Under Stjernerne på Himlen (2025) - Eurovision biopic is sentimental in the most wonderful way

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Anders Matthesen's profile against colored spotlights on a stage makes up this simple poster for Kasper Gaardsøe's Under Stjernerne på Himlen

Danish rock musician Tommy Seebach changes tone and conquers international dance floors in 1979 with his Eurovision hit Disco Tango. But after a decade of hits his fame fades, and the spotlight moves on. Tommy wants to reconquer the stage, but the costs of his endeavor rise.

Under Stjernerne på Himlen is written by Stefan Jaworski (Rita (2013, TV-series)) and Jannik Tai Mosholt (Anti (2016)), based on the life of Tommy Seebach, and directed by debuting Kasper Gaardsøe (DNA (2019, TV-series)). The original Danish title translates to 'under the stars on the sky'.

Opening with the Disco Tango pomp and splendor, the film soon arrives at Seebach's increasingly difficult predicament from the 1990s onward: Past his glory and relying on the bottle for support and comfort. Anders Matthesen (Toscana (2022, VoD)) shows more dramatic range and skill than he has been afforded space for in prior performances, and Neel Rønholt (Tinka og Kongespillet (2019, TV-series)) is good as his sweet, patient and forgiving wife. Their three children are central to the film, which is mostly a story of a family's coping with the father/husband's suffering from alcoholism. They also give fine performances, and the production's vivid design, costumes and hairpieces help recreate the eras depicted vividly.

Though there are light moments and some humor, the film is mostly a sentimental drama, building up to Seebach's at first triumphant return to national celebration with the lullaby written for his daughter (the film's title is named after the song), which ends in disaster, when the song flops badly at the Eurovision in Ireland, and Tommy goes off the deep end as a result. Caspar Phillipson (Maria (2024)) is very good as Seebach's songwriting partner Keld Heick. 

Under Stjernerne på Himlen succeeds with a simple but effective, tender, loving portrayal of a man, his struggles and his family with plenty for others to reflect in and be moved by.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Too early to say

= Uncertain

[Under Stjernerne på Himlen was released 20 March (Denmark) and runs 106 minutes. Shooting took place in Denmark. The cost is unreported so far, and the gross receipts are yet to be counted from the first weekend. The film is not slated to release in other markets as of yet. Gaardsøe does not have his next project announced yet. Matthesen returns in Det Andet Offer (2025). 82 IMDb users have given Under Stjernerne på Himlen a 7.8/10 rating.]

What do you think of Under Stjernerne på Himlen?

It's All About Love (2003) - Young turk Vinterberg returns with Hindenburg-like disaster

[ZERO]

 

Steamy 'amour' in a pitch black and stylized space are teased on this poster for Thomas Vinterberg's It's All About Love

In the year 2021, John lands in New York, where people perish of poor hearts on a daily basis and are simply left in the streets. He goes there to finish his divorce from his celebrated, rich figure skating wife. The two still seem to love each other.

It's All About Love is written and directed by Danish master filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg (Sneblind (1990)), whose 4th film it is. Mogens Rukov (The Inheritance/Arven (2003)) contributed to the script.

More elements of the plot in It's All About Love: The figure skater has been cloned. Both her and her husband come from Poland. In Kenya people float. And Sean Penn (Hurlyburly (1998)) flies around (in airplanes) and philosophizes about life. There is a theme of snails and laboriously photographed scenes with many actors, who speak but say nothing. The close relationship at the heart of the film is suddenly disturbed by some Bergmanesque shouting arguments - and violence.

Everything rings false and seems static, fatally boring and utterly, horribly self-indulgent and pretentious, as if this was the grand, uncontrolled epic creation of a 17 year-old art cinema student. Joaquin Phoenix (Ladder 49 (2004)) and Claire Danes (The Flock (2007)) turn in jolting efforts, but they cannot change the fact that this if one of the most disastrous follow-ups to a global breakout success (Vinterberg's Dogme masterpiece sensation The Celebration/Festen (1998)) by a newly minted, celebrated filmmaker. Outrageously overrated locally (in Denmark's infamously self-congratulatory and nepotistic film and media industry), It's All About Love is a pure blood catastrophe.

