Singing Vikings, predatory frat boys, bickering siblings, and a weird Croatian uncle are the stars of this week\u2019s low-profile VOD releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Uncle<\/em><\/strong> (Film Movement Plus July 5):<\/strong> Something is clearly not right about the Christmas celebration hastily prepared by a Croatian family for their visiting uncle from Germany. They go through what seems to be a rehearsed series of interactions, indicating Communist-era Yugoslavia, only to be interrupted by the uncle\u2019s ringing cell phone. After he leaves, the family frantically rushes to get ready to do it all again the next day. The reason behind this endless Yuletide playacting is eventually partially revealed, but what\u2019s most unsettling about the first feature from writer-directors David Kapac and Andrija Marde\u0161i\u0107 is how easily the characters accept such a bizarre, demented routine, under the avuncular threat of the title character (Miki Manojlovi\u0107). Once the stakes are established, the events become a bit repetitive, but Kapac and Marde\u0161i\u0107 keep adding to the tension, maintaining suspense within their deadpan comedy. The absurdist scenario is reminiscent of early Yorgos Lanthimos, while the sheer sadism recalls Michael Haneke, but the result is more humane and at times more affecting. Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Freydis and Gudrid<\/em><\/strong> (VOD July 7):<\/strong> It\u2019s easy to admire the ambition on display in composer Jeffrey Leiser\u2019s directorial debut, which is an epic Viking opera staged on a modest indie-film budget. As a piece of music, Freydis and Gudrid<\/em> is energetic and grandiose, although lacking in memorable melodies that might stick with viewers. It\u2019s less successful as cinema, despite some gorgeous black-and-white images of the Icelandic landscape. Almost none of those images have any actors in them, and virtually the entire movie consists of characters standing around awkwardly in front of green-screened backgrounds, as they bombastically sing their feelings at each other. The plot, adapted from Norse historical sagas, is suitably primal and majestic, and most of the stars have powerful voices. Leiser emphasizes the female title characters, offering a welcome alternative to macho Viking lore, although there\u2019s little depth to the characterization. The technical limitations would be easier to overlook onstage, but Leiser provides just enough cinematic splendor to make the clumsy execution more glaring. Grade: C+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because We\u2019re Family<\/em><\/strong> (VOD July 12):<\/strong> There\u2019s meant to be a rich family history at the center of this bland dramedy, but writer\/co-director\/star Angela Stern gives little sense of her characters\u2019 lives beyond their limited personal interactions. It makes sense that Stern adapted the movie from her own stage play, because it often feels sealed off from the outside world. Still, there are some affecting moments in the story of three adult siblings reuniting after their mother\u2019s death and working out their mild family conflicts, and Stern and co-director Christine Nyhart anchor the drama as a pair of bickering but ultimately loving sisters. The male stars, including C. Thomas Howell as one sister\u2019s husband, are less effective, and the child actors might as well not even be there. Stern structures the movie around holidays, so that the family comes together at Halloween, falls into disarray at Thanksgiving, and reconciles at Christmas. It\u2019s rote and simplistic, but ultimately harmless. Grade: C+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n