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I Accidentally Walked Into “Border,” and It Kind of Changed My Life

By Howard Fishman

Eero Milonoff pictured left and Eva Melander in a still from “Border” .

That’s odd, I thought, during the early going of Ali Abbasi’s new film, “Border.” I wonder why it’s in Swedish. I’d gone to Manhattan’s IFC Center this past weekend intending to see a different film, “Roma,” arriving with what I’d thought would be plenty of time to get a good seat, nearly an hour prior to showtime. But a sign on the ticket window stated that all screenings of “Roma” were already sold out for the day. Disappointed but still keen on seeing a movie that afternoon, I looked to see what else was playing; “Border” was starting at about the same time. The top of the film’s poster said something like “From the acclaimed screenwriter of ‘Let the Right One In . . . ’ ” Since I prefer to know as little as possible about movies before I see them, this small bit of information was good enough for me. I bought my ticket and walked in.

I had enjoyed that quiet little film from some years back, the one starring Laura Linney and a then-unknown Mark Ruffalo, and I felt good about entrusting part of my afternoon to that same screenwriter. I assumed that I was in for what would probably be a thoughtful, muted story about ordinary people facing the small but consequential obstacles of everyday life. I imagined that the film might skillfully edge toward the precipice of sentimentality without tumbling over, and that I would likely shed a tear or two as the end credits rolled. Afterward, I’d take a leisurely stroll around the West Village, maybe get a cup of coffee, and continue on with my peaceful, solitary day, the film I’d just seen a small pebble dropped into the otherwise placid lake of my consciousness.

Boy, was I wrong. The film that I was mistakenly thinking about is Kenneth Lonergan ’s “ You Can Count on Me ,” from 2000. I’d completely forgotten that Lonergan had written it, or else I might have realized the error of my ways when I saw an unfamiliar name on the poster. I didn’t realize my mistake until after I’d left the theatre, my legs a little wobbly under me, my mind flashing back to a performance that I had attended a few years ago, at St. Ann’s Warehouse. It was the National Theatre of Scotland’s stage adaptation of the Swedish film “Let the Right One In”—the only time in my life that I have jumped out of my seat during a performance. (I’ve never seen the original film.) Oh. Right. “Let the Right One In.” Not “You Can Count on Me.” Same number of words, same general sentiment. And all similarities end exactly there.

I only mention my blank-slate encounter with “Border” because I think it might well be the ideal way to see this film—without any foreknowledge of its plot whatsoever. I urge you to stop reading now and go see the movie at your earliest opportunity, avoiding any synopses, reviews, or trailers before you do.

“Border” may be the strangest, most beguiling film that I have ever seen. It is a fever dream of madness, a remarkable feat of pure imagination and outré filmmaking. Afterward, as I stood in the lobby among my fellow-moviegoers, all of us in a kind of stunned disbelief as we tried to process what we’d just seen, I overheard a visibly upset middle-aged woman say, to what appeared to be her teen-age children, “Well, now we can say we’ve seen the worst movie ever made.” The kids were quick to agree with her; too quick, it seemed, and I wondered whether their sarcasm was of the knee-jerk variety, dispensed in an attempt to mask an unmanageable discomfort—a defensive posture requiring the affirmation of others to make it stick. It was this same sensibility, I imagined, that led some in the audience to react with titters during the film’s many moments of extreme tension and visionary strangeness. “Border” is a furnace of unfiltered, wild expression, an attack on normalcy and complacency, a jubilee of mystery and weirdness. If you are entirely satisfied with life, or at least resigned to the inevitability of it running its course in ways that seem tolerably predictable, it may not be the film for you.

No doubt, those lobby dwellers who were so quick to dismiss the film thought that it was disgusting. It is. It is, at times, wincingly disgusting, and transgressive, and gross—its makers flooring their vehicle well beyond accepted boundaries of good taste. But it also features moments of such pure feeling—pure ecstasy, pure rage, pure desire, pure ferocity—that I have to rank it among the most thrilling cinematic experiences that I have ever had. I’m also not sure that I’ve ever witnessed a more committed, courageous film performance than the one given here by the actor Eva Melander. It is a film for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider and for anyone who has ever felt bad for being different in some indefinable, fundamental way.

There is a particular kind of bravura modern-day European filmmaking that seeks to depict the limits of grotesque human emotion, where storytelling virtuosity is paired with an almost sadistic contempt for its audience. “Border,” as shocking and provocative as it is, does not belong to the same universe as some of the films of Lars von Trier or Michael Haneke, for example, or what might be called the Cinema of Cruelty, after Artaud—a realm in which the underlying conviction seems to be that we must be made to squirm, forced to look directly at life’s most extreme awfulness as penance for the lazy cultural habits that have left us desensitized to the horrors of everyday contemporary life. Instead, Abbasi’s “Border,” written with John Ajvide Lindqvist and Isabella Eklöf (and adapted from Lindqvist’s short story of the same name), reaches back to the dark, expressionist tradition of his fellow-Swedes August Strindberg and Ingmar Bergman, artists who also sought to push the limits of their chosen forms, who also investigated the disquieting and the paranormal, but whose work always embraced humanity’s inner freak. To me, “Border” is cause for celebration. I can’t wait to see it again, on purpose next time.

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Border Reviews

The mysteries of Border reveal themselves slowly from here, but each one ratchets up the film's stakes in a delightful manner.

Full Review | Jul 28, 2021

You ain't never seen nothing like it, folks. Hell you ain't never thought anything like it.

