The Black Lapp

Colour, 35 mm
Norway, 2003, 87 min
Section: Norwegian Cinema
Oficiální stránky: www.sviddneger.no

Synopsis

Anna lives with her father Karl in the wilds of northern Norway. She longs for a man and for liberation from the domestic hell of her father’s drunkenness. Karl uses alcohol to drive away the spectre of his wife’s murder: years ago, he threw his better half and her black infant into the ocean. Karl and Anna get to know a similarly lonely family: a widow-alcoholic, her son Peder and a black foundling. Karl promises his daughter to Peder, but she prefers an itinerant Lapp with whom she has twins. When this fact and other heavy truths about the past come to light, drama turns to tragedy. In generic terms, the film is surprisingly classed as a comedy, replete with absurd scenes, gags and ironic sayings, which takes advantage of the contrast between the shocking content of the narration and the odd slant of its execution. The movie strives to satirically reflect unhealthy phenomena in Norwegian society, here in part represented by neglected minority relations, and the loss of identity when faced with the influence of American cultural ‘ideals.’

About the director

Erik Smith Meyer has been involved in many fields, and he studied acting with Teaterprosjekt 84. He has worked as an actor, painter and playwright, and as a producer-director of short films, documentaries and television shows. His short Sveits (Switzerland, 2001) took Best Short Film at the festival in Mannheim-Heidelberg 2001. The Black Lapp (2003) is his feature film directorial debut.