 

Related posts:

 
Thomas Vinterberg: 2020 in films - according to Film Excess 

Another Round/Druk (2020) - A perfect gem, a wonderful film, Vinterberg's true celebration 

Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) - Vinterberg's plush but grating English adaptation

The Hunt/Jagten (2012) - Vinterberg's strongest film since 1998 is a reversed Celebration  

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Submarino (2010) - Vinterberg's elegant, downbeat Copenhagen-set social realism drama
Dear Wendy (2004) - Vinterberg and Von Trier's unpopular, gun-themed mega-flop  

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

The Celebration/Festen (1998) - Vinterberg's charged, stirring Dogme drama masterpiece

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 10 mil. $

Box office: 1 mil. $

= Box office disaster (returned 0.1 times its cost)

[It's All About Love was released 10 January (Denmark) and runs 106 minutes. Vinterberg reportedly spent 2½ years writing the script. A stunning 23 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in Italy, Paris, France, Kenya, Sweden, Vancouver, British Columbia, New York, Copenhagen, Denmark, England and in Oslo, Norway. The film opened #110 to a 2k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, its peak there where it grossed just 6k $ (0.006 % of the total gross). The film's biggest markets were its home market Denmark, where it sold 50k tickets, grossing 530k $ (53 %), Greece with 149k $ (14.9 %) and France with 123k $ (12.3 %). The film won 3 Robert awards, Denmark's Oscar. Vinterberg returned with Dear Wendy (2005). Phoenix returned with a voice performance in Brother Bear (2003) and a physical performance in The Village (2004); Danes in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). It's All About Love is rotten at 19 % with a 3.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of It's All About Love?

In the Blood/I Blodet (2016) - Youth in Copenhagen captured in striking debut

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+ Best Copenhagen Movie of the Year

 

Young, nearly adult characters superimposed with the tagline 'tomorrow we become adults' on the pleasant poster for Rasmus Heisterberg's In the Blood

 

Simon is a young student of medicine, who shares a flat with several other young friends and parties abundantly. He and his best friend Knud have a plan to travel out and have a longer stay abroad in Bolivia.

 

In the Blood is written and directed by debuting Rasmus Heisterberg (King's Game/Kongekabale (2004)). The title is a literal translation of the original Danish one.

Exceptionally fine photography (by Niels Thastum (Exit Plan/Selvmordsturisten (2019))) roots our situation of being observing outsiders to an intimate portrayal of youth here, heightening this very Copenhagen film. What it portrays is the intoxicating, anxiety-provoking time as a young free person; that time which for most people in hindsight seems to have lasted too shortly.

The acting, if not flawless, is good throughout. At one point I tired some with the drinking-obsessed, low brow friends, (why couldn't they have been a bit more differentiated, charming, funny?), SPOILER and then the film develops a bit anticlimactically, since the Bolivia plan never materializes. As so often happens, the 'small story' is chosen over the larger one, in a Danish picture. In the Blood, as also habitually happens, was overly celebrated locally, but it is still a good movie.

 

Related posts:

 

Rasmus Heisterberg: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Department Q: The Absent One/The Absent One/Fasandræberne (2014) - Nørgaard's second Q movie picks up some slack (co-writer)

Northwest/Nordvest (2013) - Strong performances make Noer's underwritten crime thriller work (co-writer)

Truth About Men/Sandheden om Mænd (2010) - Arcel's witty meta-dramedy (co-writer)

Cecilie (2007) - Well-made but unoriginal Danish horror (co-writer) 

Fighter (2007) - Arthy makes good youth drama with propulsive kung fu (co-writer) 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 1.46 mil. $ (10 mil. DKK)

Box office: Approximately 529k $

= Mega-flop (projected return of 0.36 times its cost)

[In the Blood premiered 10 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 104 minutes. Shooting took place in Denmark, including in Copenhagen, in Germany and Thailand. The film sold only 6,006 tickets in Denmark, the only market in which it had a general release. It was also screened at 8 festivals. If made on a realistic first feature low budget of 10 mil. DKK, the film would rank as a mega-flop. It was nominated for 8 Robert awards (Denmark's Oscar), winning one. Heisterberg has not returned as a director since and has taken a long break from films in fact; though he is finally returning as co-writer on Joshua Oppenheimer's hotly anticipated The End (2024). Kristoffer Bech (Stjernestøv (2020, TV-series)) returned in Hjertestart (2017); Elliott Crosset Hove (Before the Frost/Før Frosten (2018)) in Across the Waters/Across the Waters (2016). 746 IMDb users have given In the Blood a 6.0/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of In the Blood? 