Full Review | Jul 2, 2021

A great film with a great script that question if it is necessary the social reproduction of our societies. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 9, 2020

Border is without question one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences of 2018 and a film you absolutely, unequivocally will not forget about in the near future.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.0/4.0 | Sep 4, 2020

Unique format, out of the ordinary, and marvelously disturbing [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Sep 1, 2020

This is fantasy romance with a snarl of misanthropy and more bite than a vampire school reunion. It needs to be seen.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 16, 2020

Wins over your heart as a 21st-century tonal poem that embraces the hybridity and plurality that radicalism seeks to thwart.

Full Review | Aug 3, 2020

Border doesn't all fit together -- it even tries too hard to fall into place at points -- but its ambition matches its heart.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 25, 2020

This Swedish film by Ali Abbasi proposes a heartbreaking radiograph on the human species. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 15, 2020

In many ways, it's the perfect genre film in its refusal to conform to any familiar tropes, instead opting to dip its misshapen form into several cinematic molds, only to shatter them.

Full Review | Jul 1, 2020

I found this compelling as I watched it, though I don't feel I gained much from the experience.

Full Review | Feb 29, 2020

The ending, surprising for its particular hopeful message, is one of the strong elements of this wild movie. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 11, 2019

In all groups there are individuals who act in ways that harm or benefit others, and this is how Border proposes itself in an intelligent and very creative way. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Dec 3, 2019

Border is a fascinating movie, irresistible and intriguing because of its marginalization. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 25, 2019

This original and mercilessly intense fairy tale is simply unmissable.

Full Review | Oct 17, 2019

Abbasi, Melander, and Milonoff are not afraid to cross into bizarre territory.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 13, 2019

This is a strange, fantastic mix of romantic drama, magic realism.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 4, 2019

Tine and Vore's unusual love story, and Abbasi's slow unfolding of it, will stick in the mind long after the movie ends.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 20, 2019

Ugly and twisted though some of it is, there is something bold, confident and wholly compelling about this Cannes-winning blizzard of odd that deserves praise and attention.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 11, 2019

A subtle passionate diatribe about how society treats outsiders, particularly those judged ugly.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 11, 2019

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‘border’ (‘gräns’) : film review | cannes 2018.

Director Ali Abbassi makes his Cannes debut with 'Border', a timely reboot of Nordic folklore from the writer of cult vampire fable 'Let The Right One In.'

By Stephen Dalton

Stephen Dalton

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'Border' ('Gräns') : Film Review | Cannes 2018

Beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder in Border , a genre-blurring Cannes premiere adapted by Danish-Iranian director Ali Abbassi from a novella by Let The Right One In creator John Ajvide Lindqvist . Like Lindqvist’s teen vampire classic, this Swedish-Danish production blends supernatural folklore with contemporary social realism to create a universal parable about tribalism, racism and fear of the Other. While the dramatic premise shares some DNA with the superfreak allegories of the X-Men series, the naturalistic presentation has more in common with the downbeat grit of Nordic Noir crime drama.

Abbassi , who made his feature debut in 2016 with the atmospheric but insubstantial gothic horror thriller Shelley , has expanded Lindqvist’s 50-page story with an additional subplot that lends extra conflict and jeopardy to the main narrative. The result is an ambitious hybrid creature that could fall uneasily between genre and art house audiences. But today’s well-received premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes should generate positive buzz and further festival interest. Strong lead performances, superlative visual effects and Lindqvist’s cultish fan following should all help boost theatrical prospects.

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Where to Watch

Eva Melander (Tina) Eero Milonoff (Vore) Jörgen Thorsson (Roland) Ann Petrén (Agneta) Sten Ljunggren (Tinas pappa) Kjell Wilhelmsen (Daniel) Rakel Wärmländer (Therese) Andreas Kundler (Robert) Matti Boustedt (Tomas) Tomas Åhnstrand (Stefan)

A customs officer who can smell fear develops an unusual attraction to a strange traveler while aiding a police investigation which will call into question her entire existence.

More about Border

You’ ve never seen anything quite like border.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes Border . A thematically rich and deeply strange blend of romantic …

Flickering Myth

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Movie Review – Border (2018)

January 29, 2019 by Tom Beasley

Border , 2018.

Directed by Ali Abbasi. Starring Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jörgen Thorsson and Sten Ljunggren.

A border guard with an unusual ability to smell when people are guilty is drawn into investigating a child pornography ring, while she also meets someone who may share her gifts.

Imagine The Shape of Water , but nastier and even more unusual. That’s essentially the sell for Ali Abbasi’s Cannes Film Festival award winner Border , which is a dark romance that places the emphasis on the darkness. Adapted from a short story of the same name by Let the Right One In author John Ajvide Lindqvist, this is a film that embraces its weird soul and encourages its characters to do the same – for good and for bad.

Eva Melander, under a four-hour prosthetics job, is border guard Tina. She has an uncanny ability to detect when people are carrying something they shouldn’t be, from illicit booze to a memory card full of horrific child pornography. Initially, no one seems to remark on her unusual facial features and so the audience is immediately knocked off centre. Should I be noticing this? Is there anything going on? Soon, though, the brutish and taciturn Vore (Eero Milonoff) arrives, shocking Tina with a suitcase full of bugs and a very similar facial deformity.

Melander’s performance draws the audience in, easing them into the story’s more fantastical elements. She’s believable and tender as a kindly woman, driven into woodland isolation – she lives with her layabout partner (Jörgen Thorsson) in a secluded home – by her own insecurities. Her only other emotional interaction is when she visits her infirm father (Sten Ljunggren) in the rest home where he lives. Tina is an entirely passive, meek figure, with Melander managing to portray every element of the character’s sadness, even through the Oscar-nominated make-up. When she declares, at one crucial moment, that she has “always felt ugly”, the film takes a genuine turn for the moving.

