Director: Aleksander Nordaas
Starring: Silje Reinamo, Erlend Nervold, Jon Sigve Skard, Morten Andresen, Sunniva Lien
Running Time: 77 minutes
Certificate: 15
THALE is a Norwegian dark fantasy in the same vein as other adult fairytales. Elvis and Leo (Nervold and Skard), are two men hired to clean up corpses when during one routine cleaning they discover a sinister looking basement, wherein lives a young woman called Thale (Reinamo). If you haven’t guessed by now, Thale isn’t exactly a normal girl. Kidnapped from a government testing facility when she was younger, Thale is actually a mythical creature known as a huldra. With government agents looking for Thale and other, more feral, huldra out in the wild, Elvis and Leo may be in a spot of bother.
THALE feels like a charming dream for the majority of its short running time. In fact, the running time may be one of the reasons for the otherworldly feel. Everything happens quickly, and sometimes it feels too quick. A big chunk of story is delivered to us via a tape that is played, which fills in a lot of the blanks, but also lacks imagination. Despite the narrative choices, director Nordass most certainly has the confidence to entrust his shot compositions, filters, and cinematography will entrance the viewer without causing them to drift into sleep.
When focusing on the character of Thale herself, the film is brilliant. Reinamo does so much with very few words. She’s not stupid nor fragile, just withdrawn and nervous. She captures both the beauty and ferocity of a hundral. In contrast, the other hundrals stalk the wooded area outside. They are twisted, slight and decrepit creatures brought to life with very convincing CGI. They aren’t incredible, but Nordass keeps them at a distance as they hide behind tress. Each of their appearances sees them invade the shots, rather than having shots crafted around them.
The short running time means you get a compressed mini-masterpiece, but one you are never fully involved with. There isn’t time to feel for Thale, Leo or Elvis, or to even process the information you’re given. Just when you have one of those moments where the foundations for an emotional connection are laid down, the film jumps to another character or event. Fortunately it doesn’t kill the film, as there are a number of fascinating and memorable visual moments. THALE manages to lull you into a false sense of security, like a trusted guardian reading you a bedtime story before adding a scene in which Tinkerbell rips out Wendy’s throat. At 77 minutes, this is more than worth your time.
THALE is out to buy on DVD right now via Metrodome Distribution
