The Idealist/Idealisten (2015) - Thrilling Cold War true story scandal served by Rosendahl and Co.

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The Danish and American flags melt together on this tension-establishing poster for Christina Rosendahl's The Idealist

A radio journalist in Eastern Jutland, Denmark in 1988 latches himself onto a story, which will henceforth define his career: The crash of a US B52 airplane carrying four thermonuclear bombs in Greenland back in 1968, - at a time in which the enormous Northern territory was supposed to be free of nuclear weapons, and the secret aftermath of the affair, in which a large groups of Danes cleaned up the mess and got seriously ill.

 

The Idealist is written by Lars Kristian Andersen (Flame & Citron/Flammen & Citronen (2008)), Simon Pasternak (Sex, Drugs & Taxation/Spies & Glistrup (2013)), Birgitte Stærmose (Camino (2023)) and great Danish filmmaker, co-writer/director Christina Rosendahl (Supervoksen (2006)). It is based on the actual Thule base scandal.

Rosendahl and Co. have weaved together a surprisingly good and very debate-opening Cold War film here, a journalistic drama with grand political and principal perspectives more so than a thriller perhaps, but it is terrifically thrilling nevertheless, especially for Danes and Greenlanders. But really the conflict here with a giant allied super power in a bind in relation to basically a lilliput nation has much wider relevance, and the lies and weapons race during the Cold War has frightening perspectives and consequences the world over.

Peter Plaugborg (Ditte & Louise (2015-16)) is excellent as Brink, the energetic, idealistic and naive journalist protagonist; and so is Søren Malling (The Promised Land/Bastarden (2023)) as the leader of the clean-up workers, who collaborates with him. Smaller parts are also handled with the foremost professionalism by both Danes and Americans. The story is very large, and it goes around the Greenlanders' position in the matter. In the same way, it remains unclear how Brink in the first case gets onto the scandalous story. The Idealist is still impressively made and exceedingly well edited.

 

Related posts:

 

Christina Rosendahl: 2020 in films - according to Film Excess

The Good Traitor/Vores Mand i Amerika (2020) - Tenderness and no-nonsense Danish and world history meet in great Rosendahl war drama 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 20.5 mil. DKK, approximately 2.88 mil. $

Box office: 372k $

= Box office disaster (returned 0.12 times its cost)

[The Idealist premiered 19 March (Nuuk, Greenland) and runs 114 minutes. The film disappointed at the Danish box office, selling only 39,661 tickets, coming to 372k $. The film was also released in Norway, Brazil and Argentina, likely with tiny results, as these are not reported at Box Office Mojo, where the Danish result figures. The film won 1/10 Robert award nominations, (Denmark's Oscar). Rosendahl returned with Vold i Kærlighedens Navn (2017, documentary) and theatrically with Vores Mand i Amerika (2020). Plaugborg and Malling both returned in The Shamer's Daughter/Skammerens Datter (2015). 1.6k+ IMDb users have given The Idealist a 6.9/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Idealist?

Greenland (2020) - Butler and Co.'s largely successful disaster thriller

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Star Gerard Butler stands close with his family during a rain of comets on this poster for Ric Roman Waugh's Greenland

John is a building constructor, who receives evacuation notices from the US government for him and his family just before a major comet and fragments of it are posed to enter the Earth's atmosphere in what turns into an extinction-level event.

Greenland is written by Chris Sparling (An Uzi at the Alamo (2005)) and directed by Ric Roman Waugh (In the Shadows (2001)).
SPOILER The story soon breaks up the little 3-person family, as the son's diabetic condition removes them from the militarily executed evacuation effort, and they encounter various lunatics in the face of the nightmarish situation of society breakdown and impending doom. The son's condition is far from a new invention in the history of disaster cinema, but the portrayal of chaos, anarchy and extreme egotism feels current and eerily realistic in the 2020 of racial unrest and widespread Corona-virus fear, death and financial ruin. The plot invariably reflects parts of the disaster situations we encounter in real life, as priorities become tough as nails, with some making it to the rafts of survival while others don't.
Gerard Butler (Timeline (2003)) is no Superman in the story but a pretty normal (still cool of course) guy, - or Scottish descent, (as Butler himself.) Some will miss seeing him as a more active agent, but Greenland sees him side-lined for a good while away from his family, more or less impotent action-wise.
The film isn't exactly an action movie; one of its few action sequences involves a fight on the back of a lorry on the freeway at night, and what happens is very hard to make out. Instead Greenland follows its stressful disaster with a dramatic family story core about a normal family that's dealt with adultery but is overcoming it. The performances are very decent, and Greenland manages to create some suspenseful and affectingly emotional moments.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 34 mil. $
Box office: 4.6 mil. $ and counting
= Still uncertain
[Greenland premiered 29 July (Belgium) and runs 119 minutes. The film was initially packaged with director Neill Blomkamp and star Chris Evans in 2018, before Waugh and Butler instead took over. Shooting took place from June - August 2019 in Georgia, including Atlanta. The release has been severely damaged by the China-virus pandemic, but it is now among the first films getting released after global shutdowns closed the cinema business. It is set to open in North America Sep. 25. Waugh is set to return with Kandahar (pre-production), another Butler-starring vehicle. Butler has 6 slated upcoming features; it is uncertain which will come first. 758 IMDb users have given Greenland a 6.7/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Greenland?

