Mammoth (Lukas Moodysson, 2008)

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#1 Post by **domino harvey** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 5:04 am

Moodysson's next film: Mammoth

2007-06-02 12:05:40

Lukas Moodysson's next film, titled Mammoth, will be a major international co-production in English language. Shooting starts in October, so it's likely to appear in cinemas around the world autumn 2008, and on DVD spring 2009.

With a budget of 70 million SEK (approx. 10 million USD) it's his biggest so far, and even though this is not much compared to Hollywood standard it's almost four times the size of a regular Swedish film (and seven times to cost of his first feature film Fucking Ã…mÃ¥l).

As usual the film will be produced by Lars Jönsson's Memfis Film, in co-production with Zentropa's Danish and new German production entities. Other co-financiers include Film i Väst, SVT, TV2 Denmark, the Swedish and Danish film institutes. Nordisk Film & TV Fund is also attached to the film.

Mammoth revolves around the successful New York couple Tom and Ellen, their eight-year old daughter and their Filipino nanny Gloria. On a business trip to Thailand, Tom realises that he wants to change his life...

In a press release from Memfis Film quoted in numerous articles it's stated that this will not be another art project like his previous two films "Ett hÃ¥l i mitt hjärta" and "Container", but a much more accessible film. Lukas Moodysson states that compared to his earlier works it will be closest "Tillsammans" and "Lilja 4-ever".

via showmelove.org

rs98762001 · #2 Post by **rs98762001** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 5:56 pm

As a fan of everything Moodysson has made (including the misunderstood and highly underrated A HOLE IN MY HEART) I am greatly looking forward to this. But one thing in the press release seems a bit odd: it's closer to both TOGETHER and LILJA 4-EVER? They may share Moodysson's usual humanism, but those are extremely different movies...

#3 Post by **domino harvey** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 6:06 pm

I was confused by that comparison as well, but it's Moodysson's own and he's nothing if not obtuse. I for one am glad he's steering himself back towards the spirit of his earlier films, I thought the film world had lost him forever to self-indulgence, but maybe it was just something he needed to work out of his system. I hated A Hole in the Heart and while Container was passable, for either of these films to come from the same genius who was responsible for Fucking Ã…mÃ¥l and Lilja 4-Ever was just inexcusable.

patrick · #4 Post by **patrick** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 6:27 pm

I'm looking forward to this, although I haven't seen A Hole In The Heart or Container. Tillsammans is a personal favorite of mine, and I can think of very few movies that have hit me as hard as Lilja 4-Ever (I was seriously depressed for weeks after seeing it).

Nothing · #5 Post by **Nothing** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:57 pm

Moodysson's okay. Lilya-4-Ever is good.

So... Anyone know if he is he actually shooting some/all of this thing in Thailand? Controls on content are getting stricter under the military government and he's going to be pretty high profile on US$10m...

#6 Post by **Matt** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:53 pm

In a press release from Memfis Film quoted in numerous articles it's stated that this will not be another art project like his previous two films "Ett hÃ¥l i mitt hjärta" and "Container", but a much more accessible film. Lukas Moodysson states that compared to his earlier works it will be closest "Tillsammans" and "Lilja 4-ever".

Thank Christ. I was about to give up on him.

Lino · #7 Post by **Lino** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:12 pm

I'm glad too he's over that "I'm a deep artist" phase. Now that he's proven that, he can go back to some good old-fashioned storytelling, a thing he has always had a knack and a talent for in the first place. And this new one sounds like quite the treat.

#8 Post by **domino harvey** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:21 am

I know very little Swedish but Gael Garcia Bernal has been confirmed as the lead.

#9 Post by **domino harvey** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 2:59 am

Just when things couldn't get any more exciting, My Avatar joins the cast! =D>

#10 Post by **domino harvey** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 9:02 pm

First still from the film popped up in today's NYT article about Williams:

Antoine Doinel · #11 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 1:43 am

Happy Thanksgiving Domino. Here's the trailer.

#12 Post by **domino harvey** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 2:47 am

I knew I won that wishbone half for a reason! Well, that stilted dialog delivery of the actors really worries me, but visually it looks fantastic. Maybe the talking scenes will seem more natural within the film

Nothing · #13 Post by **Nothing** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:02 am

Oh dear, Moodysson channeling Innaritu, right down to the overbearing, self-important soundtrack... No wonder this has been sitting on the shelf for so long.

#14 Post by **domino harvey** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:34 am

Nothing wrote: No wonder this has been sitting on the shelf for so long.

They were still filming when Ledger died, so it hasn't exactly been gathering dust

Nothing · #15 Post by **Nothing** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:55 am

Re-shoots, perhaps? This was supposed to be in Venice '08, according to the Danes at the beginning of the year (not according to Marco Mueller, it seems).

Alyosha · #16 Post by **Alyosha** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:03 pm

I saw this tonight and even though my expectations were high, I really liked it. Only Moodysson can create characters that I care about this much. I guess some people will say he is overly obvious in what he is trying to say, but I guess that was the case with his previous films as well - Fucking Åmål, Tillsammans and Lilya, all favourite films of mine. Fans of Moodysson will not be disappointed.

rs98762001 · #17 Post by **rs98762001** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 2:12 am

Alyosha wrote:I saw this tonight and even though my expectations were high, I really liked it. Only Moodysson can create characters that I care about this much. I guess some people will say he is overly obvious in what he is trying to say, but I guess that was the case with his previous films as well - Fucking Åmål, Tillsammans and Lilya, all favourite films of mine. Fans of Moodysson will not be disappointed.

