Dark Horse

The first hour of Icelander Dagur Kári’s follow up to Nói Albínói is just as good as his quirky debut. Daniel (Jakob Cedergren) is a graffiti artist who makes money by taking commissions to write girls’ names on walls for men who are trying to impress them.

Unfortunately for him, the taxman (Mikael Bertelsen) is sniffing around the spray paints. Fooling around Copenhagen with his best pal Roger, aka Grandpa (Nicolas Bro), they bump into a myriad of eccentric characters. But Daniel is running out of luck, and scoring with a chick that Grandpa fancies proves his downfall.

The black and white images (with one pivotal moment in colour) and the use of graffiti is reminiscent of Coppola’s majestic Rumble Fish. However, that’s where the similarities end as there isn’t much in the way of a story in Dark Horse. Indeed, after the lightweight plot has run its course it runs smack bang into a blank wall, one smeared with anti graffiti paint.