The Ape

Jesper Ganslandt's The Ape (Sweden, 2009) - The Swedish experimental thriller “The Ape” follows its central character so closely and relentlessly that the film’s outside locations feel just as confining as in “Lebanon.” The first thirty minutes are excruciatingly opaque: We see a man washing blood from his body, and then follow him through random acts, riding his bicycle, working as a driving instructor, playing tennis, while brief signs of guilt and fury slowly emerge. When the first plot-twist finally emerges, it’s predictable, but what follows really sets the story in motion (think “The Road,” of fathers and sons). Better as it goes along, “The Ape” vaguely recalls the Dardennes, with an intriguing pay-off for the most patient of viewers and a subtly harrowing message about man’s inhumanity. 2009TOR. RATING: 5.