Redoubt Review – Denis Lavant is unforgettable as an outsider who builds a public shelter for a mysterious disaster | film

DEnis Lavant is an interesting and vulnerable presence, somewhere between Quasimodo and Nosferatu, in this beautifully shot monochrome film by Swedish artist, photographer and filmmaker John Skoog, developed from a short film and installation project.

Lavant plays farmer Karl-Göran Persson, who is in remote southern Sweden in what could have been the 1950s or 1960s, motivated by an official pamphlet distributed to the public telling them what to do in the event of a nuclear war; He becomes obsessed with the idea of ​​turning his primitive hut in the middle of a field into a “stronghold” that the entire community can use if the bomb falls. (Skoog obviously based this on a real case.)

Pearson collects materials, discarded timber and metal railway sleepers to fortify this dilapidated place, and once his state pension arrives, he spends every penny on this crazy scheme, to expand, insulate and paint this growing building. Local children come and play with the childish Pearson. The older bullies try to make his life miserable but soon give up and walk away. Skoog shows that he’s fortifying the place against what? His fear of loneliness? Other people? maybe. But he doesn’t actually look very lonely, and there are scenes of Pearson socializing with nearby villagers happily enough.

The film feels like a cross between something by Lisandro Alonso and Rachel Whiteread’s concrete sculpture house. Perhaps inevitably, since it’s built on an installation, it’s a fairly static piece, and there’s a question about where it all leads. Skoog finally allows us to believe, ironically, that his “stronghold” might actually be useful to someone after all, but even that’s not clear. Lavant’s performance is quite unique, showing off his accordion playing skills (which I remember from Leos Carax’s Holy Motors) and what appears to be his ability to hypnotize a chicken.