The Tough Love of Nordic Gallows Humor

#OtherWorlds2019 approaches! To gear up, staff members are sharing the feature films they’re most excited about and why. Next up, Associate Artistic Director Jordan Brown considers dark comedy AFTERLIFE, which screens twice at #OtherWorlds2019: Friday, 12/6 at 4:40pm and Saturday, 12/7 at 7:20pm.

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AFTERLIFE (or HIERNAMAALS, as it’s called in its native country of The Netherlands) nestles itself into the grand Nordic tradition of using dark humor to deal with tragedy. It reminds me of a BBC article from 2015, which examines how this unique brand of “tragi-comedy” has found trouble translating to other parts of the world. But as one filmmaker in the article quips, “We have to make fun out of our own misery or we wouldn’t survive.” I frankly love this sentiment and wish I lived by it more in my own life when things aren’t so great.

In a way that only a film from northern Europe could, Willem Bosch’s AFTERLIFE stares despair in the face and gently nudges its protagonist (and the viewer by proxy) to get the fuck over their trauma. This is not to say that it is pitiless or nihilistic. With its AMÉLIE-esque deadpan narrator and whimsical world-building, it’s actually quite a sweet film compared with other Nordic comedies of recent years (see Finland’s EUTHANIZER or Norway’s LAKE OVER FIRE if you like your humor as black as tar.) And yet the film acknowledges a tragedy, explores the discomfort, and finally accepts it as a life truth. In Sam’s case, the horrible fact is that her mother is no longer alive, and not even going back in time, enlisting the aid of angels, or peeking behind the veil that separates life from death may be able to change this. Life can be incredibly lonely, sad, and terrifying. Accidents can happen. Loved ones can leave you. To which this film says, “Yes, and? What can you do but continue?”

AFTERLIFE embraces the mundane and quietly considers the sometimes incredibly difficult choice to carry on for another day, especially in the face of pain and grief. But don’t worry, it’s a comedy.

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