Meet the free, proud, independent people of Ukraine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzNxLzFfR5w Nothing but reviews. In excess.
From ZERO to 6 ♥s. 100% ad-free. Run on pure love for movies, documentaries and TV-series. June 2025: Countdown to: Top 10: Best horror comedy movies - Upcoming review: There's Still Tomorrow (2023)
This tongue-in-cheek, well-made poster for Mikkel Munch-Fals' Nothing's All Bad hints at the film's dark comedy elements
A family father visits a prostitute. A daughter with only one breast. A rent boy. A flasher. A lonely widow. All come together in Nothing's All Bad.
There is very little wrong with Nothing's All Bad, the debut film of great Danish writer-director Mikkel Munch-Fals (Swinger (2016)): Its chapter structure foregrounds the filmmaker's urge to over-control his film and seems unimportant. But that's about it.
The actors impress, and especially young Sebastian Jessen (Love Is All You Need/Den Skaldede Frisør (2012)) is great. Nothing's All Bad is a wonderful mix of exhibiting and ironically playing with the ailments and hypocrisies of Danish society, while simultaneously embracing its flawed characters. SPOILER Its both surprising, humoristic and light ending leaves us with a distinct feeling that joy in human relations is a possibility.
Nothing's All Bad, - the original Danish title translates to 'beautiful people', - is something new in Danish cinema, which brazes an important message: That we may be sexual freaks, freaks of nature or whatever you want to call it, but that we're also beautiful people. I heartily recommend it.
Writer-director Fals directs his actors during filming of Nothing's All Bad
Writer-director Fals talks of the film at the Stockholm International Film Festival here
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown (but most likely a mega-flop)
[Nothing's All Bad was released September 23 (Denmark) and runs 93 minutes. Its budget is unknown, but it was supported with more than 5 mil. DKK (about 0.9 mil. $) from New Danish Screen, the debuting organ within the Danish Film Institute. It sold only 6,207 tickets in Danish cinemas but was screened at 19 film festivals around the world. However, there is no doubt that Nothing's All Bad lost some money. It was nominated for 6 Roberts, winning Bodil Jørgensen the Best Supporting Actress award, and for three Bodils, winning Kurt Ravn the Best Supporting Actor award. 833 IMDb-users have given Nothing's All Bad an average rating of 7.1/10.]
'An (anti)romantic comedy' reads the translated tagline on this Danish poster for Nikolaj Arcel's Truth About Men
Mads is in his 30s; he has moved into a house with his girlfriend, who now feels broody. He then moves out and gets a younger girlfriend, until she splits on him, and he also has problems with his writing. Alas and alack!
This midlife-crisis dramedy is skillfully told and visualized, as could be expected from its great Danish co-writer-director Nikolaj Arcel (King's Game/Kongespil (2004)). It's got poignant lines and lots of material to mirror ourselves in, (whether we want to or not.) And Thure Lindhardt (Keep the Lights On (2012)) is good in the lead.
Detractors: SPOILER The 'good story' fanaticism of the film's structure gets the best of it towards the end. And the closing point of the basic mediocrity of life just sucks.
Truth About Men is written by Arcel, Rasmus Heisterberg (A Royal Affair/En Kongelig Affære (2012)) and Lars Kaalund (Hjørdis (2015), TV-series).
[Truth About Men was released October 7 (Denmark) and runs 91 minutes. It was made with support from the Danish Film Institute and DR (Danish public radio and TV). Its budget is undisclosed. It sold 94,998 tickets in its native Denmark and was also released in Germany and in festivals in Sweden and Finland. Unless any of these markets boomed to a surprising degree, the film should probably be counted as a big flop. It got nominated for 12 Roberts and Bodils in Denmark. It was also chosen as Denmark's candidate for the Nordic Council's Film Prize. 1,038 IMDb-users have given Truth About Men a 6.8/10 average.]
The Danish poster for Pernille Fischer Christensen's A Family
The Rheinwald family's patriarch is well after a period of illness and remarries. But he then suddenly falls deadly ill again. His daughter's life plans consequently fall apart. - And what about the family bakery?
Eminent acting, particularly from Jesper Christensen (Casino Royale (2006)) and Lene Maria Christensen (Brothers/Brødre (2004)), enliven A Family. He is impressively authentic as a dying man, and that is at times hard to watch. But despite touching scenes, the film is flawed: As immature as all the characters are, (and they are really immature and at times gratingly idiotic), as immature seems the script: SPOILER The abortion is something we are meant to tacitly accept in that we are not exposed to the flushed out fetus, (although Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones (2016)) is.) And great co-writer/director Pernille Fischer Christensen (A Soap/En Soap (2006)), whose third feature this is, has stated that this film is a salute to life, which bugs me the wrong way in this context. She was obviously not, at this point in her career anyway, capable of making a serious film about death, which is what is attempted here. It also bothers me that she apparently doesn't see that all of the characters are almost obsessive in their tragically/idiotically poor choices in their behavior, reminiscent of the family we meet in the much superior Another Happy Day (2011). Christensen co-wrote with Kim Fupz Aakeson (Prague/Prag (2006)). A Family is not a bad film but it is a case of a might-have-been something else and better. Related review: Pernille Fischer Christensen: A Soap/En Soap (2006) - P. Christensen's great melodrama debut
Watch the German trailer for the film here
Cost: Approximately 2.4 mil. $ (16 mil. DKK) Box office: Unknown = Unknown (but likely a big to huge flop) [A Family premiered February 19 (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 102 minutes. 128,488 paid admission to see the film in its native Denmark. It won the critics' prize in Berlin and was shown at seven dozen other festivals and in 4 other European countries. Depending on its performance in these countries, its status might be different, but I label it tentatively as a big flop. 1,023 IMDb users have given A Family a 6.7/10 average rating.] What do you think of A Family?
