Top 200 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2023: #29. Isabella Eklöf’s Kalak

Kalak

We still think about her breakout directorial debut and we were filled with glee when we learned that Isabella Eklöf moved into her sophomore feature packing her bags for Denmark and Greenland for Kalak. Production took place sometime around September and producer Marie Møller Kjeldgaard might look to premiere at a Euro-fest coming ’23. 2018’s Holiday was a big deal for actress Vic Carmen Sonne, this film sees Asta Kamma August and Emil Johnsen topline. Eklöf has worked in television between features and this project was co-written by Kim Leine and Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen – this is described as a harrowing drama based on Leine’s own childhood trauma and experience of working as a nurse in Nuuk, and a take of the complex relations between Denmark and Greenland. After last year’s Godland, we want more inner turmoil and conflict like what this proposes.

Gist: This follows Jan, a family father, working as a nurse in Nuuk, Greenland. Jan is in a downward spiral, trying to escape the trauma of his childhood abuse from his father. Eager to be part of the open, collectivist culture, he basically tries to fuck his way inside, and being called a ‘Kalak’ (meaning both ‘true’ and ‘dirty’ Greenlander) doesn’t bother him. Ultimately, he is forced to face his father to find redemption and peace.

Release Date/Prediction: We are putting this down as a disturbing title in Venice’s Orizzonti section.