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Thelma
2017 116 min Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden 18+
★7.3
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Joachim Trier
Trailers
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EN
EN
Teaser
Description
A college student starts to experience extreme seizures. She soon learns that the violent episodes are a symptom of inexplicable abilities.
Budget:
$5.7M
US Gross:
$147,391
Worldwide:
$1.5M
Starring
Eili Harboe
Actor
Kaya Wilkins
Actor
Henrik Rafaelsen
Actor
Awards
16 wins & 47 nominations total
Key opinion
Thelma is a visually striking and atmospheric psychological drama that masterfully blends supernatural elements with a coming-of-age story about suppressed desire and religious repression. While the film is widely praised for its technical precision and compelling lead performance, some viewers find its narrative shifts between genres to be uneven or its mystical conclusions frustratingly ambiguous.
| Acting | Eili Harboe delivers a powerful and convincing performance that anchors the film's depiction of repressed emotional and psychological turmoil. | |
| Cinematography | The cinematography is visually flawless, utilizing a cold, minimalist Scandinavian aesthetic and precise framing to build an immersive, tense atmosphere. | |
| Theme | The film functions as a rich, metaphor-heavy exploration of themes like sexual awakening, religious trauma, and the suffocating nature of overprotective parenting. | |
| Direction | Joachim Trier's direction effectively creates a meditative and suspenseful experience, though the abrupt shifts between melodrama, thriller, and supernatural mystery occasionally lead to an uneven structural flow. | |
| Pacing | The deliberately slow, contemplative pacing rewards viewers looking for atmosphere, while others find the narrative's lack of definitive resolution for its mystical elements unsatisfactory. |