Her inner, wounded passion is brought out by Milonoff’s character, who reveals a secret about who Eva really is, shaking up her worldview and giving rise to a scene of intimacy so bizarre that it makes Fifty Shades of Grey look like a wholesome night at the bingo. Milonoff’s Vore is an animalistic being and his performance is all barely concealed rage, communicated through his hunched physicality, looming over people and wearing a constant half-smirk as if in a constant state of intimidation. He brings out Eva’s more bestial side as well and soon they’re running through the trees naked, in a scene that is the closest the movie gets to the carefree romance of Del Toro’s aforementioned fishy fairytale and its monochrome musical number.

But unlike Del Toro’s movie, Border somewhat lacks faith in humanity, with Vore’s permanent opprobrium turned squarely on the people responsible for atrocities in his past. It’s here that Abbasi’s film travels down some grisly alleys that may prove a step too far for some viewers, but it’s clear the director realises that and so dials down the fantasy-horror elements of the story in order to make the seriousness of these revelations transparent. This movie deals in wild, supernatural thrills, but is willing to delve into genuine darkness in order to examine its themes about mistreated outsiders struggling with whether to become what many assume they already are.

And this is the genius of Eva as a character, and of Melander’s performance. She’s a woman who declares that she doesn’t “see the point of evil”, but temptation crosses her path and it’s never quite clear which way she’s going to travel. When her place in the world comes knocking, but comes with a price, the movie constantly pushes and pulls at the audience’s expectations and sympathies, while Melander never loses that central core of empathy from the viewer. We don’t know what path Eva will take, but we know we’ll follow her down it.

Border is an unsettling nightmare of a movie that enjoys rolling in the dirt, but finds emotional tenderness and power through Melander’s heart-wrenching performance. This is fantasy romance with a snarl of misanthropy and more bite than a vampire school reunion. It needs to be seen.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.

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Border Review

04 Mar 2019

Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist married the mundane with the miraculous in Let The Right One In , his acclaimed teen vampire novel that bore two equally superb films (the Swedish adaptation of the same name, and the underrated American remake Let Me In ). Border , based on one of his short stories, is an altogether stranger affair, but achieves that same curious blend; drawing heavily from Nordic mythology but set in a grounded, Scandinavian present, this is magical realism with a heavy emphasis on both. It’s uncompromisingly weird, but if you can make it through the more uncomfortable moments — which are roughly every five minutes or so — it’s a curiously rewarding experience.

Eva Melander plays Tina, a lonely Swedish woman who works as a security guard at a border crossing in a bleak, oppressive-looking shipping port. (Director Ali Abbasi embraces the ugly, industrial side of Sweden as much as its green, pastoral offerings.) Tina is diligent and hard-working, and lives a quiet, ordinary life in the country with a near-abusive husband. She is also, we later learn, a troll — not the online kind, but the folkloric, would-normally-be-found-under-a-bridge kind. She has apparent facial deformations, something she initially attributes to a chromosome flaw, and depicted with remarkable (and Oscar-nominated ) make-up and prosthetics, which tread a delicate line between fantasy and real-world disability. Her appearance leaves her ostracised by most people she encounters, but she has a special relationship with animals and a unique talent for smelling guilt, an invaluable tool in her line of work.

A unique, captivatingly grotesque fable.

Then along comes Vore (Milonoff), a swaggering, care-free wanderer who possesses the same facial deformities and unique scars as Tina. Soon her perspective changes. She comes to understand herself more, and her place in the world. Elements of troll lore are played upon (their fear of lightning, their love of maggots, the human fear of changelings) — not as some sort of superhero origin story but as a journey of personal self-discovery, an intimate exploration of a minority identity coming to terms with their place in the world.

As Tina and Vore grow closer, they find solidarity through romance — leading to surely the most jaw-droppingly peculiar sex scene in cinema history. But when a distressing subplot about a child pornography ring is worked into the main plot, it develops into an over-dramatic and slightly unnecessary twist, in a film which, until then, felt consciously and deliberately under-dramatic.

Still, the intentions of director Ali Abbasi seem clear. Border is a unique, well-executed and captivatingly grotesque fable. It may not be for everyone, but if you’re the sort of person who feels cinema has been lacking sex scenes with extendable troll micro-penises, then friend, your wait is over.

Movies | 08 03 2019

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Eero Milonoff and Eva Melander in Border.

Border review – an earthy fairytale

An outsider with unusual gifts descends on a small community in Ali Abbasi’s creepy exploration of cultural ‘otherness’

“W ho am I?” It’s a question lurking in the mind of customs officer Tina (Eva Melander). She has always assumed that “different” means “worse”, but when she encounters the creepily magnetic Vore (Eero Milonoff), who shares with her the unusual gift of being able to smell emotions, particularly fear and guilt, she learns the truth about herself. And that’s as much as you should know about the plot of this earthy fairytale from Ali Abbasi , based on a short story by Let the Right One In author John Ajvide Lindqvist . This is a film that unfolds and thrives in the gloaming half light of mystery, its rewards decreasing exponentially the more you know what to expect.

Abbasi, Iranian by birth and now resident in Sweden, mines the otherness of being an outsider in a closed community. But there’s an otherworldly poetry to the imagery here that takes this oddly affecting film beyond an allegory for cultural difference and oppression. The forest floor colour palette is all lichens and loam; the pacing has a sinister creep, like some kind of ominous fungal growth. And the performances are oddly tender. Melander gives her character an immutable physical solidity that contradicts an initial diffidence; her mild-mannered, pastel-coloured wardrobe sits uneasily on her.

