re:mote voices

Title: A Hole In My Heart [Ett Hål I Mitt Hjärta]
Cast: Björn Almroth, Sanna Bråding, Thorsten Flinck, Goran Marjanovic
Director: Lukas Moodysson

How on earth do you explain A Hole In My Heart? Not satisfied with the effect of Lilja 4-Ever on the viewing public, Lukas Moodysson returns with A Hole In My Heart, a firm example of cinema as assault. Something which it achieves on every level - content, narrative structure, and sound.

Plot wise A Hole In My Heart is set within the confines of one flat, and features 4 characters. A teenage boy sits in the dark, listens to experimental music, and doesn’t go out much. Which is cause for concern to his father, who has raised him alone since the age of four. Of course most other summaries will dwell on the fact the father is a pornographer, and the other two characters are the stars of his latest homemade porn films.

A Hole In My Heart is a traumatic experience, filled with the degrading lifestyle of it’s characters, mixed in with random blasts of footage of genital surgery, sex scenes, and simulated sex scenes. Which is why the film will no doubt see many people walking out from screenings - certainly there were more people walked out of the screening that I attended than made it the whole way through; though given how many of them walked in late, one wonders if they knew what they were getting into in the first place.

Despite all the jump cuts, gore footage, and extremes of A Hole In My Heart there is more to it than shock tactics. Thematically there is a certain connection with Lilja 4-Ever, the ideas of sex and exploitation. With at least one scene where the audience is faced with the question of whether something really bad is about to happen - the aftermath of which almost mirrors a portion of Lilja 4-Ever.

Through all this we are also given insight into the lives of the four characters. The tragedies, the abuses, the false hopes and dreams that have made them who they are, that have brought them to this flat at this time. Mentions of big brother, and aspirations for fame. Dreams of UFO’s and whole other lives. The strange existence of a former Swedish metal star, who supported American rock bands like Hanoi Rocks and Motley Crue.

A Hole In My Heart is baffling and intense. The sort of the film that leaves you thinking afterwards. The sort of film that leaves you wondering whether you really wanted to see it, and what the chances are that you will ever want to see it again. On the other hand, it challenges the viewer and as you reflect on it you start to piece together the kind of techniques and narratives that make Moodysson such a renowned and acclaimed director. Again he gets strong performances from his cast, and what there is to be gained from watching A Hole In My Heart comes from their presence. With each film Moodyson creates a greater stir and trumps fellow Scandinavian directors like Lars von Trier with the sheer intensity and controversy of something like A Hole In My Heart. Still it isn’t the kind of film that I would suggest as a starting point for his work - material like Fucking Amal (aka Show Me Love) or Lilja 4-Ever being the must see films by the Swedish director Lukas Moodysson.

Lukas Moodysson - The Guardian's interview with the director to coincide with the UK release of A Hole In My Heart.