Vogter (2024) - Knudsen over-the-edge in Möller's prison drama

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Star Sidse Babett Knudsen looks disturbed behind a young male on this minimalist poster for Gustav Möller's Vogter

Eva is a dedicated prison guard in a Danish penitentiary. But when the young man responsible for her son's death some years earlier gets transferred there, her composure goes out the window.

 

Vogter is written by Emil Nygaard Albertsen (Eliten (2015)) and co-writer/director Gustav Möller (The Guilty/Den Skyldige (2018)). The original Danish title translates to 'guardian'.

A character study of a woman who loses touch with her normal moral center, the film depends entirely on the performance of Sidse Babett Knudsen (Ted Lasso (2021, TV-series)) as Eva, and Knudsen is predictably dependable. Sebastian Bull (The Hunt/Jagten (2012)) impresses as the unpredictable convict that she latches herself onto.

It may seem a bit incredible that no-one at Eva's job connect any of the dots as to her strange attachment to the prisoner, and also that she manages to dodge consequences, but it is just barely under the radar in terms of what is an actual problem for the film. Vogter is an intense and stern film about our inevitable connections with each other.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 3.5 mil. $

Box office: 603k $ and counting

= Too early to say

[Vogter premiered 22 February (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 100 minutes. The film has sold 22k tickets in Denmark in 5 days, coming to approximately 360k $. It made 273k $ in France, its only registered market on Box Office Mojo, this summer. It is set to release in Portugal, Hungary and Romania in October. Möller is announced to return with Snow Blind, a thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Knudsen returned in Le Fil (2024). Vogter is fresh at 82 % with a 7.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Vogter?

Player (2013) - Plot and quality head South for Danish comedy team

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Two of Denmark's most famous funny men riding a scooter with big smiles in Southern France try to sell here on the poster for Tomas Villum Jensen's Player

A dull lawyer from Copenhagen is handling a divorce case in Southern France, before he is going to propose to his boss' daughter. But on the trip he has soon lost 10 mil. Danish kroner, as he meets an old friend and a beautiful woman.

 

Player is written by Marie Østerbye (The Rain (2018, VoD TV-series)) and co-writer/co-star Casper Christensen (Dan-Dream (2017)), based on an idea from director Tomas Villum Jensen (Kærlighed ved Første Hik (1999)).

The beautiful woman in France remains a cipher until the end, except for the qualities of having a lovely smile and figure, and seeming nice and more natural than the daughter that the lawyer plans to marry.

Player provokes light chuckles three to four times, but unfortunately it is extinguished of really funny mix-ups, and Christensen probably should have abandoned this type of douche-bag character type after his long engagement with a similar one in the Clown/Klovn universe (TV-series 2005-18 plus three features in 2010, 2015 and 2020.) The climax of Player is also extremely short, which confirms the few, lazy or unstimulated narrative nerves behind the film.

 

Related posts:

 

Tomas Villum Jensen: Sprængfarlig Bombe (2006) - The two Jensens' satire is unrefined but hilarious

Sidste Time (1995) - Hammy, heavy-handed Danish teen horror (actor) 

 

 

Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 19 mil. DKK, approximately 2.77 mil. $

Box office: 1.3 mil. $

=  Mega-flop (returned 0.46 times its cost)

[Player was released 20 June (Denmark) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in Copenhagen, Denmark and France. The film opened #2 in Denmark, where 96,089 paid admission in total. The film was not released in other markets. Jensen has since left directing alone, only except for 3 TV specials of celebrities playing golf. Christensen returned in Klown Forever (2015); Rasmus Bjerg (Held for Ransom/Ser Du Månen Daniel (2019)) in Gentlemen (2014). 1.2k IMDb users have given Player a 4.7/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Player? 

When Animals Dream/Når Dyrene Drømmer (2014) - Artsy, ineffectual Danish horror debut

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Two menacing, opposite realities seem to be lurking on this poster for Jonas Alexander Arnby's When Animals Dream

In a fishing village in Jutland, Denmark, a young woman begins working at the fish factory, where she soon gets the attention of the opposite sex. Meanwhile she changes physically, which is somehow connected to her mother ...

 

When Animals Dream is written by Rasmus Birch (Miss Viborg (2022)) with Christoffer Boe (Allegro (2005)) and debuting co-writer/director Jonas Alexander Arnby (Hjemvendt (2001, short)) contributing ideas. The English title is a literal translation of the original Danish title.

