A Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.
Joining the likes of Haneke’s “Funny Games,” director Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup’s sharp screenplay also features a bourgeois family faced with extraordinary circumstances while on vacation.
From its first unsettling moment, “Speak No Evil” holds your attention. It begins with a car’s headlights bounding down the Tuscan countryside, while the film’s score, a disorienting swell of strings and horns, drone on. Dutch family Patrick (Fedja van Huét), Karin (Karina Smulders), and son Abel (Marius Damslev) have arrived at a shared Tuscan villa way past check-in and bang on the doors to be let in. The next morning, Danish family Bjørn (Morten Burian), Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch), and daughter Agnes (Liva Forsberg) are lounging by the scenic pool along with the villa’s other guests. After Patrick apologizes for his late arrival the night before, he invites Bjørn and his family to eat lunch in town. The six end up spending more time together and enjoy the remainder of their stay without any issues.
While back in Denmark, Louise is the only one enthused to have received a letter from Patrick inviting them to visit Holland. She convinces Bjørn and they agree to return home immediately if anyone is unhappy. Upon arriving at the tiny Dutch home, tucked away in the woods, their hosts begin acting oddly. Patrick “insists” that Louise – a pescatarian – consumes the many portions of meat he has prepared. As the trip continues, Patrick and Karin become more demanding and invasive. Slowly, this rural and claustrophobic trip forms a chokehold around its visiting characters.
Being from Holland, I really enjoyed the staampat, Gevulde koeks, and other local references but the cultural differences form a red herring. “Speak No Evil” has a Nietzechan outlook peering into the depths of man and exploring the human condition. What is there to do when faced with growing darkness and hostility?
“Speak No Evil” premiered as part of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival’s Midnight Section