While the film defies neat genre classification, it has elements of physical horror – like a mating between the mind of David Cronenberg and something that crawled out of a compost heap.

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Border (2018) Review

Border (2018) Director: Ali Abbasi Screenwriters: Ali Abbasi, Isabella Eklof, John Ajvide Lindqvist Starring: Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jorgen Thorsson, Ann Petren, Sten Ljunggren

Films that collide age-old mythology and ancient folklore with the hustle and bustle of the contemporary world and modern sensibilities always leave an impact. Societies across the globe were built upon myths and legends passed down from one generation to the next, on traditions of storytelling and imparting moral lessons to live your life by. Border, among other things, is an extremely twisted version of that.

The film adapts “Let the Right One In” author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s short story about a Swedish border guard (Eva Melander) who has grown up to believe she has a chromosome flaw but is in fact a troll. When a fellow member of this ancient faerie race (Eero Milonoff) passes through customs, Tina discovers who and what she really is and comes to realise what a dark place the world has become under humanity’s rule.

First, a word or few on Magical Realism…

Academic Matthew Stetcher defines it as “what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe”. When ancient, forgotten and invisible worlds invade our spaces, what does this mean? Is it simply the human brain resorting to flights of fancy to avoid confronting something awful? In films like Pan’s Labyrinth, the lead character’s perception of reality is up for debate – Ophelia is going through a traumatic time of change and may have dreamt up a fantastical coping mechanism. Likewise, in Bridge to Terabithia, Jess has suddenly lost his childhood friend under tragic circumstances and would not be able to carry on without resorting to his imagination. With Border, I think we’re supposed to take things a bit more literally.

The prosthetics work here (over 20 artists were required to create two flawless characters), transforming Melander and Milonoff into the unrecognisable Tina and Vore but never masking the actors’ nuanced performances. It’s key that either an actor’s lower or upper face is left malleable; Melander is able to twitch her upper lip and nose as her otherworldly senses kick in and Milonoff’s beguiling smile can transform into a snarl when threatened.

The film features a troll sex scene, which really is something else. A troll’s anatomy isn’t quite like a human’s and leave it at that for the sake of taste. It’s not a sequence without purpose either, as it acts more as a key moment of character growth and self-actualisation for Tina in addition to being more than a little bizarre and incredibly funny.

Humanity does not come out of this well at all. The trolls and who knows how many other ancient and otherworldly species are all-but gone, persecuted, experimented on and driven underground by humankind. No wonder Tina is tempted to join Vore after a life of mistreatment and dishonesty even from those who claim to love her – her father (Ljunggren) is suffering from dementia but was never upfront about the circumstances of her adoption even before the fog enveloped him, and the man she lives with (Thorsson) expects her to support him financially while he breeds show dogs and emotionally abuses her.

Where this story takes you is unspeakably dark. Grimm’s Fairy Tales have nothing on Border , then again Snow White and Cinderella didn’t have the day jobs of sniffing out criminality. Countless tales have been told at night to children over the centuries, we now all live in a much more terrifying world – people are not monsters from storybooks hiding under bridges or just beyond the veil, they are monsters because they are human. Vore won’t forgive humanity for what they’ve done or what they’re still doing, while Tina is torn between finally feeling like she belongs and not being able to forgive her partner’s sinister plans on any moral level.

The horrific ideas and morbid material thankfully never gets too oppressive thanks to moments of touching serenity, both of the natural world and creatures who long predate the coming of man living in harmony with it. It’s impossible not to smile at Tina and Vore swimming in a storm, laughing at their freedom and holding each other to protect against the lightning that is attracted to their kind. The caged show dogs, as “man’s best friend”, tellingly react aggressively towards Tina because she is something other, in opposition to their masters. But wildlife, foxes and deer feel at peace around her as she is at peace with them – for a few moments it’s like she’s become the most unconventional looking Disney princess around.

Border is disdainful of humanity and yet strangely hopeful for life on Earth. It’s beautiful and grotesque, romantic and pragmatic, ethereal and grounded. It’s one campfire story you’re not going to forget in a hurry. People come and go across borders, through customs checks and between worlds ancient and modern; you’ve got to decide for yourself where you fit into the world.

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Border Movie A Beautiful Love Story + Explanation Spoiler Section

Border Movie and Explaination review on Mother of Movies

“Border” is a Swedish drama-thriller film otherwise known as Gräns . Border movie is one of the most unusual but best love stories you’ll ever have the pleasure of watching. If you’ve never heard of John Ajvide Lindqvist that’s okay, not too many people have. He just happens to be my very favorite author though and, he wrote the book Let the Right One In , back in 2004. Only four years later, it was adapted into one of my favorite films and then Americanised in 2010. Further, the Border movie explanation is at the end of this review.

Best Love Stories In Movies

For those who whine and pine for originality in cinema , look no further. I am going to do my absolute best to not give the game away during this review. I’ve added a spoiler section at the end of this Border review to list some differences between the original book and the movie. In addition, I have included an explanation of what hisitt is and what happened in the short story after the end of the movie.

The storyline for Border Movie ( Gräns )

In their intricate dance of fate, an enchanting tale unfurls—a tale brimming with passion and clandestine desires. Tina is a sharp-witted customs officer armed with an extraordinary ability to sense the hidden depths of human emotions. Just when she thought she had seen it all, along comes Vore, a mysterious stranger whose mere presence stirs a forbidden longing within her, while simultaneously igniting a raging storm of suspicion. Brace yourself for a love story poised on the precipice of temptation and veiled secrets, where every interaction pulses with electricity that transcends the boundaries of reason and sends their destinies spiraling into uncharted territories.

