In many senses a Nordic “8-Mile” with a fresh sensibility, Flow stars Danish rapper Kian Rosenberg Larsson - a.k.a. Gilli – in this arresting debut feature from director Fenar Ahmad which opened Copenhagen’s biggest film festival, 2014 CPHPIX.
Mikael (Larsson) lives in a housing project and earns a meagre living as a scaffolding labourer while he dreams of becoming a rapper. Spending his days causing trouble and making music with his multi-racial friends, Mikael is clearly the biggest talent in the group with the AK47-staccato of his delivery and hard-knock poetry of his rhymes, but his laid-back, quietly-spoken attitude holds him back. By a chance encounter, Mikael is discovered by the established rapper Apollo (Rasmus Hammerich) who makes him his ghostwriter, and Mikael is immediately flung into the irresistible clutches of the glamorous lifestyle of rap-celebrity. In the process, he has broken the unwritten rule of loyalty to those closest to him. Despite Mikael’s attempts to concentrate on his music and retain his old life in harmony with the new, his friends lose their patience, and a dramatic showdown is inevitable.
This is an authentic rags-to-riches tale accompanied with slick visuals and no-nonsense pacing that will guarantee audiences feel the distinctively Danish beat.
(Not screening in Byron Bay)
