Milad Alami's THE CHARMER: unfurling a mystery about character and motivation

Can a movie succeed almost solely by keeping hidden from the audience the real motives of its main character? Not the actions: Those are apparent. But the why of those actions, not so much. Further, what if the motives in question are unclear even to the character himself? Or perhaps they began as clear -- but then changed?

All these questions may surface in your mind as you mull over the events and particularly the conclusion of THE CHARMER, the new Danish/Swedish co-production directed and co-written (with Ingeborg Topsøe) by Milad Alami, a young-ish filmmaker who was born in Iran, grew up in Sweden and now lives in Denmark -- and who, TrustMovies would imagine, knows quite a lot about being a Middle-Eastern immigrant to Scandinavia.

Mr. Alami, pictured at left, has created a rather unusual character here. What we know about his anti-hero, Esmail (played by Ardalan Esmaili, shown above and below), is that this man is in Denmark legally, but only for a very short time longer (according to the Danish social worker who is helping him), so he should probably resign himself to being sent back to Iran.

Yet Esmail is (and has been for some time now) fucking his way through an array of eligible (and sometimes, it turns out, ineligible) Danish women, in hopes of finding one who will marry him and this give him "legality." Things are not working out, however. As his current "squeeze" informs him, while ending their relationship, he consistently comes on too strong and tries too hard.

Clearly, he does both. In almost every scene, Esmail seems unsure and agitated, nervous and ill at ease. While he is attractive enough on the surface, though nothing all that special, were it not for his evidently amazing sexual prowess, which we both see and hear about, it would be a bit difficult to understand why this guy is so "prized." Real charm demands ease and affability, neither of which appears to be chief among Esmail's repertoire -- and grows even less so as his deportation approaches.

The movie returns again and again to the bar he frequents where he evidently meets most of his women, and where one particular man insists on talking to him repeatedly. ("I'm not gay," Esmail explains; "I'm not either," the fellow assures him.) Alami opens his film with the sounds of lovemaking, and then a very short conversation between the lovers, after which the woman does something extremely unexpected. We know nothing of who these people are, but the event, of course, will come home to roost later on.

Along the way Esmail meets, befriends and eventually takes quite a shine to a young Iranian-Danish woman (Soho Rezanejad, above, right, and below) and her mother, who was a famous singer in her native country. Mom and daughter, too, are quite impressed with our charmer.

All these elements jostle for position in the tale -- which has been conceived and executed in a bizarrely manipulative manner -- and eventually they play out to some sort of conclusion, even as poor Esmail falls further apart. There are surprises, and we learn things -- sort of. And, yes, there are some possible motives we see (or imagine). Turns out, I'm afraid, that our Esmail is either not a very bright fellow at all, or he is (maybe, rather, was) supremely sleazy.

And so, to answer the question about the movie's success, posed in my initial paragraph above, the answer -- for me at least -- is no. The Charmer is never uninteresting as it moves quietly along. But it is, finally -- due to its refusal to commit enough actual "character" to its central character -- nowhere near what I'd call fulfilling.

From Film Movement and running 102 minutes, the movie has its U.S. theatrical premiere this Wednesday, December 5, in New York City at Film Forum. Other playdates/cities do not seem to be forthcoming (or have already occurred: click here and scroll down to see the list ), so if you're not in NYC, wait for streaming or the DVD. 

BECOMING ASTRID: Pernille Fischer Christensen's smart, lively, moving bio-pic of the early years of a famous Swedish writer

The name Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) will probably be less recognizable to many literate Americans than is that of one of her heroines, Pippi Longstocking. Pippi, together with other of Lindgren's protagonists, fueled some of the most popular children's books in the history of print. (The author, whose combined works have now sold more than 165,000,000 copies, is also said to be the fourth most translated writer of children's books in the world.)

Interestingly enough, BECOMING ASTRID, the new film about the late-teenage/early-adult years of Ms Lindgren directed and co-written by Pernille Fischer Christensen, is anything but a "children's story" -- even though a child figures very heavily into things.

Ms Christensen (pictured at right) tells a tale, which sticks somewhat closely to factual accounts, of the young girl from a highly religious family/community who clearly has a talent for writing, as well as a need to be independent, even though the means to that state is anything but easy.

The movie is a quite fascinating blend of the dark and sad, and yet it is at the same time relatively easy to enjoy, thanks to the well-rounded characters on view -- no real villains (unless you count organized religion itself), nor even a pristine heroine to be found here -- and to the excellent performance of literally every actor on view.

Front and center is the exceptional young actress Alba August, above (the daughter of director Bille August and actress Pernilla August), who plays Astrid and who easily moves from naive teen to fledgling reporter to worldy-wise mother in the course of this two-hour film.

How and why she chooses this difficult road is told with urgency and understanding by Ms Christensen and her co-writer Kim Fupz Aakeson, as the story moves from Sweden to Denmark and back again, involving the editor of the local newspaper (a fine job from Henrik Rafaelsen, above, left) and his family, Astrid's life in the big-city workplace (that's her boss, played with sly intelligence and humor by Björn Gustafsson, below), and finally a surrogate mom (the wonderful Trine Dyrholm, seen only recently as Nico).

The choice to concentrate on these early years, rather than on how Lindgren achieved her initial success, was a smart one, and the movie also chooses a pleasing but subtle introduction and finale (below), during which the now famous and aging author, on her birthday, listens to tapes and reads letters from her young fans.

This quickly and firmly establishes who she is and why she's important. When one of the youngsters asks how she is able to so completely understand the sometimes fraught and frightening world of childhood, the movie moves immediately to enmesh us in her own earlier years.

Young Ms August brings to the role enormous vitality, as well as an understanding of the pitfalls that go hand in hand with brash youth and teenage rebellion. Consequently, though we always wish her well, we do cringe and wonder at a few of her choices. This gives the movie more reality, together with a certain surprising frisson -- both of which many other conventional bio-pics lack.

When at last we meet the little boy who will prove so pivotal to Astrid's life and who takes his place as increasingly all-important, the movie reaches its emotional height -- and stays there through the conclusion. Fans of this super-popular author will certainly be hooked. But so, too, TrustMovies suspects, will be even those who know little about Ms Lindgren. The film is that compelling and well-executed.

From Music Box Films and running 123 minutes, Becoming Astrid opens in New York City (at Film Forum), Los Angeles (at Laemmle's Royal) and Minneapolis (at Landmark's Lagoon Cinema) tomorrow, Friday, November 22, and will then spread across the country in the weeks to come. Here in South Florida, look for it on Friday, November 30, at the MDC Tower Theater in Miami. To view all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters, click here then scroll down and click on Theatrical Engagements.