The story is a drama, fantasy, and romance of a peculiar kind and there will be moments you won’t believe what you are seeing . Go into it with the barest of information but keep in mind its folklore fable essence. For more information on the folklore and background of a few things, see the spoiler section.

Cast for the Border movie includes Eva Melander and, Eero Milonoff, Jorgen Thorsen, Ann Petren, and, Sten Ljunggren.

Border Movie Review (Gräns)

As I mentioned before, I’m a massive fan of the original author. Some of my favorite titles are Little Star and Handling the Undead. This film and its predecessor Let the Right One In , are examples of filmmaking where the result does the book justice. I would love to know just how much say Lindqvist has in the feature films made off the back of his novels. I would like to think it’s a lot of the results wouldn’t be this spectacular.

Sure this story is strange AF but for those who whine about movies having the same ideas, themes, or contexts that other movies have — you will never say that about this film. Although the author is known for his horror stories , this is a drama, fantasy with a romantic edge laden with the bizarre. Still, though, it contains all that pent-up edginess you’d expect from a horror without any horror.

The themes are dark and ominous. Tina’s life is sad and lonely despite her incredible gift. One thing the book examines a little more is her background with men and expands on why she got with Roland in the first place. There is one particular chapter that relates to Tina and a friend. He tells her how amazing she is and what a great girl she is. However, he simply couldn’t be with her because she was just too ugly.

As well as the dousing of melancholy the film serves up, it contains some confronting ideas. I won’t go into specifics just yet but don’t go in expecting quiet carnage like in his previous film.

Ali Abbasi – The Director of Border, One of the Best Love Stories Movie Ever

The film’s director, Alibassi has treated this story with only some minor adjustments. Save for some minor plot points, some switch-ups, and a tweak of the ending, its integrity is very much intact. I adore what Alibassi did with its protagonists Tina and Vore. Their transformation onto the screen both aesthetically and performance-wise could not have been more perfect.

The Border movie isn’t for everyone, it’s bizarre but boy oh boy I loved it. Lindqvist’s ability to romanticize the unromantic is as amazing as finding two films that are equally as great once adapted from paper.

Overall, the complexity of this story and the magical nature of everything in it will simply re-ignite my passion to rabbit on about this amazing story writer. “Border” is told in a way you will never forget with cinematography that is beautifully done.

Border the full movie ( Gräns ) is rated

4.5 two mounds are better than one out of 5

Eero Milonoff and Eva Melander in Gräns (2018) Best love stories adapted from books.

Who Is John Ajvide Lindqvist?

John Ajvide Lindqvist is amazing. “Border,” released in 2018 was a short story penned by John Ajvide Lindqvist. After watching the film, I re-read the short story from his book, “Let the Old Dreams Die”, and by gosh did the director Ali Abbasi do a spectacular job bringing this thing to life. Although blasphemous, it may be a shade better than the original text.

Border Movie Explained – One of the Best Love Stories Ever

For those of you thinking WTF did I just watch or simply want a bit more information on Trolls , I am the queen of research and found out a few things concerning the anatomy of the mystical creatures.

I’ll also explain what Vore did with the baby and who he was, why Roland got kicked out, and list some differences between the film and the book. Leave me a comment if you have any more questions.

What Does the Woman in Border Have?

From what I can gather from some troll information I discovered online, males have a bulge and a small nook . The females, however, have a small bulge and a big nook. If you are trying to guess what nooks and bulges are, the nook is a vagina. The bulge is the penis and both are similar to human organs except they look a little different.

What is a Hisitt?

Both male and female trolls can have babies. Tina (or Reva) didn’t think she could have babies but as a female, it is easy for her to have one. Because Vore was spitting out hisiits, once he and Reva did the deed, instead of a hisiit, he had an actual troll baby.

What Did Vore Do to the Baby in “Border”

The hiisit was produced by him as an unfertilized egg from the troll. Because it can be shaped into anything, Vore would mold the hiisit into the form of the baby he intended to swap it with. From there, he successfully stole a human baby from traffic. In the book, Vore takes a picture of Elisabet’s baby so he can go back and mold it. He justified this because his parents were locked up, experimented on, and killed. Reva’s parents and many other troll babies were taken away by humans and made to think they were human.

Vore’s purpose in life is to enact revenge upon humans. He points out that humans are creatures that don’t deserve what life has to offer. He teaches Reva a little about troll life and dietary habits and through Vore, Reva comes to life.

Roland’s Purpose in The Border Movie Explained

Reva’s lot in life was a sad and lonely one. In the novel, she does have friends but her looks are never able to get her a man to be interested. Roland was the first person she met who showed an interest in her but despite this, she was unable to close the deal because, well she is a troll. This is what makes up one aspect of the story as being one of the best love stories ever. It’s essentially troll love.

She believed that if she was unable to have sex then she would be unable to have children. The book talks about how Tina had considered having IVF and having a baby with Roland.

In the book, Tina explains that Roland was good company. She rented the room out originally so that she wasn’t alone. He became her companion but, despite her dislike of dogs, he started a kennel. Despite her hatred of television, he watched one religiously and, he was with other women frequently because she suggested her issues allowed him to. This should explain somewhat the extent of her anxiety when she throws him out. He wasn’t a bad person but he wasn’t exactly awesome to her either.

