THE DARKNESS OF TRUTH
Kristian A Söderström, dir; Sweden; 60"
Reviewed at RIIFF 2007 (winner International Discovery Award)
When I saw this film at RIIFF, I happened to walk in at the last ten minutes. It was the middle of the day and I had a few moments to spare. Now, in the midst of the festival, when the staff is ramped up and expecting the next fire to stamp out, having a half-hour with nothing to do can be a scary thing. It's like being in the eye of a storm. You know there's more of the tempest left to come. So, instead of worrying about what's next, I figured I would try and relax and catch part of a flick. Which all leads me back to DARKNESS. It's not really a movie to kick back and let your thoughts unwind to: Sandra, a young female student, rents a room from Anna-Lisa – a middle-aged actress and former ballet dancer in Berlin. Sandra discovers Anna's diary and the nasty, bitchy entries that she has been posting about the young lodger. Tensions mount- Anna turns out to be a beautiful mess- and the movie climaxes with a shocking revelation. Since I saw the revelation first, what point is there in watching the rest of the film? Well, I did happen to meet the director Kristian and the leading actress Maria Fahl Vikander, who plays Anna. They were staying in Providence for the festival week and I really enjoyed chatting with them. After the festival, I thought I'd ought to see the rest of the film. I wasn't disappointed and, in fact, the ending had a punch that I hadn't experienced the first time I saw it. The loose, handheld cinematography lends itself well to building the story and made me feel like a silent spectator in a private drama.
