Wow! Such a good movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

"A Somewhat Gentle Man" is a story that took me by surprise. While it is very slow-paced and deliberate, I thought this meant the film would be pretty dull. On the contrary...it turned out to be a really neat character study and is well worth seeing.Ulrik (Stellan Skarsgård) has served 12 years in prison for murder. And, the prison folks seem to think he hasn't yet learned his lesson. The viewer isn't sure as well...mostly because Ulrik is a very quiet and subdued man...and what's boiling inside is uncertain. Through the course of the movie you come to actually like the guy and appreciate the many choices he has to make...especially whether to kill the stoolie who sent him to prison!I enjoyed seeing the evolution of the character. And, I appreciate that he did grow and change...but still was true to his original character. How all this transpires, you'll have to see for yourself in this quiet but captivating movie.By the way, this film is a bit adult...with some nudity, sexual situations and a bit of violence.

I consider myself a fan of Scandinavian crime thrillers, but those were shot primarily in Sweden or Denmark; I have not seen too many Norwegian films (however, the one before this, Hodejegerne, I enjoyed a lot), and I was prepared for slow pace and long frames without text, but still - I found the first half an hour or so too protracted. Thereafter, I probably got used to it and enjoyed this odd and hectic running of events, giftedly performed by catchy character actors - Stellan Skarsgård as Ulrik, above all (he should have been got more awards for this role), as well as all actresses regardless their duration on screen. I had no fits of laughter, but I giggled a lot and shared the feelings of peculiar sorts of people with different age and background. The scenes preceding the very ending could have been with more twists, but nevertheless, this film is recommended to admirers of films where all characters have issues.

" A Somewhat Gentle Man", is quite a surprise. When I scanned the description of the movie, I expected a crime flick. My mistake for not paying proper attention to detail. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this quirky comedy very much. My experience with the Norwegian comedy is hopelessly limited, but if this movie is typical of it, I wouldn't mind seeing more.The humor swerves between deadpan and grotesque with an amazing ease.The characters are people that life didn't pat on the back. They are beaten, bitter or just plain depressed. The jokes are smart and original, and the actors are not clowning, but playing very serious. That's the reason, probably, that I found this strange little flick so fresh and funny.

Having seen many brutal films in my 50+ years of movie-watching (around twenty thousand films or more), I finally get to see the film in which the truly bad man, the business-man, get shot. It was a very long wait indeed. The devil lies and deceives - so it is said in the fairy-tale by the Grim Brothers (When Death was the Godfather or Der Gevatter Tod). We are witnessing a time in which more and more people understand who "the devil" really is: the entity that causes man to raise havoc by deception and intimidation. Intentionally or unintentionally (let's give the story-teller "poetic license") this film delivers clarity on whom we should truly be apprehensive about. The fool with the gun is to be blamed but truly dangerous is the intimidating deceiver in the background, going about his everyday usual "business" in which everyone is a mean to his goals and no more than that. Intentionally or unintentionally - this is still a masterpiece.