Day 351: The Salvation (February,

The Salvation is a really cool movie. A Danish Western with Mads Mikkelsen and Eva Green wouldn't be different. As it is usual with Nordic filmmakers, there's no compromising here - except for a little one at the end. So add up an unforgivable time to a strong view and you can imagine what the outcome is.

The cinematography is stunning. Simply breathtaking. The clichéd soundtrack stands in the way a bit, but obliterates the poetic beauty of each takes. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is stereotyped either - what about that red trench coach? But, again, nothing that can compromise the rest of this very decent Western.

I thought about High Noon (1952) and all the cowardice of that small town. Another reference for me is Blindness (2008) and the reason why bullies are taken so seriously and are given so much power of a majority. Of course, there was Unforgiven (1992), the beautiful Western by Cling Eastwood. At last, the final scene (a subtle reference to what would come ahead for that place and those people), I though about There Will be Blood (2007). Too many thoughts while the final credits rolled down in front of me.

Rodrigo had told me about this movie a couple of months ago. Although he had liked it alot, he was disappointed by the end. I don't know, I was expecting exactly that, actually. Since the beginning, I couldn't see another way (even before some of the characters were presented). I'm not sure if it is an aspect in favor or contrary to the story, though.

The Salvation. Directed by Kristian Levring. Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Eva
Green, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Eric Cantona (From Looking from Eric, in a
hideous role). Writers: Anders Thomas Jensen, Kristian Levring. Denmark/
UK/South Africa/Sweden/Belgium, 92 min., Color (DVD).

PS: Anders Thomas Jensen wrote two movies that I absolutly love: After the Wedding (2006) and In a Better World (2010). Jensen also wrote and directed Adam's Apples (2005), another great Nordic movie.