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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Lighter Side of Dogma, January 4, 2001
Despite the fact that it adheres to the strict aesthetic tenets of Dogma 95, Mifune is about as accessible as a romantic comedy named after a Japanese actor can get. Although Soren Kragh-Jacobsen's film, like the Dogma releases that preceded it (Breaking the Waves and The Celebration) eschews special effects, incidental music, etc., Mifune isn't nearly as dark. Kresten (Anders W. Berthelsen) is an ambitious businessman who has successfully concealed his rural past until it catches up with him upon the death of his father. He leaves his new wife (who just happens to be his boss' daughter) after the honeymoon, telling her he'll be back soon, but sparing her as many details as possible. And so he returns to the ancestral farm, hoping to tie up a few loose ends and then return to his comfortably bourgeois existence in the city. But the situation at home turns out to be far worse than he thought, particularly in regards to his mentally challenged brother, Rud (Jasper Asholt), who simply will not leave the house. Then there's Liva (Iben Hjejle from High Fidelity), an attractive woman who, ironically enough, has just moved to the country in order to escape her not-so-comfortable life in the city. She is soon joined by her rambunctious little brother...and fellow call girls. Throughout the chaos, it is Rud who shares Kresten's love of the great Akira Kurosawa's samurai epics starring the gruff and grumbly Toshiro Mifune (thus providing the film with some of its most most amusing moments) and serving to remind Kresten what was good about his past and why it just may be worth holding on to after all.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DOGME FILMS, June 27, 2000
By A Customer
MIFUNE is a Danish film and is the third release from DOGME. DOGME is a group of filmmakers that include Lars Von Trier(BREAKING THE WAVES) and Thomas Vinterberg(FESTEN-CELEBRATION). They have banded together in the hopes of changing the way films are made. Simplifying the production techniques and solving problems creatively as opposed to financially. I think you'll enjoy this film if your more patient than the average moviegoer. If you are a fan of foreign films and you are comfortable with long pauses of silence it's highly recommended. The landscape of the country looks stunning and the acting is first rate.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Three good reasons to see "Mifune", May 12, 2003
This is a very good movie that has three things going for it... 1. It's an excellent example of the Dogme style of filmmaking, carried out most notably over the past eight years by Lars von Trier. And since von Trier's most notable work is so draining to watch, you can get acclimated to Dogme with "Mifune" director Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's far lighter touch. 2. It's great to see Iben Hjejle acting in her native tongue. She was a pleasant surprise in John Cusack's adaptation of Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity." As impressive as she was in a secondary language, she's even better here in Danish. 3. The main story is a compelling one following the different life paths of brothers Kresten and Rud and the events that bring them back together. Unfortunately, from glancing at the usual misguided US coverbox, you'd never know it was the brothers' tale that forms the emotional core of the film. The event depicted on the box - the alluring shot of 'working girls' shooting the breeze - constitutes about 5% of what this film is about. Why do US marketers feel the need to deceive us like this? Note that this film is also known as "Mifunes Sidste Sang" (its original Danish title) and "Dogme 3" (the Dogme practitioners got together and released their films as a series). "Mifune" is definitely worth checking out.
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