Room 304

Director Birgitte Stærmose’s multi-layered drama takes place over the course of three days in a Copenhagen hotel and revolves around a mysterious gunshot. The protagonists are several characters whose diametrically opposed life stories gradually intertwine, both accidentally and intentionally – a lonely flight attendant comes to the hotel looking for love; a couple of immigrant hotel employees are seeking revenge; a desperate hotel manager; a woman whose husband has left her; a reception clerk who keeps trying (in vain) to smile more when welcoming guests; and many others. The leitmotifs of this multicultural movie include intimacy, forgiveness, and human frailty. Stærmose succeeds in skillfully articulating the movie’s visual style in concord with the individual stories of the protagonists, who feel constricted not only by their own lives but also within the closed walls of the hotel. Of making her debut, the director said: “I have always been fascinated by hotels as a secret place outside of time and space. What happens behind all those closed doors?” Her picture provides one possible answer. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)