Återträffen (2013) Reviews

• Clumsiness that works: unorthodox film about bullying, decades on

  pivic2014-01-20

  At a school reunion, a person starts speaking about how she was bullied throughout their nine years together. That's how this film starts; the plot obviously reminded me of Thomas Vinterberg's "The Celebration", but they differ, mainly because of two facts on the side of "The Reunion": a) it's supposedly based on facts that happened to the lead character/the director, Anna Odell, and b) it's cut into two parts. Odell treats this film as an art project, and as such, it loses some to her non-acting skills but wins a lot due to its quite non-sentimental views of what school gave and took away; by "school" I definitely mean the pupils, the teachers and the parents. The unorthodox build of the film and Odell's clumsiness works to the film's advantage. The real strength of the film is, I think, where it displays some ugly sides that most humans try to hide when the magnifying glass is upon them; bullies play down the blame, the guilt and responsibility, while the obvious victim is shunned, and history is repeated. All are responsible and no-one can say their "child self" is another part of some universe that is not touched by their current responsibility and mental state. Social structures, meeting your demons, fleeing your guilt, it's here.

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• A different perspective over the bullying issue

  juliosperb2014-08-16

  Unlike most bullying films, which tends to show the bullying itself, Återträffen focuses on the consequences of those actions in adulthood. The main character, Anna, is a successful famous artist who was bullied in school, as a child/teenager, for 9 years. The film is divided into 2 parts. Part one starts with a reunion party, 20 years after school's end. Anna uses this opportunity to say all that she didn't have the strength and courage to say when a child. Despite Anna's portrait being very well executed, the attention is easily deviated to the expressions of her former classmates. The hypocrisy shown by them is what one can expect, at least what I deeply expected. People just have a hard time admitting their mistakes, specially when those mistakes can tear one's world apart. Even more when this one is a child, an innocent child. Part two happens after the reunion, which didn't happen like showed in part one. We discover it was nothing but an What-If. The truth is: Anna was never invited for the real reunion. What we saw was just a movie that she decided to make about it, about how she thought it would have been. She then starts contacting her former classmates and shows them, individually (or in small groups), her movie. Again, the expressions are incredible. This time, though, the excuses for why they did that are even more deranged. You can clearly see that deep down they know that what they did was wrong. You may feel that the ending is somewhat inconclusive, since nothing big happens, but that's just how things are, how the world works. The soundtrack isn't particularly perfect, but it suits the film pretty well and also have some memorable moments. The acting is superb. From the bullied to the bullies. You can easily feel disgusted by how the bullies deal with the shocking truth. Just watch it for yourselves. Maybe you were bullied or you were a bully. Maybe you were simply someone who stood there, watching someone being bullied. Or maybe you did something to stop it. The thing is, nearly all of us have seen, done or suffered from it, but not all may realize that it did happen. Because it is not comfortable, because it was wrong. To me, this film was something entirely incredible. It is far from perfect, but as a whole, it is a rare 10/10.

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• The Reunion

  Magenta_Bob2014-03-25

  I've had periods of feeling properly bullied, I've done things to people lower in the social hierarchy than myself that I really regret, but most of all I've been a silent bystander, and Anna Odell explores the guilt of all three parties, as well as the nature of memory and our tendency to dodge our responsibility, in an intense, confrontational and utterly depressing (yet surprisingly accessible) piece. The first part, in which she stages a fictionalized version of the class reunion she was not invited to in real life (an approach that brings to mind her controversial art installation where she staged a psychosis in Stockholm), is pretty incredible in and of itself, but the second part where she confronts her classmates with the film shown in the first half really seals the deal. After being uniformly hailed by critics the movie has suffered some backlash, and was even called a rape-and-revenge film by some, but I think the fact that Odell's motives are questionable doesn't make the film any worse, just more complex and interesting.

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• Reunion hell

  stensson2013-12-03

  It's a not so uncommon movie subject, this one about reunions which become life-changing drama. But Anna Odel's version is shakening. She meets her old class after 20 years and gives a speech. It's about hierarchies, power, games and one of the greatest sadist joys: Falsely making somebody believe you're in love with her. The first half of the film tells about the party, which is a humiliating disaster for Anna. In the second part, she confronts some persons from the class. What's the greatest bully victory? Making someone feel she wasn't bullied at all. It's not a perfect film, but one you will remember if you have any experience at all of hierarchies in school and other places.

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• Society

  Shadowplayed2015-03-07

  Simple, almost documentary style of this film really adds up to realism, as if easily relatable story wasn't realistic enough. Painfully so, for those with similar experiences that had plagued their school years. And those who knew a guy that knew a guy alike...It's very 'dogmatic' in approach, as far as goals, psychological portrayal and cinematography goes. The opening tricks us into believing Anna's project was a real deal, and only later we get to learn the timeline of events. In fact, apart from the basic premise, whole world of characters opens up slowly, but the pace remains brisk and on point. The Reunion never wanders or drifts off, it stays focused on the protagonist, her project, estranged schoolmates and her adult life as famous artist. Universal theme of peer violence/bullying and very sharp insight into social hierarchy (especially apparent in its rawest during formative, school years) are nicely captured, however, for those hoping for typical filmsy 'revenge' scenario, this film might seem unsatisfying and anticlimactic. Because it was going for realism, and haven't lost the focus at any time. Lots of close-ups of the faces during interviews Anna was conducting for the project with her former classmates, lots of awkward dialogues and confrontations. What strikes me is how much people actually change while trying to fit in and fill the adult's shoes. So, instead of being honest and emotionally open - albeit insensitive or cruel while doing so....the former child now adult caters to mentality and cultural patterns fully, becomes hypocritical, polite and nice while basically still shunning and isolating the unpopular people and keeping them out of their inner circle just as before. In much more sophisticated and appropriate manner, cause they learned manners and became civilized adults with little to no recollection of their former selves. Bullying aside...in such highly civilized society such as this, one has a hard time picturing successful people with developed social skills and even temper, very PC - such as Anna's former classmates - as once primitive bunch who were relentlessly hellbent on humiliating and ostracizing their peer. Oh how much we learn! Not really, if only how to lie and mask our resentment and hostility better. Basically, how to act appropriately. But basic instincts, goals don't change that much. What does change is execution. But Anna's film and her 'revenge' unmasks the people and while exorcising her own demons she confronts the culprits subjecting them to long buried picture of themselves and their friends. That's not how they want to see themselves, that is not what they are now, not how they'd like to be remembered. Well, you can'd undo, but can try and fix the past mistakes, if you can face them. If you perceive them as wrongdoings at all. Sometimes I think...we never really leave high school, do we?

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