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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer ( )
  Languages
  • Swedish: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English
  Extras
  • 5 Theatrical trailer
  • 5 Cast/crew biographies
  • Photo gallery - 13 pics

The Best Man's Wedding

20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 89 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

A disagreement between friends opens this movie. The fact it is about whose turn it is to pick up piles of shit seems to set the scene for the rest of the film from there.

Roro is a Lebanese guy living with his family in Sweden. His best friend is Måns, a regular Swedish guy and, between the two of them, they clean a public park with a deaf colleague. Roro is desperately in love with Lisa, but doesn’t want to get married as his family insists he must. Måns is suffering erectile dysfunction and his girlfriend and he are experimenting with any number of sexual practices to fix the problem.

"Many People Like Rough Sex…"

When Roro’s family find him a fiancée, Yasmin, he confides in his bride-to-be that he doesn’t want to marry her. She feels the same, but needs a fiancé to stay in Sweden or be sent back to Lebanon. So they pretend to be engaged to help her and get Roro some relief from his constantly nagging family, but the pending nuptials just make matters escalate out of control. Meanwhile, Måns discovers his girlfriend is sleeping around on him just as he realises he is in love with Yasmin. Sooner or later something’s gonna give and it looks like it’s going to be Roro and Måns.

This is a surprisingly funny film considering the subject matter that has been dealt with well by a director renowned in Sweden for his action films. There are certainly elements of this action experience foisted upon the film here, but they work to good and humourous effect, buoying the story nicely to create an overall fun film with a subtle point to make about when cultures meet.

I also found one scene particularly funny, but not only ha-ha funny. Here in Australia I suppose we’re a little bit liberal regarding the sex industry and sex shops, but in Sweden and other similar regions of Europe I’ve been led to believe going to a sex shop is as natural as going to the corner store for milk. This is apparently not the case, as Måns’ trip for a mechanical aid to his problem sees him as shy and blushing as a schoolboy. I’ll never look at Sweden the same way again.

And have rescheduled my holidays accordingly.

  Video
Contract

I am growing to like the direction of cheaper films using the DV camera for a shot. It presents a more personal feeling and a heightened sense of the reality of a situation. As excellent as modern cinema looks, it is still eight renders away from anything resembling our reality. The DV work here looks great and gets comfortably close to the actors without the details of pores in the nose making us uncomfortable.

Colours are even, shadow detail, though rare, is clear enough and blacks, while mostly natural, lean ever so slightly into greens occasionally. Still, as noted in the 28 Days Later (another DV masterwork) review, the field is but moments old yet. Give them a year or two and DV will resemble top-notch stuff without doubt. Otherwise, everything looks great and the DV does aid our action director is making action moments of the lesser dramas in the film; even augmenting the slight action included by adding that extra oomph of humour. "Oomph", I like that word.

Oh, and it all comes to you from our good friends at 1.85:1 with 16:9 support.

  Audio
Contract

Dialogue is all in Swedish, so that’s a good thing if you understand that language. Arabic also finds its way into the film here and there, but I don’t understand that either. Anyway, it all appears spoken clearly enough. Subtitles do the job admirably I should add and keep the pace with the action, though sometimes coming in a little early. No matter.

Music has been scored by Daniel Lemma and is comically amiable, even reggaeish for a lot of the film. Action scenes (even comical ones) are delivered with a harder-edged guitar thrash death metal backing that is obviously a throwback to the director’s history, but also makes the absurd appear all the more absurd and therefore funnier. Sound effects too are all synched well and there were no issues there.

Although only delivered in Dolby Digital stereo, this is, for the most part, dialogue-fuelled and doesn’t require much more. Given that that dialogue is in Swedish, the English speakers could probably have gotten by without even stereo. It all sounds good anyway.

  Extras
Contract

A few, if not a groaning wedding table full. First up comes the theatrical trailer which plays in unenhanced 1.85:1. This is followed by five cast and crew biographies, including the director’s.

A photo gallery gives us 13 pics from the film and promotional shots in about a two-thirds size screen. When shooting a film on DV cameras, no stills from the shoot are any good for promotion because of the video camera-like graininess and poorer resolution than that of a photographic camera. So, proper stills photographers are employed for the taking of promo pieces and such and this is what we get here. DV stills are practically worthless, unless they somehow fit the theme of the film, though editors don’t like to print them due to their poorer quality.

Finally, the regular More From Palace Films trailers. Here we have Italian For Beginners, I’m With Lucy, Read My Lips and Tape.

  Overall  
Contract

I haven’t seen any of the director's previous action films, but he has certainly made a fine comedy here. There is a deeper shade of sadness behind the film, but this is happily glossed over and doesn’t strike anywhere as forcefully as it may have given a director with a different flair. (The fact the director wrote it may have some bearing there… ).

It’s an enjoyable film with some very funny moments and I have no trouble recommending it for anyone seeking something a little different than the usual putridly sugary romantic comedies Hollywood bang out three times a day.


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      And I quote...
    "This genuinely funny and likeable Swedish film brings some age-old customs to the 21st century in this culture versus culture clash."
    - Jules Faber
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Teac DVD-990
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-T29S32S 68cm
    • Speakers:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Centre Speaker:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Surrounds:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Subwoofer:
          Akai
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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