Tuesday 19 March 2019

Border (5 Stars)


"Love between the ugly is the most beautiful love of all".

That's a quote from a song by Todd Rundgren, written in 1973. I couldn't get it out of my head after watching this film. It's true. Customs officer Tina and the mystery man Vore both look ugly, according to the usual aesthetic standards, but they fall in love at first sight.

I went to see the film while I was on holiday in Birmingham, accompanied by six members of the Birmingham Film Group. I told them it was good, praising it as ecstatically as I could without giving away any spoilers. When we walked out they all agreed with me. On the surface it might seem like a horror story, but it's really a magical fairy tale with a love story at its core.

Usually I groan when a film poster says something like "Made by the producers of <fill-in-the-blank>". In this case the reference to the screenwriter of "Let the right one in", John Ajvide Lindqvist, is fully appropriate. The similarities in the themes are unmistakable. Saying any more would give the story away.

I realise I've written very little about the film. I don't think it would be fair to say more. All I want is to recommend the film as something everyone should see, whatever your taste in films.

I wrote this review on March 21st, but I backdated the post to the day I watched the film.

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