"Frontier" is a fusion of different elements, romantic, Nordic, social realism, mystical force film. I believe that many people are disturbed by the absurdity and complexity of the film when watching the film, and it is difficult to interpret "Frontier" with one attitude, one feeling and one thinking. In my opinion, this complexity is the most valuable thing about borders. This article will give up interpreting the film from a simple, unified perspective and logic. On the contrary, it will provide a brief exploration of the film from different perspectives, hoping to arouse everyone's thinking.
1. Identity
The movie Frontier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup Design. I believe that for most people, ugly and strange shapes must have grabbed our attention from the very beginning, which made us wonder, who is this ugly-looking woman who behaves strangely and is different from us? So who is Tina? For this question, the film does not give a direct answer at the beginning, but uses a way of demarcation to distinguish Tina from the other people in the movie and us who watch the movie. Tina is a bug-eating, long-tailed, ugly "monster" different from us. As the film progresses, the film confirms our speculation about the identity of Tina, who is Troll, a monster in Norse mythology.
But while constantly emphasizing our differences with Tina in appearance and habits, "Frontier" also shows us a Tina who speaks the same language and has the same lifestyle as we do.
"So, we can't help but ask again who is Tina? Is it an alienated person? Or a humanized monster?"
Going back to Norse mythology, Troll is a type of creature that lives in remote areas, has no Catholic beliefs, and is considered dangerous to humans. This reminds me of the human zoo that began to appear in the 1870s, where colored humans from undeveloped remote tribes were also alienated into "monsters" different from civilized Europeans.
In Europe, where populism and xenophobia are on the rise, the film cannot help but provoke us to reflect on the reality of the refugee crisis. More importantly, the film allows us to feel the pain of otherness from Tina's perspective, and to empathize with it. The feeling that the movie provides goes beyond a real event. Whether it's what Mr. Cai Kangyong said "we are not monsters" or the discrimination faced by international students abroad, they should all feel the same way.
2. Nordic Black
As a Nordic crime movie, Frontier follows the Nordic noir style of Nordic crime movies. The film is dark and oppressive, always expressing the melancholy style of welcome to the eternal Nordic night. The special thing is that the film provides sensory stimulation beyond sight through the arrangement of the director and the excellent performance of the actors. "Smell" not only promotes the development of the film's plot, Tina perceives people's emotions through "smell" and discovers pedophiles who carry child pornography, but also provides the film with a unique scent mark, the wretchedness under suits, forests and mud , a damp and dark room, earthworms, and the same "ugly" "dirty" Vora. Lots of close-ups of sniffing, all the time mobilizing our olfactory organs, making us sick and terrifying.
3. love
The love between Tina and Vora is one of the two important story lines in the film. This storyline brings up another important issue in the film, gender.
From the perspective of "normal people", Tina and Vora are both women, and the love between two androgynous people subverts the traditional relationship between men and women. But this subversion is not complete, Tina appears in a male figure similar to "normal", she has a small male genitalia. This imitation of the relationship between men and women in a heterosexual patriarchal society seems to me to be a flaw in Umbra. I prefer that for alienated people like troll, gender does not exist, they are neither "men" nor "women".
4. pedophile
Pedophilia is another story line in this film, which completes the reunification of "people" and "alienated people" Troll. We are not that different from what we call them, the same brokenness, the same kindness and integrity. Pedophilia is proven to be a complicity between Vora and humanity, and justice is the result of Tina and humanity's joint efforts.
Under such a mixed theme, the film shows us a brave, determined Tina. All human, troll's good qualities are concentrated in this alienated man, and with the birth of Tina's uncastrated offspring (with the tail preserved) leaves hope for the future.
Director Ali Abbasi
Ali Abbasi is from Iran, graduated from the Danish Film Academy and lives in Copenhagen.
Before ending this article, I would like to offer a reflection, as a director of Iranian nationality who grew up in Iran, Ali Abbasi shoots the film in a completely westernized story (Norse mythology) and way, which makes us feel more than The pain of being the other of refugee status. But I can't help but wonder, how much "self" has the director lost in the process? Become the "normal" he will never be?
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