The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman

Director: Fredrik Bond
Screenwriters: Matt Drake

Institute History

  • 2013 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Obeying the last wish of his deceased mother, young American Charlie travels to Eastern Europe with no plans. He lands in a truly unknown place—wilder, weirder, and more foreign than he could have ever imagined. Committed to spontaneous, explosive, and instinctive acts, Charlie now finds himself pursuing an equally lost soul named Gabi, a mysterious Romanian woman unable to shake her dark, violent past.

Fredrik Bond’s stylistically assured debut feature spins a euphoric fable of high-stakes romance, where wearing your heart on your sleeve will leave you a bloody mess. A dynamic lead performance by Shia LaBeouf sees him pummeled at every turn as he desperately fights for the magnetic Evan Rachel Wood. The couple squares off against a dream pairing of movie bad guys: Mads Mikkelsen and Til Schweiger. This gorgeously shot adventure, with a hard-charging score setting its pace, provides a truly unique vision of the pain and ecstasy of love.

— C. R.

Screening Details

Credits

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