Hello everyone. In this week’s newsletter, I’m sharing some thoughts on two films. The first one is RIDERS OF JUSTICE that I watched in the past week. The second one is NEW ORDER which I had a chance to watch at TIFF 2020. And as always, there’s a playlist of 5 songs I have been listening to lately. Have a nice weekend!
RIDERS OF JUSTICE
Markus (Mads Mikkelsen), a deployed military man, has to go home to his teenage daughter, Mathilde when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. It seems to be plain bad luck - but it turns out that it might have been a carefully orchestrated assassination, which his wife ended up being a random casualty of.
This Danish film is a hidden gem. RIDERS OF JUSTICE is an unusual but very entertaining revenge movie. The writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen is famous in Denmark for this kind of genre of movies. And he does a great job helming the film.
The plot is super simple, a series of small situations started off a chain of events that lead to a disaster. Pure Chaos Theory. The dark comedy, drama, and action are very well balanced. Actually, it is amazing how many layers this film has for such a simple plot. Jensen managed to mix violence, revenge, family problems, bullying, and mental health issues in a weird but wholesome story.
The writing is really tight with brilliantly developed characters. A bunch of misfits with no social skills but so funny and lovely that you can’t help but root for them as they go rogue and break many laws. I love all the cast, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Lars Brygmann, Roland Moller, Jacob Lohmann, and of course, the great Mads Mikkelsen are all amazing in the film. This is Mikkelsen’s fifth collaboration with the director and definitely the best one.
Jensen and the actors deliver a gut-wrenching tale of heartache and grief. This is a film that explores not just the gunfights, but also the minds of those who fire their firearms. And it is one of the most enjoyable examples of the genre in recent memory.
RIDERS OF JUSTICE is available on-demand starting today, May 21
NEW ORDER
I had the chance to watch NEW ORDER at TIFF back in September 2020. The film was directed by Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco and tells the story of a lavish high-society wedding unexpectedly turned into a class struggle that leads to a violent coup.
The major criticism that I have about this film is that, in my opinion, it victimizes the privileged class and demonizes the protesters which are the low-income people in Mexico. They are portrayed as savages while rich people are good-hearted. On the other hand, the film does a good job at showing how divided society in Mexico is nowadays. I also think that this movie will definitely hit harder and differently for people living in Latin American countries. Although if economic injustice continues to grow in developed countries that will be a problem for them too.
NEW ORDER is brutal, upsetting, and very difficult to watch. The high levels of cruelty are unsettling and sometimes unnecessary. However, it is also a chilling reminder of what happens when a political system collapses. You definitely don’t want that happening in your country.
NEW ORDER hits Theaters today May 21
Top 5 songs
These were the 5 songs on my heavy rotation this week. You can listen to them on Spotify and YouTube.
1 - The Beaches - Blow Up
2 - girlfriends featuring Jasiah - Congratulations
3 - Point North - Nice Now
4 - RENforshort ft. glaive - fall apart
5 - The Go! Team - Pow