Beyond Beyond

The little rabbit Johan lived happily in a quaint house on the Swedish seacoast until the Feather King flew down from the great beyond one night and stole away his mother. Since then, he has been sailing the seas together with his father and sending his missing mother messages in a bottle. Bill, the cunning jack-of-all-trades, well, actually a bewhiskered dog sporting a hat, gives him a pass to the kingdom of the feared king and he sets off at once in search of his “Ma-Ma.”  The hyphen stands for the brief pause between the syllables, distinct to the Swedish intonation. Accordingly, Johan is stressed as “Jo-han” – just one of the many lovely details adding to the charm of this Scandinavian fairy tale for children. The surfaces and scenes in “Beyond Beyond” are designed in an idealtypical style: the sea radiates in milky blue, the fuzzy rabbit fur is tempting to touch, and the mother’s new home glows in warm colours. In addition, the rabbit ears – crestfallen or upright, depending on the mood – intensify the delight in expression.
As was the case for “The Great Bear” in 2011, director Esben Toft Jacobsen and author Jannik Thai Mosholt wrote the screenplay for their new film together, drawing inspiration from Scandinavian folk tales for their allegoric tale set in the here and beyond. They also masterfully address difficult situations in a manner appropriate for children, like at the end of the film, when Johan is forced to realise that his mother cannot be brought back again. (rr)