THE APE movie review – CIFF 34
The Ape (2009)–***1/2
Director Jesper Ganslandt says that his film The Ape was inspired by the true crimes he read about in newspapers. But he didn’t want the fiction behind those stories. For 81 minutes, Ganslandt thrusts us into the life, and the psyche, of a man dealing with the aftermath of a violent act of his own making. It’s not an easy experience, and by the end of the film, you question how rewarding it was at all. Yet, Ganslandt, whose clearest objective may simply have been to unsettle the audience, succeeds in intimately tying the character’s psychology to our own.
The film opens with Krister (Olle Sarri), a man in his mid-to-late 30s, waking up on his bathroom floor covered in blood. You don’t immediately get the sense that he has done anything, but something terrible has definitely happened. About the time that Krister, who works as a driving instructor, flips out on one of his students, you realize that he knows what happened and he knows he did it.
Ganslandt leaves the audience bread crumbs that slowly lead up to the big reveal. The outburst is just a start. He calls a woman’s phone asking her if she is alright. He makes a trip to the hardware store to purchase big bags, while saying “she” (?) has the stomach flu to a person who calls him during his shopping excursion. There’s a flash of a wedding ring while he plays tennis to make it look like just any other day. But we know, that it’s not.
The film’s greatest moments are in this lead up to the confirmation that Krister has done something terrible. Even after we see how bad it is, Ganslandt takes care to let the astute viewer know that things are worse than we initially thought.
We never really know Krister’s motive. But that’s not what is so unsettling. Norman Bates. Hannibal Lecter. Anton Chigurh. The Joker. We never knew their motives either. The difference between those iconic cinematic villains and Krister is that Krister is just a man. A neighbor. A husband. A co-worker.
To his credit, Ganslandt never explained to his lead actor, Sarri, what was going on either, keeping the plot in the dark and only revealing what he expected of his actor while shooting a scene. Sarri, who is a comedic actor in Sweden, pulls off the panic attacks and the moments of calm detachment admirably. But Ganslandt more successfully uses sound to keep both his actor and the audience off kilter throughout the film.
When we get to the second half, the film starts to give. We are no longer leading up to something and instead left pondering the motive. Asking “why” isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but don’t expect any answers. The final moments of the film leave us asking just how far a human being really is from an animal. It’s probably the question Ganslandt asked himself when reading about the horrific acts of violence that inspired him to make the film. There’s not a lot of closure even for the most open-minded audience member. But, as Ganslandt put it, if you want closure, go watch CSI.
The Ape, directed by Jesper Ganslandt and starring Olle Sarri, was screened at the 34th Cleveland International Film Festival with post-screening director Q&A. For additional screening times, visit the CIFF’s website.
Get Email Updates
