"Happiness is when Mifune comes up from the basement..."<br /><br />I did not expect much from Mifune. This past summer, I had gotten a chance to see Lars von Trier's Idioterne (Dogme 2) in a theater. I loved it, while so many others hated it. Then I saw Festen (Dogme 1) over Christmas. It was great. For completion, I searched out, with much pain, Dogme 3, _Mifunes sidste sang_, _Mifune_ in America. Like I said, I expected nothing. The highest rating I ever saw it receive when it was in the theaters was 3 stars, average. Good - not great. Most critics, however, scored it lower.<br /><br />I finally did find it, and I sat down to watch it, slightly past 1:30 AM. At first, I was slightly surprised. Having fallen in love with Dogme 1 & 2, I expected more insanity, more daring-do. The sex scene near the beginning of the film set that up, and then the introduction of a clandestine past and a family follow up on that promise, as well as does the introduction of a prostitute. But then it goes the opposite way. Mifune actually becomes a rather relaxed family drama, and a rather satisfying one, too. The mood of the film sort of resembles the final scenes of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, where Daniel Day Lewis and Juliette Binoche retreat from the corruption of the big city to simple life on a farm.<br /><br />Mifune is slow, in that it allows its characters to develop, and they blossom into a great depth. And we see the relationships between the characters bloom. Kresten has not seen his retarded brother, Rud, for some time. Now he has a chance to get reacquainted. They seemed to have been friends when they were younger, but Kresten had moved, and was determined to erase all traces of his family (in fact, the reason he must go home when his father dies is to make sure his brother is not harmed). He finds himself unable to leave; if he does, his brother may be committed to an asylum. Through a very amusing incident, they are able to afford a much-needed housekeeper to help them, Liva, the prostitute we met a short time earlier in Copenhagen. I have heard her character described as a one-dimensional, typical character, the Hooker with the Heart of Gold. This is untrue. She is not that kind of character, nor is she the opposite, the cheating, lying, thieving, I've-done-it-all-and-you-can't-change-me hooker. She seems like a normal human being who may not have made the right choices in life. She doesn't exactly regret the choices that she made. It is not as if she ever laments in the film being a prostitute. She leaves Copenhagen not to change her life, but to get away from some possible harm that may potentially come from a stalker who has been harassing her on the telephone. It's just that, when she gets to Kresten's and Rud's home, she does not expect to develop feelings for them (hey, they're both great guys! It's difficult not to like them). Eventually, she invites her brother, Bjarke, to live with them for a while, too. Although a rebellious teen, he quickly feels at home at the house. <br /><br />The plot is never thick, nor should it be. For the longest time, the characters just develop before our eyes. The problems seem like those that anyone might face in their life. <br /><br />Everything develops beautifully, the plot points are completely unforced. They feel real when they happen, and they brought me along with their emotions. The film takes a big misstep at the end, though. Actually, two. A character, Gerner, who exists during the whole film, but never seems to belong, attacks the peaceful household. His character is completely unnecessary. And then there is this weird attack on the house, especially on Kresten, on the same day as Gerner has attacked, by an entire brothel of prostitutes, Liva's friends from Copenhagen. What they are doing in Lolland and at the house is a mystery to me. The attack is utterly silly, they pin Kresten down and pour alcohol down his throat until he passes out. The very end of the film is also a little weak. I kind of wish it was a little more drawn-out. I would have likes some sort of exposition, instead of a bunch of unconvincing events.<br /><br />One more thing: Iben Hjejle. She is a great actress. I saw her in High Fidelity earlier in 2000, and thought she was good. Here, where her part is much more substantial, she shines. The other actors are all great here, too, but she is wonderful. I predict that she will be a pretty big star in the US one day. She is unconventionally beautiful, yet beautiful all the same. If I ever meet her, I will have to say, "Hey, I thought you were great in Mifune." I give the film a 9/10, one of the best films released in the US in the year 2000.