Mifune

The age of digital moviemaking may be here, but the results have been inconsistent at best.

Already we've seen animated movies and big-budget blockbusters using digital effects. And digital cameras have become the rage in such experimental pieces as the showbiz parody "Timecode." But as the use of such trickery increases, filmmakers still need to tell compelling stories.

Once again we have to look to the world of independent and foreign cinema to show us how to do things right. In addition to the low-budget horror hit "The Blair Witch Project," there's also been a cinematic revolution of sorts called Dogme '95, a no-frills filmmaking style that has yielded such little-seen gems as "The Celebration" and, now, "Mifune."

The material for this oddball Danish comedy-drama might seem familiar, even a little frayed around the edges (among its touch-points are "Pretty Woman" and "Rain Man"). Yet it's a nice little film that succeeds because it looks and feels surprisingly natural and realistic.

Not that the storyline sounds anything like reality. Newlywed Kresten (Anders W. Berthelsen) has his honeymoon interrupted by news of his estranged father's death. To the surprise of his unhappy bride, Claire (Sofie Grabol), Kresten heads off to Holland to tie up some loose ends. And things quickly get out of hand.

First, he finds his father's farm has fallen into disrepair. And his imbecilic brother, Rud (Jesper Asholt), has become even more convinced that UFOs are landing in their fields at night.

So Kresten decides to hire a housekeeper, hoping that she can take care of Rud until he can be institutionalized. However, the only taker is Liva (Iben Hjejle), a prostitute who's also trying to run away from her problems.

And although Kresten keeps telling himself that he's planning to reconcile with Claire, he finds himself attracted to Liva, who's got her hands full with her own troublesome sibling, expelled schoolboy Bjalke (Emil Tardin).

That may sound like a pretty simplistic plot, but the story (by co-directors Anders Thomas Jensen and Soren Kragh-Jacobsen) takes some pretty surprising twists and turns. Admittedly, things do start to run out of steam about halfway through, but the film gets by on the charms of its stars.

As Kresten, Berthelsen is very good, as is Asholt, who doesn't overplay his role. But the real star here is Hjejle ("High Fidelity"), a nontraditional beauty whom the camera clearly loves.

By the way, the movie's title comes from the game Kresten and Rud play, in which they pretend that the late actor Toshiro Mifune is in their basement. It's particularly fitting, considering how much the low-key and straightforward storytelling recalls the spirit of early Japanese filmmaking.

"Mifune" is rated R for considerable use of strong profanity and crude sexual slang terms, some crude humor, violence (a vicious beating and some slapstick) and male nudity. Running time: 98 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com