A Few Differences Between “ Gräns” the Novel and the “Border” 2018 Movie

In the book “Let the Old Dreams Die” (one of the best love story books), Tina drank often and this was her way of switching off her abilities. She liked to drink wine.
The ending is completely different in the novel, “Let the Old Dreams Die”.
Most of how Reva explains her emotions and actions are done through diary entries.
In the film, you could easily assume that Vore is gone and she is left again, by herself. Or you can assume she intended to leave her human life behind due to her feeding the baby a cricket. This is the letter from Vore to Reva before she leaves with him in the story:

Tina “I knocked on the door. You didn’t answer. Do you still feel the same? My job is selling children. If I had been a human being, I would have been evil. I don’t know how you judge. But the law would put me in prison for life. I’ve stopped now. I am carrying our child. A hiisit is an unfertilized egg. A child is a fertilized egg . It will grow up to become a creature like you me if all goes well. I am intending to give birth to it and let it grow up as it should. Perhaps in the Northern forests. I want you to be with me. I will come to Kapellskar on February 20″ Vore Quote from Border aka Gräns

When he arrives she leaves to go to him.

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Border (2018)

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Border Movie Review

Border is a 2018 Swedish fantasy film directed by Ali Abbasi and starring Eva Melander . It just might be the best film of the entire decade.

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“ You are not human “

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This is a miraculous movie. There is no other way to say it. It’s the kind of movie that any mention of its plot and even its genre is a spoiler so mark this review as a spoiler review. The plot is not like anything I have seen before. It is one of the most original films of all time and certainly the most authentic flick of the 2010s decade.

Let’s talk about it in more detail. It follows a woman with an extremely strong sense of smell. She can sniff out not only any smell from a short distance but also emotions. She works in the border agency where she helps the police arrest the smugglers. When one day a smuggler of child pornography comes in, they ask for her help to expose the entire child pornography/pedophile operation.

But that entire story is interconnected with the arrival of another very ugly, strange man similar to her. The two start a strong romantic relationship and develop a connection. She eventually learns the truth from him that she is not a human, but a troll. And most trolls were killed during the 70s so their number has dwindled down significantly.

Needless to say, the movie has two subplots in a way, but both of those are so perfectly connected with each other that I could not see them as subplots, but just one giant, meticulously crafted storyline. The child pornography one is dark, but it’s so tactfully done and becomes such a strong thriller.

However, the film is above all else a fantasy masterpiece. It’s a rare fantasy film which starts off entirely as a drama film and in that way it becomes rooted in reality in an admirable, maybe even groundbreaking manner. I could believe all of it which is a testament to how smart and realistic its execution is.

From the first moment, I realized I was watching something at least very different, if not special. But quickly I could see I was witnessing cinematic history being made (at least I hope that’s how it will turn out in the future) as the film is twisty and unpredictable and simply extraordinarily out there in terms of its plot that it becomes one of the most unique cinematic experiences that I have ever witnessed. Almost none of its plot points did I manage to predict and the fact that we got a highly original and also extremely unpredictable movie in 2018 just goes to show that authenticity can still happen and I am glad that I finally witnessed it.

Eva Melander’s performance in the main role is filled with a huge number of emotions that she truly deserves high praise, even with all that make-up on her. I don’t know how much VFX this movie used as it looks so amazing that not all of it could have been make-up. Eero Milonoff also gave a terrific performance and watching those two was truly a sight to behold as all of their scenes together are acting and emotional standouts in the film.

Tina’s father is a very problematic, but mostly sweet man and Roland is also important for the plot and Tina’s progression toward her acceptance of herself and her developing self-respect. But this is the film about Vore and Tina (or Reva which is her real name) and both are immensely complex, superbly developed characters. The twist with him is excellent and that conflict that arose was very thought-provoking and it ultimately showcased her wonderful sense of justice and her complex human upbringing which clashed with her troll biology in a fascinating manner.

The film showcases something that I always believed in – if there were more human species besides Homo Sapiens nowadays, there would either be serious violence or it would eventually lead to just one species as humans are incapable of respecting other races, let alone species. But the film is clever in that it showcased Vore’s horrible actions which come from the right place, but are nonetheless repulsive. Tina came to know about her and respect her, but she still remained a strongly moral, great person and I just really admired her character for that.

Border is also a fantastic technical achievement. Not only does it feature realistic looking creatures and I liked how we witnessed their sex, genitalia and all of those details which are usually graphic for me, but are here essential, but the movie also is beautifully scored with such wonderful beats in some scenes. It’s also gorgeously shot with that forest being absolutely arresting in its beauty. I loved that setting so much.

The dialogue is highly sophisticated here and the script is naturally one of the best kept secrets in the cinema world now. The film is amazingly written and in such meticulous detail reminiscent of a book, but it’s ultimately so hugely cinematic that it truly succeeds as a picture. The direction from Ali Abbasi is simply stupendous for such an unknown director and the pacing in the film is superb as it flies by how engaging it is and it’s gripping in quality as I was constantly awaiting for each of its impressively unique plot points to happen.

I also liked its humor and the tonal shifts are so well done. It’s also one of the most purely unforgettable movies ever made and the one that is a pure fantasy classic coming from a near-dead genre. It shifts genres from a wonderful mystery to a crime flick to a drama to eventually a fantasy and it’s amazing in all of those areas, but as a fantasy flick, it’s a masterpiece. It’s also very weird and gross, but in the best way possible.

