5 more mini-reviews of MSPIFF films

The Last Viking (2025)

When Anker is released from prison after serving more than a decade for robbery, he returns home to his brother Manfred, the only living soul who knows where the stolen money is located; when he discovers that Manfred (who suffers from dissociative identity disorder) has forgotten the location, the two brothers must set out to jog his memory and confront elements from their collective past that neither is ready for. Something just hits differently about Danish dark comedies. They almost deserve a new title with a harsher description, and The Last Viking is no different. From the basic set-up, I had some confidence about where we were headed, but I never expected some of the shocking elements revealed during the run time of this quirky crime story. It’s great to see an alternate side to Mads Mikkelsen, who mostly gets relegated to villainous or at least stoic characters in American cinema. In the international markets, he really gets to shine, and I love his respectful and equally comedic and heartbreaking performance as Manfred. Director Anders Thomas Jensen masterfully juggles tone here, with lighthearted fare like when one of Manfred’s identities believes himself to be a member of the Beatles, so Anker is forced to recreate a Beatles reunion with other DID patients, to a nasty villain hunting Anker for his money back, willing to maim or kill anyone in his way. There’s some truly disturbingly funny humor in the film that amazingly all works, and the more emotionally charged plot elements hit quite well. The Last Viking is a peculiarity that’s well worth seeking out when it becomes available.

The Last Viking: 3½/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

The Blue Trail (2025)

In a near-future Brazil, the government has created a system of isolating seniors over 80 to a colony in order to help support the struggling economy. Tereza, a 77-year-old, discovers that there has been an age reduction, and now she is set to go to the colony. She quickly sets out to fulfill her final wish of taking a plane ride before she is ushered to the colony, where no one comes back. The Blue Trail is a stylistically unusual film, and I love that director Gabriel Mascaro (Neon Bull) has chosen to rest an entire film on an older woman, a focus that fewer and fewer Hollywood films seemingly allow. Denise Weinberg is an enigmatic and likable actress, and she carries the entire film as she maneuvers from one failed attempt to another, in constant search of squeezing every ounce of freedom from her remaining time. The scenery is gorgeous and the narrative is unpredictable. Mascaro and co-writer Tibério Azul keep most of the plot in relatively present terms so it remains accessible, but those stylistic flourishes, like the vehicle that picks up the older residents called the “Wrinkle Wagon” and the titular Blue Trail, a snail slime that has psychedelic properties. It’s elder neglect themes recall elements of The Ballad of Narayama, and its central tale of Tereza getting to the later portion of her life without having really lived yet is very powerful. There are many movies with stories like The Blue Trail, but none of them have been made like The Blue Trail.

The Blue Trail: 3½/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

The Little Sister (2025)

Fatima (Nadia Melliti) is the youngest daughter of a French-Algerian family living in a suburb of Paris. As the school year progresses, she begins to notice an attraction to women. Now, her Parisian upbringing, cultural traditions, and faith are colliding to challenge this awakening. The Little Sister finds a new way to confront a traditional sexual awakening story with solid comedy touches in the age of internet dating. It takes more than a few risks, especially confronting a teenage perspective on the whole subject. Nadia Melliti brings a lot of naivete to the lead role as she fumbles through the exploration of her true self. I appreciated the real feel to Fatima’s journey, especially as she has confronts her religious background and hides her self from her parents and siblings, all the while uncertain of the outcome and afraid to lose those connections. The Little Sister is a beautiful and funny journey that takes a few emotional turns and allows its characters to be true and challenges them in unexpected ways. I think this movie could have real impact for some viewers.

The Little Sister: 4/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie (2026)

Director Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief), through the use of archival interviews, footage from the event, and discussion/narration from the writer himself, recounts the life and career of Salman Rushdie, through the lens of the attempted murder that took place in 2022 at a public lecture. I was obviously aware of the attack, but seeing the event itself deconstructed and reconstructed through the archival footage and Rushdie’s own personal video diaries which recounts the before, during, and after of the event, it becomes all the more harrowing. This wasn’t the first attempt on Rushdie’s life. The writer was full of controversy all throughout his career, and there’s a statement made by Rushdie that hit me hard: “Faith is all about love, so why is organized religion so hateful?” From the fatwa to the most recent attack, so much hatred has been directed at Rushdie for daring to be himself and challenge the established order. Gibney uses these questions and the symbolic titular knife to paint a clear portrait of the event from several perspectives, and what’s most powerful is the reframing of the footage which focuses on the strength of good people in dangerous situations. Knife if an excellent and layered documentary is challenging, disturbing, and powerful.

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie: 4/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

Follies (2025)

Sixteen years into their marriage, Francois (Eric K. Boulianne) and Julie (Catherine Chabot, Compulsive Liar 2) are convinced to open up their relationship and explore new sexual experiences. When the situation becomes more complicated, they are forced to redefine their new normal if they want to find a path forward. Easily the naughtiest of the films at MSPIFF, Follies confronts the open relationship dynamic for the internet age, and it is chock full of shockingly funny moments. The crowd roared with laughter, and even this viewer was surprised at the raunchy humor. Follies and lead/director/co-writer Boulianne take a traditional rom-com structure and confronts the relationship obstacles in ways that are frequently hilarious and occasionally very sweet and sad. If you like raunchy comedies that have a lot of heart, Follies is a wild ride that lands in an unexpected place that feels appropriate and earned, and it has the best Stanley Kubrick send-up I’ve seen recently.

Follies: 4/5
-Kyle A. Goethe