VARIETY FILM (31 Jan, 2009)
ALISSA SIMON

Using many of the same Swedish west coast locations and collaborators as executive producer Jesper Ganslandt's 2006 "Falkenburg Farewell," the intermittently mesmerizing, low-budget experimental mood-piece "Burrowing," from feature debutants Henrik Hellstrom and Fredrik Wenzel, takes inspiration from the writings of Henry David Thoreau, emphasizing the importance of self-reliance, solitude, contemplation and closeness to nature. Gorgeous, painterly images (shot with a 1920x1080-format HD camera) of fields, forests and running water contrast with the ugly, ordered confines of suburbia. Specialty item will appeal most strongly to fests and the cinematheque circuit.

Central character is 11-year-old Sebastian (Sebastian Eklund), whose philosophical musings (wise beyond his years) provide a bridge between scenes and introduce other rebellious misfits from the neighborhood. There's Jimmy (Jorgen Svensson), who is living at his parents' home and haphazardly caring for a baby of his own, and Mischa (Marek Kosterzewski), a former guest worker who never left. No explanations are given for their socially unacceptable behavior -- or for Sebastian's. Occasionally, non-pro casts' rough edges disrupt the pic's spell, but when Erik Enocksson's ethereally evocative soundtrack replaces the ambient sound, everything is forgiven.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939537