Ivan Kander
In an odd bit of coincidence, this is the second film we’ve featured this year about the current global refugee crisis that uses a mobile phone conversation as its central plot device. But, whereas Uno was a slow build, subtle “issue” drama with an emotional kicker, Truls Krane Meby’s Mobile is paced and structured like a suspense thriller—a thriller where we aren’t even privy to where the action is actually happening. It’s an unconventional approach to “ripped-from-the-headlines” material that proves to be surprisingly engaging.
There’s no shortage of films that portray the negative impact that phones have on our daily lives, but Mobile is essentially showing the opposite—what if a phone was the only tool that could literally save your family’s life? As his previous Short of the Week selection suggests, Krane Meby is obviously quite interested in the relationship between people and technology. Mobile not only feels like an examination of this intersection between tech and humanity, but it’s also simultaneously a social issue drama about an important subject.
As a white, northern-Norwegian filmmaker, Truls Krane Meby takes foreign subject matter (the Syrian refugee crisis) and transports it to his home turf. The result is an interesting juxtaposition of place—a stark contrast between that which we see (a Nordic fishing village) and what we can imagine on the other end of the line. After all, the world can feel both immense and tiny at the same time. Mobile really captures that dichotomy.
On a cinematic level, the film is dynamic and engaging. Not to sound too hyperbolic, but judging from his short film work, there’s an undeniably auteur-esque quality to Meby’s filmmaking—controlled and powerfully directed, with a unique visual sensibility. Via kinetic editing and music, Meby takes what is inherently non-cinematic material (a person talking on the phone) and makes it feel breathless. As such, it’s not surprising that the film was recently selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick Premiere.
Currently, Truls Krane Meby is nearing the end of production on his first feature, Dyr & Dyr (“Animals & Animals”, which is still a working title). As a filmmaker with such a pronounced voice, we are quite excited to watch him make the jump to longer-form work.