Sren Kragh-Jacobsen's MIFUNE (MIFUNES SIDSTE SANG) is a Dogma 95 film -- you know the drill, no artificial lights, props, music, etc -- that feels like a documentary about a family about whom you couldn't care less.
Kresten (Anders W. Berthelsen) has a secret -- he's a closet redneck. Newly wed, he has never told his bride (Sofie Grbl) of his farming background, so she's shocked when he tells her that his father has died on the family farm in a remote area of Denmark. She thought he was long since dead. She's equally surprised when Kresten tells her that he has a brother who's an "idiot."
Leaving his wife behind, Kresten goes back to the ruined family farm. Once there, he finds his father's decaying corpse on the dining room table. Under the table playing is his mentally incompetent brother, known locally as Rud the Nut (Jesper Asholt). Like a 200 pound toddler going through the terrible twos, Rud isn't an easy man to care for.
Into their lives comes a prostitute, Liva (Iben Hjejle), wanting a career change. She has been getting a series of obscene phone calls, so she responds to Kresten's ad for a housekeeper in order to get away. Hjejle has a tenderness which makes some of her scenes almost watchable, something that can't be said of most of the rest of the picture, which drags on and on. The characters' squabbles and tribulations are rarely compelling.
In a film in which minutes seem like hours, the proof of its lack of interest comes in a tragic scene near the end. When the director tries to manipulate our emotions by making it appear that one of the characters has died, the reaction is relief, not sympathy. We mistakenly believe that the movie has finally ended, but then it goes on for another half of an hour. But, then again, maybe it wasn't that long. One's notion of time gets distorted watching MIFUNE
MIFUNE runs 1:39. The film is in Danish with English subtitles. It is rated R for strong sexuality and language and for some violence. It would be acceptable for older teenagers.
