The countries that make up Scandinavia have a penchant for producing films that have a slow-burn on the emotional front. Their subdued displays of excitability make you have to lean in to catch what’s afoot. Then when those outward displays arrive they have even more impact.
In Let The River Flow when you combine the sad and racist treatment of the Sámi people with the emerging personality of its main character Ester Isaksen (Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen) you have the basis for some looming signs of emotion.
Ester does her best to hide her ethnicity in an attempt to fit in but her undeniable sense of heritage is brought to the forefront. Her involvement in the protest of a government’s disregard for Sámi lands by building a dam that will flood her native land crystalizes that sense of the past.
There is one scene in particular when Ester finally succumbs to the anger bubbling underneath that is ferocious in its intensity. This is the kind of film that by its end will fill you with the desire to know the real story behind its tragic conclusion.
Rob Hudson
Let The River Flow Brisbane screening dates
PALACE JAMES ST
Tuesday 25 July 11:00 AM
Thursday 27 July 6:15 PM
Saturday 29 July 8:30 PM
Tuesday 1 August 5:50 PM
Thursday 3 August 11:00 AM
Saturday 5 August 3:40 PM
Tuesday 8 August 6:00 PM
PALACE BARRACKS
Wednesday 26 July 11:00 AM
Friday 28 July 6:10 PM
Sunday 30 July 8:30 PM
Tuesday 1 August 10:45 AM
Sunday 6 August 6:15 PM
Tuesday 8 August 3:40 PM
The Scandinavian Film Festival runs in Brisbane from 19 July – 9 August and will take place at the Palace James Street and Palace Barracks cinemas.
Click here for more information about the festival, or head to the official website for more information and to book your tickets!
www.scandinavianfilmfestival.com