Words cannot possibly describe the sheer greatness of the movie Border. I was shocked and almost speechless after witnessing this masterpiece of filmmaking and I knew instantly that I witnessed something truly special. The fact that this pure originality happened in 2018 needs to be fully respected as the movie is the most original and also entirely unpredictable movie of the decade. Almost none of its plot points can be predicted in any way as, yes, the film is that different and that unique. It’s a mix of genres in a way and all of those genres work splendidly, but it’s surely the best film of its genre in a long time. And yes, even mentioning its genre is a spoiler in itself. This is the rare movie that should be entirely kept in a shroud of secrecy as it’s that authentic and that special. The storytelling is intricate and one of a kind, the acting is absolutely amazing, the characters are superbly developed and the film is not only gripping from the first to the last moment, but also deep and it has something to say, as is evidenced by that beautiful, striking ending. Artistic, moving, complex, deep, raw, authentic, weird, epic, visionary and simply a future classic for the ages, Border is not just undoubtedly the best movie of 2018, but it just might be the greatest film of this entire decade.

My Rating – 5

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‘Borderlands’ Trailer: Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart Go Guns-Blazing in Video Game Adaptation

By Wilson Chapman

Wilson Chapman

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Cate Blanchett , Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Hart are getting into some vicious shootouts in the first trailer for “ Borderlands ,” the long-delayed video game adaptation from Lionsgate that’s finally coming to theaters on Aug. 9.

The large ensemble cast will also include Haley Bennett, Gina Gershon, Cheyenne Jackson, Steven Boyer, Charles Babalola, Olivier Richters, Janina Gavankar, Benjamin Byron Davis, Ryann Redmond and Bobby Lee. Penn Jillette, famous as one half of magician duo Pen and Teller and a voice actor from “Borderlands 3,” will also have a cameo appearance in the film.

A “Borderlands” film adaptation has been in the works since 2015, with Lionsgate developing the project and Arad Productions producing. Active development started in 2020 when Eli Roth (“Hostel,” “Fin”) became attached to direct the film. The film shot in Hungary from April to June 2021. Ari Arad and Avi Arad produce through Arad Productions, while Erik Feig produces through Picturestart.

Published by 2K Games, the “Borderlands” franchise began in 2009 and has since expanded with several sequels, prequels and spinoffs. Well received critically for its gameplay, visual style and sense of humor, the franchise has sold over 60 million copies and generated over $1 billion in total revenues for developer Gearbox.

Watch the trailer below.

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors.

Netflix’s new comedic thriller “Bodkin” opens with the show’s protagonist, Gilbert Power ( Will Forte ), stating, “When I started this podcast, I didn't expect to solve anything. I didn't expect it to change my life.” It sets up the characters' preoccupations well, and also exposes the main problem with the genre their fictional series is embedded in. The series follows American true crime podcast host Gilbert and his researcher Emmy ( Robyn Cara ), who team up with journalist Dove ( Siobhán Cullen ) to uncover the mysterious disappearances that plagued the Irish town of Bodkin decades prior.

As these amateur detectives continue to dig deeper for answers, they garner the attention of the town's various inhabitants. Some are fans of the show, while others are more than hostile to the new visitors. Despite this, Gilbert and Emmy are determined to get another hit on their hands, while Dove becomes entwined with the mystery and will stop at nothing to expose their identity. The three of them start off on the wrong foot, but as the series unfolds, they grow to care for one another, and surprisingly, their different methods of interviewing and interrogating work in the group's favor.

From the first glares the trio receives, it’s clear that Bodkin and its community are hiding some big secrets. On their first few days in the town, this causes a malicious hit-and-run (thankfully, it doesn’t end in death) and their driver’s car to be set on fire. The town’s charming scenery, which often catches Gilbert off guard, covers up a woven bed of secrets that each member of the community wants to keep hidden. This is the main point of contention in the series and works well to showcase the failings of the true crime genre.

The series, in its first few episodes, is about the repercussions that come with telling a story about a place you’re not originally from and a place whose people don’t trust outsiders. Whether it be a podcast or a documentary, the relationship that listeners or viewers have with the media they consume is one filled with discord. Right off the bat, Gilbert says to Emmy that “the best stories are always mysteries,” showing us that he himself doesn’t understand that the stories he’s telling belong to real people. Dove on the other hand aptly compares true crime podcasts to “public hangings” putting her and Gilbert and Emmy on opposite sides of the play field.

As the series further unfolds, the themes it was attempting to juggle aren’t necessarily gone from “Bodkin’s” inner workings. Still, they do take a backseat compared to the actual mystery at hand. However, with episode 4, the show begins to give a voice to the supporting characters, giving a voice to the people whom the trio of protagonists unknowingly exploit. The most interesting here is undoubtedly Seamus (David Wilmont), one of the town's most illusive, and powerful members. While Dove is convinced that he is responsible for the disappearances of the three people who went missing during the Samhain festival, Gilbert isn’t so convinced.

In an attempt to get more information from the man, Gilbert spends the better part of episodes 4 and 5 with Seamus. In their time together, it becomes apparent to Gilbert and us that there’s more to him than meets the eye. The growing relationship between the two is almost heartwarming – if such a word can exist in a black comedy like this – and the chemistry between Forte and Wilmot is electric. As they drive around to settle a debt Gilbert has with a bar patron, the two confide in each other about their romantic and life failings. As their relationship becomes more sincere, Gilbert becomes increasingly desperate for Seamus not to be the evil man Dove is convinced he is. It’s the best relationship in a series that hinges on brief or extended conversations and truly allows the show's writing and acting to shine.

