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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)
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6/18/2017

Camping (2009) - Hilarious but slight Danish dramedy



The stars of Jacob Bitsch's Camping look more or less content in huge, yellow waterproof capes on its inviting poster

Two years have passed since Connie's father shot himself in the family caravan. Now Connie, her brother and their mother are to become reunited. And what better way than through a holiday. In the family caravan, of course.

Camping is the surprisingly funny debut for Jacob Bitsch (Amina's Letters/Aminas Breve (2017)), written by Anders Frithiof August (A Funny Man/Dirch (2011)). It successfully blends dark humor with funny situations and three well-written lead characters. Kirsten Lehfeldt (The Legacy/Arvingerne (2014-17)), Mia Lyhne (Nothing's All Bad/Smukke Mennesker (2010)) and Oliver Brandel all have a knack for delivering lines, and their masterly performances carry Camping to its several laughs.
The film sports welcome, implicit satire and a fair visual side. Unfortunately, - and typical of not a few Danish films, - it is 'under-written', meaning that it is simply too short and slight. Whether it stems from lack of self-confidence, funds or something entirely else is impossible to know, but it is a shame, because Camping, while it lasts, is a warm and hilarious companion.






Watch Camping star Mia Lyhne play Danish Crown Princess Mary in a satirical video from Danish comedy show Live from Bremen/Live fra Bremen here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown, but likely a mega-flop
[Camping was released 4 September (Denmark) and runs 79 minutes. It was released in 15 theaters in Denmark and sold a mere 18,090 tickets. It was additionally screened at 6 international film festivals. Even if the film was made on a small 10 mil. DKK (approximately 1.5 mil. $), the small theatrical reception would make it count as a mega-flop. It was financed as one of four low-budget collaborations between Nimbus Film and TV2. Bitsch has since made two shorts and directed episodes of Sjit Happens (2014-17). His second feature is getting released in 2017. 266 IMDb-users have given Camping a 5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Camping?

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (15-24)

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (15-24)
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