Hotell is a Swedish foreign language film starring Alicia Vikander.
It is about a group of people belonging to a trauma therapy group setting out on a vacation together, staying at grand hotels and becoming new people.
The film touches on many issues concerning mental illness, identity, loss and the human condition.
Synopsis
Hotell follows the main character Erika (Alicia Vikander), who seems to have everything a person could want. She has a good job, friends and a nice relationship with her partner.
But - as happens in real life - things change and her life starts to fall apart after a series of devastating events. She sinks into a deep seeded depression which leads her to be advised to join a therapy group with others facing similar issues in their lives.
After some time, the members of the group grow closer together, bonding over life experiences and ideals.
They come to the decision that they no longer want to be themselves. That instead, they want to live different lives and live different realities. Which leads to the group of misfits to conjure an idea of going on a mad vacation together, because you can be anyone you want to when you're on the road living out suitcases, right?
The remainder of the film follows the group as they embark on an emotional journey of self-discovery. Hoping that they can form a new outlook on life and form new identities of their own, away from the hopelessness of their old past experiences.
Important Themes
The film follows a captivating storyline, rich with detail and emotion. Hotell does a good job of looking at mental illness in the different ways it can take form and how it can take control of someone's life.
Statistics from the World Health Organization show that 1 in 4 people will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Currently around 450 million people suffer from mental disorders worldwide.
Moreover, a Swedish study by The Nordic Welfare Centre institution explains that 20 to 40% of all Swedes suffer from have mental health problems at any one time. With statistics from 2011 stating that a total of 33,500 men and 46,000 women aged 18-24 needed some form of psychiatric treatment or prescription psychopharmaceutical medication.
Not only does Hotell touch on the complexities of mental health, but it is a film that focuses just as much on human interaction and how we form relationships.
There is often a stigma associated with mental illness that portrays people as weak and lazy. But this is far from the case, in actuality mental illness affects more people worldwide than the most widespread diseases across the globe.
Since mental illness isn't something you can physically see or quantify, many fail to see it as a credible hardship. Since there is no face to it many stereotype mental illness to this weak and lazy persona and fail to see that mental illness can take shape in many forms.
It can affect anyone despite age, gender, race or geographic location.
Conclusion
Altogether Hotell is a film which highlights mental illness in a very Nordic way.
The film delivers with spectacular acting and follows this peculiar group of individuals as they discover themselves and learn to accept their idiosyncrasies.
Hotell is rich in narrative, perspective and packs a punch of reality with a dose of humour seen through the interaction between characters.
The group goes on a unique adventure and brings you along for the ride.
Hotell is a film you do not want to miss out on.
It is a film with incredible depth and character development that takes the viewer on a journey through grief, loss, passion and acceptance.