I am guessing, then, that the fears of Babel Redux are unfounded?

I disagree with you, though, that either Fucking Amal or Tillsammans were obvious. I thought they were extremely subtle and delicate. Moodysson's heavy-handedness seemed to set in with Lilya, and has been a constant ever since (and I say that as a great fan of his work, including even A Hole In My Heart, which I still think is unfairly maligned).

Alyosha · #18 Post by **Alyosha** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:12 am

rs98762001 wrote:I am guessing, then, that the fears of Babel Redux are unfounded?

Well, I can see why people have made the comparison. But only superficially, like when different stories are told from different places of the earth. I'm not sure that I personally would have made that connection though, if I hadn't heard it earlier. However, personally I like this a lot more than Babel.

rs98762001 wrote:I disagree with you, though, that either Fucking Amal or Tillsammans were obvious. I thought they were extremely subtle and delicate.

Well, I agree with you totally when it comes to the characters and most other aspects of the film. That the storys or purpose of storys might feel a bit obvious for me is not a bad thing though. Maybe it's because I'm Swedish as well and that the subjects feel so close - or maybe I _think_ I know his purposes more than I actually do due to this fact.

In any case, this is not an issue for me at all due to his complete sincerity as a film maker. He makes very honest films. I don't have to feel manipulated and it's so relieving to see films these days that lacks irony. Much like one of the actors of Mammoths own films: Thomas McCarthy.

#19 Post by **Jeff** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 8:50 pm

[i]indieWIRE[/i] wrote:It’s rare to hear journalists and critics vocally turn against a film at the Berlin International Film Festival. Catcalls and hisses, while more common in Cannes, are actually rather rare on the international festival circuit. So, it came as a bit of a surprise to hear a loud “boo,” then whistles, followed by tepid applause and another “boo” this afternoon at the end of Lukas Moodysson’s “Mammoth.” After the showing, the debate began and filmmaker Moodysson admitted that he’s been surprised by audience reactions to his new movie.

more...

Nothing · #20 Post by **Nothing** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:14 am

Oh well, they like it on the imdb =D>

#21 Post by **domino harvey** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:28 pm

Sounds like this is going to have trouble finding an American distributor. Those who've seen it, is it all in English or are there moments in a foreign tongue? Because it seems like importing the DVD from Sweden whenever it comes out is going to get it here faster

Alyosha · #22 Post by **Alyosha** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:12 pm

domino harvey wrote:Sounds like this is going to have trouble finding an American distributor. Those who've seen it, is it all in English or are there moments in a foreign tongue? Because it seems like importing the DVD from Sweden whenever it comes out is going to get it here faster

There are moments in both Filipino and Thai as well.

Len · #23 Post by **Len** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:33 am

Saw this yesterday and I was absolutely stunned. It's not subtle, but it's not trying to be. The characters are real and that's what counts.

The resemblances to Babel are (thankfully) few and this is Moodysson all the way. As Alyosha said, there's an sincerity (in this and in Moodysson's work in general) that I feel is pretty rare in films these days.

That seems to be most evident with the acting here, as that's really the standout of this film. A tremendous cast is given the room and time (wonderful, lingering shots of faces) to create their characters. Michelle Williams is definitely one of the finest actors of her generation, and yet with no other film before have I been this much in awe by her performance. Such restraint and intensity.

One of the finest scenes that I've seen in a while: Gael's character Leo is riding in a taxi on a small island in thailand. He sees a glance of an elephant as they're driving along, so he asks the driver to stop and reverse. He gets out of the car, in obvious awe of the animal. They stare at each other for awhile. Then the camera pans downwards and it's revealed that the elephant is chained to a nearby tree. Not subtle, but a great, powerful scene.

I love this film.
---
As a Finn, I must admit being somewhat jealous of how well swedish cinema is doing these days. Last year, my two favorite films were swedish (Darling and Let the right one in) and already now I'm pretty sure nothing will top this one this year. Swedes got Moodysson, Andersson, Kling, Alfredsson and prolly a whole lot more, and they've given support to do interesting projects. Our film industry is by comparison just completely fucked up to a point where it's a small wonder anyone is able to make films here.

Nothing · #24 Post by **Nothing** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:56 am

Len wrote:One of the finest scenes that I've seen in a while: Gael's character Leo is riding in a taxi on a small island in thailand. He sees a glance of an elephant as they're driving along, so he asks the driver to stop and reverse. He gets out of the car, in obvious awe of the animal. They stare at each other for awhile. Then the camera pans downwards and it's revealed that the elephant is chained to a nearby tree. Not subtle, but a great, powerful scene.

Oh dear, that sounds like the most hackneyed load of codswallop ever. How about Moodysson says something interesting about Thailand instead but - oh hang on, he doesn't know the first thing about the country.

Most unanticipated film of the year.

ryan11 · #25 Post by **ryan11** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:59 am

Nothing wrote:
Len wrote:One of the finest scenes that I've seen in a while: Gael's character Leo is riding in a taxi on a small island in thailand. He sees a glance of an elephant as they're driving along, so he asks the driver to stop and reverse. He gets out of the car, in obvious awe of the animal. They stare at each other for awhile. Then the camera pans downwards and it's revealed that the elephant is chained to a nearby tree. Not subtle, but a great, powerful scene.
Oh dear, that sounds like the most hackneyed load of codswallop ever. How about Moodysson says something interesting about Thailand instead but - oh hang on, he doesn't know the first thing about the country.

Most unanticipated film of the year.

At last! A filmmaker brave enough to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

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