With a not exactly thrilling lead performance (from debuting Sonia Suhl (Søvn (2018)), who seems a bit old for this to work as a puberty fable, (she was 19 while playing 16), When Animals Dream ventures out with a quiet style that's so underplayed and, regrettably, half-baked that one can barely even call this werewolf movie a werewolf movie. Scenes of identification with the protagonist and scenes of terror are missing, and the film also lacks an escalation and a wildness to it. 

There are a couple of good scenes: SPOILER In one the girl is pushed down into the fish offal by the factory, and in another she chews on glass in front of her father.

Aesthetically an artistic style has been attempted here, but it is too unclear what is aimed for. As a horror flick, When Animals Dream fails.

 

 

Watch a short clip from the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 4 mil. €, approximately 4.01 mil. $

Box office: Around 149k $

=  Box office disaster (returned 0.03 times its cost)

[When Animals Dream premiered 19 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of main competition) and runs 84 minutes. Shooting took place in Jutland and Copenhagen, Denmark. The film sold just 3,296 tickets in Denmark, which, at an 85 DKK average prize comes to just under 38k $ (25.5 % of the total gross). The film's biggest market was Germany with 81k $ (54.4 %). Denmark was the 2nd biggest, and Argentina was 3rd biggest with 17k $ (11.4 %). The film was screened on a long row of film festivals and also had releases in a few other markets that are not listed on its Box Office Mojo site, likely because the grosses were too negligible. The film won 2/9 Robert awards (Denmark's Oscar), among other honors. Arnby returned with Exit Plan/Suicide Tourist/Selvmordsturisten (2019). Suhl returned in Teenland (2014, short) and theatrically in Søvn (2018). When Animals Dream is fresh at 73 % with a 6/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of When Animals Dream? 

Kun en Pige (1995) - Schrøder's lavish Lise Nørgaard biopic

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A uniformed young woman caught in a sea of bright dilemmas (or so it appears) on this poster for Peter Schrøder's Kun en Pige

The childhood and early adult life of Danish cultural icon Lise Nørgaard as the daughter of a wholesaler in province town Roskilde is laid out: Her passion for writing and being free to make her own decisions, her rebellion against the time and the consequences it had for her.

 

Kun en Pige is written by Peter Bay (Kaj's Fødselsdag (1990)) and Jørgen Kastrup (Vi Er Både Rigtige og Kloge (1975)), adapting Lise Nørgaard's (Stjernevej (1981)) same-titled 1992 autobiography and her follow-up De Sendte en Dame (1993), and directed by Peter Schrøder (Det Forsømte Forår (1993)). The Danish title translates to, 'just a girl'.

For a Danish film, Kun en Pige is an enormous production, - think The Godfather (1972) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984), - but Nørgaard's story has trouble supporting that weight. The film is incredibly long and first and foremost of local-national interest. Furthermore there are loose ends to the plot (the polyps; the chilling dream of Germany), but Kun en Pige is nevertheless a worthwhile picture.

Periods of it recall Nørgaard's Roskilde chronicle, Danish cultural cornerstone Matador (1978-82), (which may tire some Matador fans), but it is handsomely and cinematically done; the crew deserve acknowledgment for the skilled lighting and many fine images, (cinematography by Dirk Brüel (Flugten (1973)).)

Waage Sandøe (Krøniken (2004-07)), Kristian Halken (Speed Walking/Kapgang (2014)), Amalie Dollerup (Badehotellet (2013-)), Inge Sofie Skovbo (Sunes Familie (1997)) and Puk Sharbau (Terribly Happy/Frygtelig Lykkelig (2008)) all give good performances. The protagonist's persistent bouts of rage and her angry contrariness may wear on one's patience, but the film still has a lot of good to offer.

 

Related post:

Peter Schrøder: Stolen Spring/Det Forsømte Forår (1993) or, The Lost Days of School 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 28 mil. DKK, approximately 3.85 mil. $

Box office: Approximately 2.57 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.66 times its cost)

[Kun en Pige was released 15 December (Denmark) and runs 170 minutes. The budget was reportedly the biggest ever for a Danish film at the time. Shooting took place in Denmark. It sold impressive 456,718 tickets in Denmark, the film's only recorded release market, where it was the highest-grossing film of the year, which was nevertheless far from enough to recoup the big cost of production. (The average ticket prize in Denmark was 41 DKK in 1995.) The film won 4/4 Robert nominations (Denmark's Oscar). Schrøder returned with Nikolaj og Julie (2003, TV-series) and theatrically with Lotto (2006). Scharbau returned in Bryggeren (1997, TV-series) and theatrically in Afmagt (1998). 387 IMDb users have given Kun en Pige a 6.4/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Kun en Pige?

