- Directed by Christian Tafrdup
- Written by Christian Tafdrup, Mads Tafdrup
- Stars Morten Burian, Sidsel Siem Koch, Redja van Huet, Karina Smulders
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 37 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INHM–6XQzQ
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
It starts out slow. Stick with this one if you watch it. It gets good. Horribly good and realistic in ways that aren’t expected.
Synopsis
Patrick and Karin drive down a dark country road in the middle of the night with their son Abel. They arrive at the resort in Tuscany. Bjorn and Louise are there as well, from Holland, along with daughter Agnes. Bjorn and Patrick meet briefly during the day, and Patrick makes a friendly dinner toast to the group which gets him noticed. Friends Hannah and Derek do nothing but talk about their cooking class. Bjorn notices Patrick staring at him during a concert. Patrick is a doctor, and they all soon become friends.
Bjorn and Louise get home, they find a postcard inviting them to the Dutch countryside to visit Patrick and Karin. Bjorn wants to do it, but Louise doesn’t think they know them well enough. “What’s the worst that can happen?” someone asks. They go.
Patrick offers Louise some of the roast he spent all day cooking. She’s a vegetarian, but she gives in and tries it anyway. Little Abel is creepy and silent. Karin says that Abel was born without a tongue.
The next day, Abel won’t get off the slide so Agnes can try it, and Patrick is meaner than he needs to be. This finally turns Louise off of the weekend to the point that she’d like to leave. Bjorn doesn’t want to go yet. The adults go out to dinner, and the kids are going to stay with Mujahid, a babysitter. No one told Louise about this in advance, and she’s not happy at all.
Patrick gets totally drunk at dinner. Patrick and Karin dance, and they just about have sex on the dance floor; Bjorn and Louise are quite a bit more reserved. Bjorn isn’t pleased when he finds out dinner is on him. Patrick drives home drunk, weaving through the woods with everyone in the car.
They make it home eventually, and everyone is fine. Louise takes a shower and is creeped out when Patrick comes in to brush his teeth in the middle of it. Louise and Bjorn have sex and ignore Agnes calling out, wanting to come in. The little girl eventually quiets down. But later, she finds little Agnes asleep in the bed of the other couple. Louise wants to go home now. In the middle of the night. They all get in the car and leave. Agnes forgot her stuffed rabbit and starts to cry. Bjorn turns around and goes back.
Bjorn goes into the house, and then Agnes finds the rabbit under the seat. Louise goes inside to find Bjorn explaining their absence to Patrick. When pressed, Bjorn’s excuses do sound pretty minor, and Karin apologizes for both of them. Patrick is all apologetic as well, and it is only one more day. Patrick promises it will be fun. They stay.
Later that day, Bjorn and Patrick are driving somewhere, and Patrick sings in the car. Afterward, Bjorn unloads about how unhappy his life is. They go out to the beach and just scream into the sky. They start to really bond.
Later, Karin cuts her finger, and Patrick admits that he’s not a doctor. He lied to make a good impression. He’s unemployed; he doesn’t believe in working.
At dinner, Patrick rants about Dutch cheese being better than any other countries. After, Patrick yells at Abel for not dancing properly with Agnes– it gets positively abusive until Bjorn intervenes (Why they don’t just leave again at this point is beyond my comprehension).
That night, Bjorn sneaks out of their bedroom to turn off the overloud TV and notices the door to the shed outside is open. He goes out to investigate and finds dozens of pictures of families that have stayed with Patrick and Karin. In each photo, there’s a different single child. Abel isn’t theirs, he’s just a survivor from the previous family. Bjorn then finds Abel dead in the pool.
Bjorn wakes up Louise and says they’re leaving– right now. They drive away, but Bjorn soon runs off the road and gets stuck. Bjorn gets out to run to a farmhouse but doesn’t notice that Patrick has followed them. When Bjorn returns to the car, Louise and Agnes are gone. Patrick drives up to Bjorn, and he’s got Agnes and Louise with him.
Louise has no idea what’s going on, since Bjorn was in a hurry and didn’t explain anything; on the way back to the house, they realize something isn’t right. Patrick stops and flashes his headlights, and someone else responds. Muhajdin comes over while Karin cuts Agnes’s tongue out. Muhajdin takes Agnesa away while the four adults drive in the other direction in silence as the situation sinks in.
They stop the car way out in a snowy field, and everyone gets out. Patrick orders them to take off their clothes. Karin and Patrick then literally stone them to death.
At the resort in Tuscany, Patrick and Karin meet new people, and they introduce their daughter to a new family…
Commentary
First, I wouldn’t have turned around and gone back for a stuffed rabbit in the first place. Second, I wouldn’t have lingered with the apologies for saying goodbye the second time. After the dance-abusing thing, I would have for sure left then. Maybe people from Holland are just really really really into not insulting their hosts.
It’s awkward and uncomfortable for the first hour, and then it gets off the rails horribly. Just when you thought it was one thing, it changes tracks and becomes something even worse– and far more realistic.
I thought it was slow, almost boring for the first half hour, but it gets really good the further it goes. I definitely recommend this one.