WILD MEN (15, 102min, Danish/Norwegian with English subtitles) Drama/Comedy/Thriller. Starring: Rasmus Bjerg, Zaki Youssef, Bjørn Sundquist, Sofie Grabøl, Marco Ilsø, Jonas Bergen Rahmanzadeh, Hakon T Nielsen, Tommy Karlsen, Rune Temte, Jonas Strand Gravli
Director: Thomas Daneskov
Released: May 5
AT SOME point or another, most of us have probably pondered the idea of abandoning the daily rat race in favour of some sort of cleansing, consumerism-free, back-to-nature existence involving 'living off the land' with nary a smartphone or a McDonald's in sight.
Of course, for the majority, this is little more than an idle off-grid fantasy, a welcome distraction from workplace drudgery that's briefly considered and then sensibly discarded on the basis of a suicidally low level of basic survival skills.
And then there's Martin (Rasmus Bjerg), a frustrated Danish suburbanite who actually does go full mountain man in the Norwegian wilderness while experiencing a mid-life existential crisis in Thomas Daneskov's comedic drama/thriller hybrid Wild Men.
To be fair to Martin, he looks the part when clad from head-to-toe in animal pelts, and he's also handy enough with a bow and arrow – though successfully catching and consuming his mountain goat prey is another matter.
When hunger bites, Martin is forced back to civilization in search of more conveniently packaged sustenance (and beer and cigarettes), leading to a comical altercation at a late night petrol station which sparks a low-energy man hunt involving soulful veteran cop Øyvind (Bjørn Sundquist), his bumbling deputies and an elusive police dog who's seemingly on a never-ending vacation.
However, Martin is not the only city type experiencing unexpected difficulties amid the majestic, unforgiving Nordic terrain: he soon stumbles upon the injured Musa (Zaki Youssef), who is bleeding heavily while lugging around a closely guarded bag of ill-gotten gains.
Having bonded over a spot of wince-inducing al fresco triage – another feather in Martin's amateur survivalist 'coonskin cap – this mismatched pair end up on the lam from both sides of the law in what amounts to a gentle (with occasional violent outbursts) farce-infused Scandi take on classic survival thrillers like First Blood and Deadly Pursuit.
Rasmus Bjerg is a hoot as Martin, a lumbering lost soul determined to cling to a childish fantasy no matter what gets in his steamroller-eque way – including a colony of so-called Vikings whose 'wild men' credentials are quickly revealed to be even phonier than his own – while Zaki Youssef's more reserved, thoughtful Musa makes a good comedy foil for this loose cannon.
The Killing star Sofie Grabøl is a welcome addition to the supporting cast, even if her character doesn't have a great deal to do, and Bjørn Sundquist's world-weary cop is also good value in this entertainingly deadpan and absurdist tale of malfunctioning masculinity at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Rating: 3/5
:: Wild Men is showing from today at QFT Belfast, book online at queensfilmtheatre.com