Den Hemmelige Krig (2006, TV documentary) - Guldbrandsen sheds light on a dirty war

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More than half of this poster for Christoffer Guldbrandsen's Den Hemmelige Krig is left in the dark, and in the bottom a quote from Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is in all caps; "We must fight terrorism without compromise, and that fight against evil is not one that the US should face alone"

When Denmark joined America's 'coalition of the willing' in the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, obvious lies from the highest authority, Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, were repeated again and again, when it became clear that the Bush administration did not intend to uphold the Geneva convention concerning prisoners of war.

 

Den Hemmelige Krig is written by Nils Giversen (De Bortførte Børn (2002, TV documentary)) and co-writer/director Christoffer Guldbrandsen (Made in Denmark (2000, documentary series)). The title translates to, 'the secret war'.

The escape from liability and the abuses committed by allies on the prisoners of war are the film's scoop, and they make it highly relevant. It over-uses one quote from Fogh Rasmussen, and the stylistic and score choices to highlight 'mystery' elements regrettably work against the impact of the otherwise fine documentary.

 

 

The chief of the Danish Defense claims to never have heard of prisoner abuse by the Americans in this clip from the film

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: None - TV documentary

= Uncertain

[Den Hemmelige Krig was shown on Danish TV (DR) on 6 December and runs 58 minutes. The film was heavily debated and attacked by the Danish prime minister Fogh Rasmussen, defense minister Søren Gade and others. A commission was funded to analyze the film and its statements, and in 2007 the commission largely green-stamped the film as fair and relevant. Guldbrandsen returned with Dagbog fra Midten (2009, TV documentary). 52 IMDb users have given Den Hemmelige Krig a 7.2/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Den Hemmelige Krig? 

Angels in Fast Motion/Nordkraft (2005) - Madsen fumbles with druggie adaptation

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Contrasting colors used deftly on this poster for Ole Christian Madsen's Angels in Fast Motion, which showcases its three derelict main characters

In Aalborg, Jutland we meet Steso, a drug addict rebel with high-minded ideas; Maria, a crisis-hit drug mule; and Allan, a scarred factory worker with a debt. All of them have dysfunctional family backgrounds.

 

Angels in Fast Motion is written by Bo Hr. Hansen (Speed Walking/Kapgang (2014)) and great Danish filmmaker, co-writer/director Ole Christian Madsen (Lykkelige Jim (1993)), adapting the same-titled 2002 novel by Jakob Ejersbo (Liberty (2009)). The original title, which translates to 'North force', is the name of the now closed power plant by the harbor in Aalborg.

Madsen steals from films that Angels in Fast Motion don't anywhere near in terms of quality (such as Requiem for a Dream (2000) and The Rules of Attraction (2002)). The film has lots of good - but sometimes distracting - Danish rock.

Thure Lindhardt (Kill Command (2016)), Farshad Kholghi (Åndehullet (2003, TV-series)) and others do well in the credible characters created by Ejersbo. Angels in Fast Motion is bogged down by many poor dispositions by Madsen, - excessive use of voice-over, unimpressive camera work, sudden stylization etc., - and it finally comes out a neither very punchy nor a good film.

Related posts:

 

Ole Christian Madsen: 2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  

2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess

Flame & Citron/Flammen og Citronen (2008) - Madsen's thrilling WWII resistance picture 

 

 

In this video Madsen talks about his most recent film The Day We Died/Krudttønden (2020)

 

Cost: Reportedly 20.2 mil. DKK

Box office: At least 14.6 mil. DKK

= Huge flop (returned 0.72 times its cost)

[Angels in Fast Motion was released 4 March (Denmark) and runs 120 minutes. Shooting took place from March - June 2004 in Denmark, including Copenhagen. The film sold 195,265 tickets in Denmark, coming to a gross of around 14.5 mil. DKK. The film won 5/7 Robert awards, Denmark's Oscar.  Madsen returned with Prague/Prag (2006). Lindhardt returned in Bag det Stille Ydre (2005); Signe Egholm (Breeder (2020)) in Den Store Dag (2005); and Claus Riis Østergaard (Hacker (2019)) in Cecilie (2007). 2,700+ IMDb users have given Angels in Fast Motion a 6.8/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Angels in Fast Motion?

