybe there was simply a limitation to the story here, as compelling as it is, and it really did say everything it could…
AFI Fest 2020: Movie #19
"What did you ever do for me?"
I'm sure a number of you would enjoy this much more than I did, but despite my best efforts, I could not find anything to cling on to. Watching Wildland felt like walking through an empty house, recognizing that there are distinct hallways and rooms but not knowing what any of it is supposed to function as. Even our protagonist is just a set of eyes for us to watch these other characters through. She offers little intrigue, though there isn't anyone around her who's significantly more dimensional.
I'm compelled by the idea of a family going to great lengths to protect one another, but I don't think…
The strong member of the family keeping all her duckies in line.
It was decent enough. Observing via Ida into this families life. Quite a whammy at the end.
The main theme I'm left with here is Ida's mum left the family, I'm guessing the sisters had a similar relationship as the 2 oldest brothers, and again hinted it'd be the same with the grandbabies.
Examines the repercussions of violence on an unwillingly initiated member of the family; though skillfully taut and frequently unsettling, Nordahl’s debut doesn’t quite delve into the psychology behind Ida’s criminal relatives and the circumstances of their actions, settling for a more generic illustration of masculine dynamics and how the pressure to conform within a family can take a toll on its members. The coda isn’t groundbreaking by most standards, but has enough in it to make a point.
No more "Be gay, do crime"
Society has progressed past the need for "Be gay, do crime"
From now on it's "Be lesbian, be adopted into a family of criminals" 💅🏻
For some people things go wrong
before they even begin.
214/52
Family drama turned crime thriller while managing to keep the disparate tonal shifts totally coherent. Some really fantastic performances, and a promising debut from Jeanette Nordahl.
(Side note: first Berlinale screening! Incredibly excited that I have the opportunity to attend some of the festival this weekend)
