Review: The Surreal, Disturbing World of ‘Border’

Ali Abbasi opens Border with aloof customs officer Tina (Eva Melander) standing on the border between the land and sea. Although this quiet scene opener at first seems like an insignificant way of commencing a film as powerful as this one, it is only around the final act of the story when we realize why Tina stands alone before the vast water, refusing to take a step closer.

From the beginning, there is little that is known about our protagonist Tina--yet immediately you begin to empathize with her. Every day she stands idly by as dirty looks and cruel insults are shot at her by the people going through security at the airport she works in. On top of dealing with the awareness that everyone around her is equally as confused and disturbed by her appearance, her peculiar heightened sense of smell creates a greater feeling of contempt towards her from the people she catches-- sometimes carrying harmless bottles of liquor in their suitcases, or as we later see, things that are much more sinister. Tina doesn’t sense the physical items hidden in luggage like a well trained dog -- she can smell guilt.

When we’re introduced to the brooding Vore (Eero Milonoff) that almost menacingly flirts with Tina, we reach an understanding of what kind of film this is going to be -- a mix between Scandinavian neo-noir, romance, and fantasy. And it completely turns on you. This film sharply defies genre conventions, bringing to the screen something totally new and exciting, and takes the audience through a story in a way I have never witnessed before.

Vore looks a lot like Tina, to put it simply. There’s a primal, Neanderthal-like aspect to both of their appearances, but Tina is almost a subdued version of her counterpart. At first, Vore seems like everything Tina has been waiting for. However, through the major turning points of the film, we start to realize that Vore plays into the exact stereotypes that the outside world has about them. As the both of them engage in a bizarre romance, and as Tina grapples with who she is, we’re taken through Abbasi’s exploration of the divisions we build between ourselves, the significance of identity, and the painful choices between love and morality.

This movie is very well paced -- it may feel slow at first, but every scene is carefully measured to examine Tina’s public disdain for those around her, and the tame, subdued version of herself in private. Each scene in the film leaves you compelled to see more and desperately curious about the world that Tina lives in. The setting is beautifully matched for the story--her home: a rural, Swedish forest and the dark and secluded cabin she resides in parallels her emotional and physical distance from society. The cold, sterile walls of the airport trap her before she’s finally freed herself with Vore. Eva Melander’s embodiment of Tina is genuinely unforgettable. It has some really weirdly funny moments that are unexpected, but because of the clever writing, never feel out of place. Border is a beautifully told, very original film with both gut wrenching and euphoric moments that make me very excited to see what Ali Abbasi will do next.