Days Like This

Leva Livet is in my top 10 all time favourite films. It seduced me, intrigued me and beguiled me with intertwining charming stories which made me laugh so hard it hurt and then touched me so deeply I cried for half an hour after the credits rolled. The writing is affectionate, funny and winning, the acting superb and the direction masterful. A wonderful film with a message of love that everyone should see. Criminally the DVD and video of the film released so far do not have English subtitles - so you need to catch this at an independent cinema or brush up on your Swedish. (Leva Livet gave Fares Fares one of his first big film roles - he has gone on to star in many fine Swedish and English language productions. However, it is the older members of the cast who particularly shine in this film.)

Where a danish film as "Italian for beginners" makes small people and their lives interesting "Leva Livet" (Live life) does not. We do not know why we follow these characters or what their motivation/ goal is. We are thrown from one couple to the next. The end is an awful steal from "The Usual Suspects" but without the impact. It actually took me 10 min after leaving the cinema before I even understood what the director had attempted to do. The main character who is an old fat vacuum cleaner salesman is the only character that I liked.