Vikaren (2007) Reviews

• Our story ends with a kiss.

  lastliberal2009-04-25

  One might be ready to believe a film about Middle School children to be a Ghost House movie. But, this isn't about Middle School children, it is about the substitute teacher in the 6th grade class. The students know right away that something isn't right, but it isn't until later that they discover just what is wrong. Of course, their parents don't believe them, and it is up to the kids, one in particular, Carl (Jonas Wandschneider), to save the others. Of course, Carl is the least likely student to save the day as he lost his mother in a car accident and has not gotten past it. The film has first rate acting by Paprika Steen as the substitute teacher, outstanding cinematography, lots of black humor, a slam on psychology and parents who don't trust in their children, and some really fascinating special effects. I am really impressed with Ole Bornedal, who wrote and directed this film and look forward to his new films.

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• "Say goodbye to your last day on earth."

  demonictaco2007-06-17

  When I first saw the trailer for this film, I knew it was something I had to watch. I can't remember any Danish sci-fi movies off the top of my head, and I knew that a director like Bornedal would never just tack on such a genre for no reason. It also seemed wonderfully crazy, and Danish black humour does work very well on film. When you actually go see the film, you realise that the fantastic elements of the story are only cosmetic, and that the film isn't about aliens with strange powers, but rather about what our society is changing into. The film's acting is spot on; the kids have been cast very well, their characters seeming genuine. The main character, Carl, is particularly well portrayed, and his emotions all seem perfectly sincere and authentic. You can't put a finger on the acting of any of the supporting roles either; Ulrich Thomsen does a very effective father, and Ulf Pilgaard seems delightfully mechanical in his portrayal of the "education minister". But in the end, with all due respect to all the other actors, Paprika Steen really outshines everyone else. She is frighteningly effective in her role as Ulla Harms, the Substitute. Constantly condescending towards the students in an effort to turn them into the best children possible, so they can compete in Paris with other students from various parts of Europe, Ulla Harms is a fantastic villain. The way she doesn't show any remorse at all towards the students she insults, the way she'll stop at nothing in her quest to discover what love is (which she, of course, tries to do in totally psychopathic manner). One of the few flaws the movie has is that it doesn't really flesh out certain characters who, while not actually very important to the plot, still get a lot of screen time and thus should be made more clear than they were. This makes some of the characters seem a bit shallow. The important characters are dealt with as they should, though, so it's not a very big problem. Another thing I can complain about is the ending. The final scene starts out very calmly, with a bit of narration from what I think is Ole Bornedal himself, and then suddenly explodes into a loud and very energetic series of credits. It didn't really fit in, and it seemed fairly pointless. All in all, the Substitute is a very entertaining movie; part social commentary, part black comedy, part horror. With stunning performances by virtually all the actors and a very effective script, the Substitute delivered everything I thought it would and much, much more. I can recommend it to all fans of Danish film-making.

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• A smart kid sci-fi

  siderite2009-07-26

  If this would have been an American movie, the monster would have been silly, the parents understandable in their gullibility and the kids more concerned with their social standing. Also, anything scary would have probably been removed and the film would have been a Disney production. Well, they do things differently in Denmark, so they have some smart kids, with a complex relationship dynamic, completely ignorant parents that only believe what suits them best (especially when it comes to their children fantasies) and the monster is both fairly benign, totally scary and absolutely alien. The film is thus suitable for both parents and children, although I would call it more a family film with horrorish specks, and even if the whole "planet without love" thing was too corny and not very related to the rest of the film, the movie is watchable and enjoyable. At least I liked it.

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• A Great Movie for Adults and Children

  claudio_carvalho2009-10-17

  When an alien comes from another planet to learn the meaning of love on Earth, it possesses the body of Ulla Harms (Paprika Steen), who is the wife of an owner of a poultry farm in Denmark. Meanwhile, the boy Carl (Jonas Wandschneider) grieves the loss of his mother, who died in a car crash, and is outcast in his school. His father Jesper Osböll (Ulrich Thomsen) wrote a bestseller about the power of love and also grieves the loss of his beloved wife. When the teacher of Carl has a health problem with salmonella, Ulla is assigned as the substitute teacher for his class. Sooner Carl and his friends discovers that Ulla is a monster from outer space, but their parents do not trust them and believe the children are fantasizing "Vikaren" (a.k.a. "The Substitute") is a great movie for adults and children, with a witty story and great performances. The unknown Danish actress Paprika Steen has an awesome performance with her change of behavior, and her body and facial expressions are fantastic. She really makes this movie work and I regret only the cover of the DVD that misguides the genre to the viewers, indicating that it is a horror movie when it is actually a funny sci-fi adventure. The conclusion is weak and could be better and better. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): Not Available

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• Paprika Goddess!

  till-kleinert2008-08-21

  A quite simple kids movie plot gets elevated to hilarious heights by the truly inspired casting of Paprika Steen as Ulla Harms, the substitute who dares to say and do all the things some of the more cynical teachers in this world only dream of. Steen's trademark Dogme-trained nuanced, natural acting this time only serves as a masquerade for a flat-out over-the-top monster, and you can see how much wicked fun she has switching between those two faces, proving her impressive emotional outbursts and character quirks to be nothing but a cold, calculated lie within the blink of an eye. The other actors do fine, too, as only Danish actors can. The kids are not annoying, even if they have to scream and be cute occasionally. Our hero Carl manages to be a sympathetic if troubled young man, my only nit-picking being that he might be a bit too self-consciously handsome to really convince as the class weirdo and outsider. Also, his love story with the new girl remains a bit under-developed. But hey, they're teenagers, love comes and goes quickly at that age, I guess. The film is a great fun romp from start to finish, never buried under the weight of its kid-friendly message, and comes highly recommended. As stated before, Paprika Steen deserves prizes and kudos for what she does. And Ole Bornedal keeps the promise he made with Nightwatch. Mainstream family cinema doesn't get much better than this. P.S.: The only real letdown: right at the beginning of the end credits there is a high school prom dance scene that is totally out of tune with the rest of the film. It's as if the filmmakers wanted to be 'cool' with the young audience in a way the film otherwise thankfully doesn't feel the need to be.

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