Viktor on the Moon
2020 · 28m · Denmark
Directed by Christian Arhoff
Tones: absurdist, humorous, whimsical
A man-child who still lives with his mother and has never been on a date has a whirlwind encounter with a married woman in Copenhagen, in an old-school black-and-white romantic comedy.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Black-and-white romantic comedy about a guy who's never been on a date—sounds like the safest pitch imaginable, which is precisely why Arhoff's execution in monochrome feels like a deliberate middle finger to romcom convention; the formal constraint becomes its own subversion.
Arhoff situates this squarely in the tradition of Scandinavian deadpan romance, using monochrome as both visual heritage and philosophical stance—there's a precision to the form that suggests he knows exactly which lineage he's claiming and why the black-and-white grammar matters to the emotional truth.
The choice to shoot in black-and-white in 2020 could be pretentious, but what elevates it is how that formal decision collapses the man-child's internal innocence with the visual register of old cinema—making his naïveté feel timeless rather than pathetic, which is a single editorial choice that reframes the entire tone.
Reviews
The story that unfolds from there is a charming, goofy take on romantic comedies of the 20th century, set to the tune of sparkling Bill Evans-esque jazz tunes. Winner of the 'Best Comedy Short' prize at the renowned Palm Springs ShortFest in 2020, this week's Staff Pick Premiere is 'Viktor on the Moon,' a sweet tale of opposite characters who may not get exactly what they want out of their short-lived relationship, but surely get what they need.