Perhaps the most cringe comedy one can see, even bordering on the limits of what a comedy is, but with a perfect distillation of Scandinavian humour, in a venomous (in more ways than one) satire of Signe, a character with a competitive (and pathological) need to attract attention and sympathy. And as her boyfriend, Thomas, gains fame as an artist, the more her plans become delusional.
How far can one go in search for attention? Apparently, very far. When Thomas (Eirik Sæther) starts to be someone important in the art world, his girlfriend Signe (Kujath Thorp) studies her options to leave his shadow. The Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli, who was already present at IndieLisboa twice (Former Cult Member Hears Music for the First Time, 2020; and Whateverest, 2013) works the dark humour, but also Thorp’s physical comedy, to build upon this allegory on the pathologies of neoliberal competitivity, in particular the narcissistic culture of social networks artificial fame. Sick of Myself is a comedy that understands the subtle connection between our need for entertainment and the possible toxicity of the backbones that sustain it. (Carlos Natálio)