The Idiots/Idioterne (1998) - Von Trier challenges normalcy and human behavior in his Dogme masterpiece

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best Movie of the Year

+ Best Danish Movie of the Year + Best Experimental Movie of the Year + Most Undeserved Flop Movie of the Year

 

A cast assembly framed upside down, and the promise of a nude Jens Albinus in the lower right corner, makes up this French poster for Lars Von Trier's The Idiots

 

The woman Karen is sitting in a restaurant, where a noisy group of disabled people are also dining. But she finds out that they are actually only 'normal' people from a collective, who just cultivate a private 'sport' of 'spazzing out'.

 

The Idiots is written and directed by Danish master filmmaker, Lars Von Trier (Images of Liberation/Befrielsesbilleder (1982)). It is his 6th feature, and the 2nd film made according to the strict rule set of the Dogme 95 movement, co-founded by Von Trier. It is also the 2nd in Von Trier's Golden Heart trilogy, which also contains masterpiece Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dancer in the Dark (2000).

It is Von Trier's only Dogme film, - an ascetic vow to shoot without major effects and interference, budget or accreditation, among other things, - and it is a fittingly extreme film filled with embarrassing scenes, where both people in the scenes and certainly us watching as audiences are made uncomfortable. The cast of young actors, which contains many of the biggest names in Danish film in the subsequent decades, jump courageously into Von Trier's bizarre pool of ideas with both feet.

Watching The Idiots is a funny and wild experience; it is probably the most pure of the Dogme films, and extremely original. It is a deeply unusual film, which ranks among the best Danish films ever made. At its core The Idiots is an existentially provocative masterpiece.

 

Related posts: 

Lars Von Trier: The House That Jack Built (2018) - Something's amiss in Von Trier's depraved, unpleasant serial killer pic  

Nymphomaniac (2013) short version, vol. 1 & vol. 2, or, Lars Von Trier's Suck It  
Melancholia (2011) - Von Trier's heightened reality doomsday reflections 
Antichrist (2009) - Von Trier's cabin-in-the-woods psycho-horror 
The Early Years: Erik Nietzsche Part 1/De Unge År: Erik Nietzsche Sagaen Del 1 (2007) - Thuesen and Von Trier's hilarious film school comedy (autobiographical screenplay) 

Top 10: Best Danish movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date
The Boss of It All/Direktøren for det Hele (2006) - Von Trier's hilarious absurd comedy 
Dear Wendy (2005) - Vinterberg and Von Trier's unpopular, gun-themed megaflop (writer)

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Dogville (2003) - Von Trier's implacable, truly unique drama  
The Five Obstructions/De Fem Benspænd (2003, documentary) or, Lars von Trier vs. Jørgen Leth
Dancer in the Dark (2000) or, Selma the Immigrant  

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Top 10: Best drama-thrillers reviewed by Film Excess to date   
Zentropa/Europa (1991) - Von Trier's audacious ode to the heavy continent is a fever dream on celluloid
Epidemic (1987) - Von Trier's trippy, bizarre second film  
The Element of Crime/Forbrydelsens Element (1984) - Von Trier's ultra-strange debut 

 

 

Watch a 5 -minute excerpt from the film here

 

Cost: 2.5 mil. $

Box office: Around 4.68 mil. $

= Big flop (returned around 1.87 times its cost)

[The Idiots premiered 20 May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 114 minutes. The script was reportedly written in 4 days, in connection with the creation of the Dogme 95 manifesto. No less than 13 companies were involved with the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in Denmark around June 1997. It is one of the first films shot entirely on digital cameras. Details about its limited North-American release are not made available online but was likely very small. In the film's main production country Denmark it sold 119,892 tickets, which comes to roughly 8.2 mil. DKK, or approximately 1.31 mil. $. A Danish blog by the head of the cinemas of Denmark informs that the film sold 719k admissions outside of Denmark, and with an average prize of 4.69 $ at the time, that comes to 3.37 mil. $, a total gross of around 4.68 mil. $. The film lost the Palme d'Or to Eternity and a Day. It won a Robert award (Denmark's Oscar), and was nominated for a European Film award. Von Trier returned with 3 TV movie and video short credits priot to his theatrical return with Dancer in the Dark (2000). Bodil Jørgensen (Ronal the Barbarian/Ronal Barbaren (2011)) returned in 4 TV credits prior to her theatrical return in Klinkevals (1999)). The Idiots is fresh at 71 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Idiots?