Writer-director Kristian A. Söderström’s Videoman looks at first like it’s going to be a thriller which plays upon the nostalgia inherent in VHS collecting and ’80s fetishisation and, to be fair, it does go to that well a few times. Fans of obscure cult cinema and old-school clamshell tape cases are going to find a lot to like in this Swedish film. However, the tale of Ennio (Stefan Sauk) and his search for a lost videocassette which will save him from being evicted in three weeks is really secondary to the relationship which develops between him and Simone (Lena Nilsson).
Ennio was once the owner of the best video store in the country, but now lives in a basement and drinks too much J&B while making money buying and trading rare VHS titles. Simone works in an office and loves the ’80s, but has a terrible relationship with her daughter and drinks too much wine. Thankfully, in light of that down storyline, the thriller aspect is actually played more for laughs, with Ennio visiting all of the possible suspects in the sad circle of acquaintances he considers friends and searching their homes. In the case of his buddy Oskar (Victor von Schirach), Ennio even goes so far as to drug his drink in order to dig through the man’s shelves of tapes for the copy of Zombie – better known as Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead – which he bought from Simone. It’s silly, but sad, as Ennio’s best friend, Bosse (Morgan Alling), has got married and is out of the VHS game, and to make matters worse, his wife despises Ennio.
Watching Videoman, one gets the sense that Ennio and Simone want to desperately hold onto a time where the two of them mattered in a greater sense, and that’s what brings them together. However, they’re both terribly broken people, and the stress of what they both need really comes through on screen. As the film progresses, the comedy begins to turn to sadness and the thriller begins bleeding through into everything, until one’s not sure as to whether things are really going askew, or whether it’s just Ennio finally burning out. While Videoman‘s appeal initially lies with its obsessive collector aspects and nerd appeal, the lasting value of Söderström’s film rests with the tale of grown-up romance between two broken souls.
VIDEOMAN / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: KRISTIAN A. SODERSTROM / STARRING: MARTIN WALLSTROM, LENA NILSSON, AMANDA OOMS, MORGAN ALLING, STEFAN SAUK / RELEASE DATE: 18TH FEBRUARY
