Føniks (2018)

	Also Known As: Phoenix
	Year of first release: 2018
	Director: Camilla Strøm Henriksen
	Actors: Ylva Bjørkaas Thedin, Maria Bonnevie, Sverrir Gudnason, Casper Falck-Løvås
	Country: N
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 31.10.2018, Kolosseum, NFDL2018, Norvegian with English subtitle
Synopsis: From a young age, Jill (Thedin) has acted as the responsible adult in her small family. She cares for her loving but mentally unstable mother Astrid (Bonnevie) and her younger brother Bo (Falck-Løvås). The news that their estranged father Nils (Gudnason) will be visiting on Jill's birthday gives the children much needed hope. After a tragedy, Jill keeps it a secret in front of both family and outer world.
Review: The plot is not new but the tragedy and the ways for Jill to keep it secret are original. A further originality lies in the small monster looking lie a rat or a mop that is the avatar of her latent and quiet bad conscience. I see the story more on the handling of the tragedy by Jill than on the fact that she has to take responsibility for her mother and brother. The story is well built, the rhythm being given by the tragedy, the Jill's father concert. What surprises me is the relationship of Jill and Bo. Jill acting like a parent and Bo never answering nor contesting. This lacks of credibility to me, but might be a cultural difference. The Brazil story of the father is just one sentence in the middle of the movie that was OK and did not need any justification SPOILER while the father makes a big story out of it at the end of the movie.  The movie is moving and actually opens many other potential stories, such as the melodramatic story of the mother or the rise and fall of Astrid and Nils love story. To me a kind of modern Emile Zola novel on screen.
Rating: 6 /10