Looking to catch up on some sleep? Boom, I got you it's called "Winterland" directed by Hisham Zaman. A story of deception, love, mail order brides and snow that is cold and colder at the same time. The highlights of the movie are of Raouf Saraj's character Renas one of the main characters talking on the phone trying to decipher what is being said from the other line. Renas is a man running out of time who is desperate to find love and falls for a picture. This picture turns out to be Fermesk played by Shler Rahnoma who when she arrives to Norway from her native land looks a little bigger in real life. I've heard people say a picture is worth a thousand words but man was Rena's face not worth a thousand words or just priceless. You almost have to feel bad for the guy, he's out of his element being a Kurdish refugee in Norway and all he wants to do is find a wife. When Renas meets Fermesk his bride who was handpicked by his parents he starts acting differently. Before Fermesk arrives Renas is all lo-vie do-vie with Fermesk and very caring but becomes rude and unthoughtful. I understand she's not what he imagined but she left her family to be with a man she doesn't know either but she was trying to make the most of it and this angered me.
This movie made me think of the experience immigrants go through when moving to another country usually expecting a better life but getting something different in return. Poor Renas immigrated to Northern Norway which is the complete opposite of his home land of Iraq. I'm not sure what the time period was for this movie but Norway will never be known for its dry heat and lifeless geography like Iraq. Talk about a culture shock, poor Renas goes from a place as hot as hell to an ice box. The Nordic culture is not shy about sex and Renas doesn't adopt these values even after being there for however long. The clash of cultures is apparent when he tries to sacrifice a lamb which is customary in his religion when praying. This is seen as very uncommon but he still does it and I really loved the expressions of the townies as they walked by and took in this even.
Relationships are a huge part of Nordic films as they focus less on violence and try to keep their movies about the people and their lives. This movie is a perfect example of that as most of the movie is of Renas interacting with Fermesk. They go from not clicking to friends to loving each other. Fermesk is very kind and rearranges the house but Renas obliviously doesn't approve of it. You can feel the frustration in Renas' voice with every call he makes to his family and it eventually hits him that he is now with Fermesk. The event where Rena destroys the phone booth is when I actually started caring and it was a turning point for me because Renas was finally accepting Fermesk into his heart. All it took was for her to help him destroy don't the annoying phone booth that for some reason he only used.
Also, the lack of sexuality in this movie really stood out to me because in the Nordic culture sex is almost like kissing. It's safe to say that if you interviewed a group of Nordic men they would say they expect to have sex with their counterpart very soon after meeting them. In contrast Fermesk denies Renas even just one night before their wedding because their religion frowns largely upon sex before marriage. Even though we find out that Fermesk has already gotten a little curious and done the nasty.
Even though I wasn't a fan of the film itself I can honestly say it was refreshing to see a story about the struggles of a couple instead of some mainstream sequel of a summer blockbuster. Like Hisham said in an interview, "I make films about human beings, not about politics", and I totally support this statement, lets make movies about people and not irrelevant evens we will never experience such as a meeting in congress. But most of all I was glad that it was fifty two minutes short and not ninety five minutes long, so thank you Hisham for that. I would not recommend this for any guy even the sentimental type but I think most women would appreciate this flick as it does have a positive message.
This movie made me think of the experience immigrants go through when moving to another country usually expecting a better life but getting something different in return. Poor Renas immigrated to Northern Norway which is the complete opposite of his home land of Iraq. I'm not sure what the time period was for this movie but Norway will never be known for its dry heat and lifeless geography like Iraq. Talk about a culture shock, poor Renas goes from a place as hot as hell to an ice box. The Nordic culture is not shy about sex and Renas doesn't adopt these values even after being there for however long. The clash of cultures is apparent when he tries to sacrifice a lamb which is customary in his religion when praying. This is seen as very uncommon but he still does it and I really loved the expressions of the townies as they walked by and took in this even.
Relationships are a huge part of Nordic films as they focus less on violence and try to keep their movies about the people and their lives. This movie is a perfect example of that as most of the movie is of Renas interacting with Fermesk. They go from not clicking to friends to loving each other. Fermesk is very kind and rearranges the house but Renas obliviously doesn't approve of it. You can feel the frustration in Renas' voice with every call he makes to his family and it eventually hits him that he is now with Fermesk. The event where Rena destroys the phone booth is when I actually started caring and it was a turning point for me because Renas was finally accepting Fermesk into his heart. All it took was for her to help him destroy don't the annoying phone booth that for some reason he only used.
Also, the lack of sexuality in this movie really stood out to me because in the Nordic culture sex is almost like kissing. It's safe to say that if you interviewed a group of Nordic men they would say they expect to have sex with their counterpart very soon after meeting them. In contrast Fermesk denies Renas even just one night before their wedding because their religion frowns largely upon sex before marriage. Even though we find out that Fermesk has already gotten a little curious and done the nasty.
Even though I wasn't a fan of the film itself I can honestly say it was refreshing to see a story about the struggles of a couple instead of some mainstream sequel of a summer blockbuster. Like Hisham said in an interview, "I make films about human beings, not about politics", and I totally support this statement, lets make movies about people and not irrelevant evens we will never experience such as a meeting in congress. But most of all I was glad that it was fifty two minutes short and not ninety five minutes long, so thank you Hisham for that. I would not recommend this for any guy even the sentimental type but I think most women would appreciate this flick as it does have a positive message.
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