Ultimately, “Bodkin” succeeds in a landscape of thrillers and true crime expansions. It expertly crafts a riveting mystery but also fleshes out its central – and supporting – characters. A series like this hinges on the chemistry of the show’s cast, and thankfully, each and every player gives it their all. Dove’s determination and coyness mix well with Gilbert and Emmy’s sweet disposition and, in turn, allow the Americans to become detectives in their own right. The difference in how they not only see the world but see their professions allows them to crack the case wide open and expose that this cold case might not even be lukewarm.

Instead, the case at hand is a simmering beast waiting to be exposed, lying dormant beneath the soil of Bodkin for decades. It’s been waiting to be unearthed, and with the work of Dove, Gilbert, and Emmy, it soon will be. Each secret is mentioned by a passerby fleetingly, though the biggest ones stay hidden between the tight-lipped mouths of the show's most important players. The story never overstays its welcome and instead unfolds into one of the most entertaining shows of the year. Underneath it all is a warning that perhaps some things don’t need to be uncovered, and perhaps they’re left better off dead.

All episodes were screened for review. On Netflix now.

Kaiya Shunyata

Kaiya Shunyata is a freelance pop culture writer and academic based in Canada. They have written for RogerEbert.com, Xtra, Okayplayer, The Daily Beast, AltPress and more.

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Why Britain Keeps Giving Classic Movies New Ratings

As the attitudes of moviegoers evolve, so do the guidelines of the ratings board, which has reclassified dozens of films including “Mary Poppins” and “Rocky.”

In a movie screenshot, a woman wearing a black dress and white gloves floats among the clouds while holding an umbrella in her right hand and a large bag in her left.

By Christopher Kuo

The British Board of Film Classification has been busy.

Last year, the group rerated more than 30 older films to meet contemporary standards. In February, it gave a stricter rating to “Mary Poppins” because of racial slurs. And last week, it began using an updated set of guidelines after surveying thousands of British moviegoers to gauge shifting public attitudes.

Based on that survey, the new guidelines acknowledge that audiences have grown more lenient about depictions of cannabis use but are more concerned about intense violence and, for younger viewers, bad language.

“We follow what people tell us, and we update our standards as societal attitudes change,” said David Austin, the board’s chief executive.

When distributors rerelease movies in theaters, on streaming services or on DVD, they may be required to resubmit the films to the ratings board. Many voluntarily choose to do so, Austin said, in hopes of receiving a lower rating or to ensure that the rating matches the content. What was once considered acceptable onscreen may no longer be.

Under the newest guidelines, the board said, both the 2018 Transformers movie, “Bumblebee,” and the 1963 James Bond classic, “From Russia With Love,” would be rated 12A instead of PG if they were resubmitted for updated ratings.

(The ratings for theatrical releases are U, for universal; PG, for parental guidance; 12A, 15 and 18, for certain age restrictions; and R18, for pornographic content.)

A distributor is legally required to ask for a new rating when it rereleases a movie that was classified before the introduction of the modern ratings in 1982. The B.B.F.C. said that about half of the theatrical releases it rerated in the past two years were mandatory submissions.

“Rocky,” which was released in the United States in 1976 and in Britain the following year, received a 12A rating for its 2020 theatrical rerelease because of moderate violence, mouthed strong language and domestic abuse. “Enter the Dragon,” a 1973 film starring Bruce Lee, went from an outdated X rating to 15 as attitudes evolved regarding the weapons and violence depicted in martial arts movies.

Although older films are regularly reclassified in Britain, similar changes rarely happen in the United States, where studios do not have to submit their films for reclassification, even if the films were rated before 1984, the year that PG-13 was introduced.

The American ratings group, the Classification and Ratings Administration, does not have a systematic process for updating the guidelines for its ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17). It provided one example of a film that it rerated: In 2010, a singalong version of “Grease” was rated PG-13, instead of its original PG in 1978.

The group is a division of the Motion Picture Association, a trade organization representing major Hollywood studios. Its board is made up of parents who have school-age children, a CARA spokeswoman said.

CARA conducts regular surveys with American parents to gauge attitudes about violence, nudity and other content in films, and the board uses that feedback when it rates movies, according to an M.P.A. spokesman. The results from the most recent survey , which were released in April 2023, show that parents are most concerned about graphic sexual content, nudity, sexual assault, suicide, use of hard drugs and racial slurs in movies that children might see.

Movie studios in the United States prefer to self-regulate their films, said Kevin Sandler, an associate professor in the film and media studies program at Arizona State University and the author of a book about Hollywood film ratings .

“When there’s some kind of controversy that’s brewing and push comes to shove, they’ll change it,” Sandler said.

Last year, viewers of “The French Connection” on Apple TV+ and Amazon noticed that a scene with a racial slur for Black people had been quietly excised . On Disney’s streaming platform, the company has added warnings about “negative depictions” and “mistreatment of people or cultures” to classic animated films like “Dumbo” and “Peter Pan.”

The British Board of Film Classification, which consists of business leaders, former journalists, a former lawmaker and a social worker, is nongovernmental and a nonprofit, according to its website. But the government does designate the board’s leadership with the power to classify video releases.

Its classifications can have a significant effect on which movies British parents allow their children to see, said Julian Petley, a professor at Brunel University London and one of the principal editors of The Journal of British Cinema and Television.

“They have a massive public consultation process,” Petley said. “They’re not just guessing at what people think or reading off newspapers.”

In recent years, the board reconsidered “Watership Down” (1978), which went from U to PG because of mild violence, bloody images and language, and “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), which changed from PG to 12A for its fantasy violence. “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), originally rated U, received a PG rating for several violent scenes, including one in which Luke Skywalker’s hand is severed.

Christopher Kuo covers arts and culture as a member of the 2023-24 Times Fellowship class. More about Christopher Kuo

Border (I) (1997)

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