2000 ‘Når nettene blir lange’ Directed by Mona J. Hoel
The entire extended family is happily on its way to a nostalgic Christmas at a rented cabin in the mountains. The cabin becomes cramped, however, when mom and dad and four grown-up children with their respective families, a dog and in-laws from Poland squeeze inside the frozen cabin walls in 30-below-zero weather.
Kiedy noce robią się długie, Когда ночи длинны, 木屋狂热, Wenn die Nächte lang werden
Norway15
Norway
A Norwegian entry into the Dogme 95 class of filmmaking. It is particularly dogmatic about those principles too, embodying their strengths and weaknesses, as a clear outline. The frantic and human camera is shaky and unsteady, it feels connected to the Director. It also feels nearly impossible to connect to anything in the frame. That is not to say the agreements of the manifesto have decided all of the plus and minuses of Cabin Fever. It has a signature coldness, locked inside this Christmas Cabin, a family retreat into misery, but also the necessity of togetherness. It’s on the verge of developing some very interesting ideas. It is at the cross-section, of appealing and appalling realism.
The first and only certified Dogme 95-film made in Norway. This makes good use of the manifesto rules, and stands as a testament that they were onto something: it's about purity. The (ugly) handheld mini-DV camcorder aesthetic hurls you into the middle of the drama, emphasizing the claustrophobia of the setting and really highlights the acting. Director Mona J. Hoel's achievement reminds me more of the early works of Cassavetes, than the style of the other Dogme films by Von Trier, Vinterberg et al.
Svein Scharffenberg's performance as the paterfamilias with a severe drinking problem stands out as one of the strongest in Norwegian cinema. It's a very sad character, also because men like that are everywhere, I've known a…
Dette er en så rå, hysterisk, relaterbar og aggressiv skildring av julas skyggesider. Elsket denne filmen fra før av men den ble hevet av å se den i cinemateket og av praten med regissør Mona Hoel. For en film og for en dame!!!
The rawness of Dogme films is an attractive feature for me, I think, based on the two I've seen (or the two I know to be Dogme). This film felt like A Christmas Tale as done as a Dogme film, which is a pretty damned good formula. The sordid family drama that unfolds here is nicely built to and the setting is distinctly cold and bitter, which is a nice reflection of what is going on inside the cramped, awkward cabin.
Beste og mest ubehagelige æ har sett på leng. Elske rett og slett slike filma, som e ubehagelig hele tida, mens man bare vente på at det ska bli enda jævliger. Helt nydelig bruk av mørk humor i skildringa av en høyt dysfunksjonell familie. Det nedstrippa dogmepreget gjør etter min mening tematikken og handlinga mer ektefølt og troverdig. Kan samtidig også forstå regissørens opplevelse av at det å lag filmen her føltes frigjørende. Takk til Psykolosjen Filmklubb som skape så fine filmopplevelsa 🫶❤️
You can't spell Christmas without dysfunctional
Cabin Fever is such a fantastic Dogme film and probably the most realistic depiction of what a family Christmas is really like, I could relate so much to this film, every year my family Christmas is nothing but shouting and there is always that one drunk asshole that ruins it for everyone else.
The cast were all brilliant and at times made me feel like I wasn't watching a film and was instead watching a family Christmas video which only helped to make the film feel that much more real and enjoyable. I also loved the Isolated Cabin setting which forces the family to deal with each other instead of being ale to run…
No, no, not the Cabin Fever that infects its characters with a severe case of psoriasis. This is not an American horror, but rather a Sandanavian form of high family drama. Shot through grainy photography, and building up an almighty family conflict (I was reminded of Rachel Getting Married) at Christmas time, this Cabin Fever gradually puts you on edge as you watch the secrets and lies and repressed thoughts unravel. Although the final sequences take the foot off the gas way to soon after the naturalistic tension it has built, this proves to be a worthy Christmas drama peeling the layers of family values.
