Gräns is a Swedish fantasy film released in New Zealand under the name Border. At its core, the film is a crime drama with a heavy dose of romance and a supernatural twist to it.
The film follows Tina, a customs officer who has extraordinary senses when it comes to finding those that are smuggling things. But she comes across someone different that she can't figure out.
The protagonist of the film comes in the form of Eva Melander, who gained 18 kilos to better fit the look of the role, and sat through four hours of prosthetic applications every morning of shooting, to give her the neanderthal/cro-magnon features her character Tina required.
From a visual and atmospheric standpoint, the film is stunning. With a premise that follows somebody that is "different" as she tries to fit in in the real world, Border is full of beautifully shot scenes of Tina escaping the human world and delving into her more natural side. Long wistful stares, running hands through the dirt, swimming naked in a lake, much of the movie aims to convey feelings through actions and mannerisms, without the need for dialogue.
Despite the primitive, apathetic look that Tina carries for much of the film, there is an amazing spectrum of emotion that she is still able to convey through the layers of prosthetics and even manages to input a fair amount of comedic elements into the film; though they are a little hit-and-miss.
Border shows Tina's development as she learns the truth about her differences, as well as the similarities she has with the people she lives among. With seeds of hatred, injustices, and retribution in the air, the film thematically makes a good metaphor for minority prejudices and blind nationalism.
While I loved the nature scenes and how well it portrays that grounded sense of wonder, the film overall felt a little unbalanced. The crime story arc--which feeds and counters the romance arc--felt undeveloped, and as such, everything that connected to that crime arc was weakened by it.
The film had a consistent, measured pace, and a strong score, but the overall plot failed to reach any height that could fully engage my interest. The meandering story took so long to get to the climax, and then runs through it so quickly that there was no real tension or suspense, and the drama never really had a chance to feel legit. The romance arc was the done exceptionally well, but all other areas don't get he same effort.
Not horrible, not great. An intriguing idea, but it definitely took the safe route, and a balance between the plot and tranquil contemplative moments was not there. Ultimately, Border is a film that I will have forgotten all but the aesthetics in as little as a few days.