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) - Stiller's sweet, visually splendid Christmas present

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A carefully designed, neat poster for Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

 

Walter Mitty is a negative asset manager with LIFE magazine. He is a daydreamer, who, due to the magazine's closing, goes out on an adventure to locate a lost photograph.

In a way, Walter Mitty, co-produced, directed by and starring Ben Stiller (Zoolander (2001)), is an easy target to make fun of, because it could resemble a midlife crisis project for the star: SPOILER In it, among other things, he swims with a shark, survives a volcano eruption and climbs a mountain, - and one of the supporting characters at one point remarks that he is "as if Indiana Jones decided to join The Strokes!" But discarding the film on this basis would be a shame, because it is also a very pure-hearted project with an underlying humanism and joy to it, which, in any crisis period, is welcome.

The film at one point directly references Into the Wild (2007), - a film with a similar theme of self-discovery through adventure-seeking, but one that packs a major emotional punch, which Walter Mitty never gets near. It has lots of good music (including its score by Theodore Shapiro (Spy (2015))), which helps mask that the film's depth is very surface-bound. Visually, Walter Mitty is impressively sumptuous and skillfully designed, with cinematography by Stuart Dryburgh (Blackhat (2015)).

Stiller is good as the title character, in particular in his scenes with Kristen Wiig (Nasty Baby (2015)), which are incredibly sweet. Adam Scott (Krampus (2015)) makes a very credible a-hole, and Sean Penn (Fair Game (2010)) seems a bit involuntarily comedic as a photographer/philosopher.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is written by Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)), based on James Thurber's (The Male Animal (1939, play)) same-titled 1939 short story, which was first adapted in 1947. It is a very sweet and uplifting film.

 

Related reviews:

 

Ben Stiller: While We're Young (2014) - Baumbach offers another observant, clever downer (actor)

Tower Heist (2011) - Ratner's so-so financial crisis comedy (actor)

I'm Still Here (2010) or, Joaquin Phoenix's Bad Joke (unsuspecting subject) 

Greenberg (2010) - Baumbach's uniquely downbeat LA-romance depressant (actor)

Blades of Glory (2007) - Copycat comedy about ice figure skating (producer)

The Cable Guy (1996) - Stiller's dark comedy is a riot

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 90 mil. $

Box office: 188.5 mil. $

= Flop

[The Secret Life of Walter Mitty premiered October 5 (New York Film Festival) and runs 114 minutes. The film had been in development ever since 1994, when producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. had the idea to make another adaptation, following his producer father's 1947 film. Jim Carrey was set to star for years, and other filmmakers involved include, but are not limited to, Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Richard LaGravanese, Chuck Russell, Owen Wilson, Scarlett Johansson, Sacha Baron Cohen and Gore Verbinski. Stiller was finally announced as director-star in 2011. Filming took place in Iceland, Greenland, British Columbia, Canada, California and New York, including in the Time-Life Building, in and around May 2012. The film opened #7 to a 12.7 mil. $ first weekend in 2,909 theaters in North America, where it grossed 58.2 mil. $ (30.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 11.9 mil. $ (6.3 %) and Russia with 11.3 mil. $ (6 %). Had American audiences welcomed the film more enthusiastically, (their market share is unusually low for a homegrown, big movie), the film might have made a profit. It appeared on National Board of Review's top 10 list of the year and made an additional 15 mil. $ on DVDs and Blu-ray, which, if added to the gross, still doesn't change the film's flop status. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is rotten at 51 % with a 6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty?

The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear/Drengen Der Ville Gøre det Umulige/The Boy Who Wanted to Do the Impossible (2002) - Hastrup hits the bull's eye with breathtaking Greenlandic adventure

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+ Best Animation of the Year + Best Box Office Disaster of the Year +  Best Danish Movie of the Year + Best Family Movie of the Year 

The inviting, neat poster for Jannik Hastrup's The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear

QUICK REVIEW:

The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear is a modern highlight in Danish animation.

A Greenlandic baby is taken by a polar bear, who is looking for a replacement for her own lost cub. The boy is raised as a bear and later experiences an identity crisis, for what is he really?

One quickly overcomes viewing the animation style of Bear as somewhat staccato and float happily into the beautiful, inspired universe full of fresh colors and white created for the film, which feels like getting to really visit Greenland.
The film has an exciting story with a mythical richness, high stakes and a strong, touching ending. There are also really good voice work, (this review is based on the original Danish version.) Particularly Tommy Kenter (Chop Chop/Fukssvansen (2001)) is funny and liberating as the raven, and Paprika Steen (The Substitute/Vikaren (2007)) is good as the human mother.
Bear is a super fairy-tale-like adventure with a simple animation design that hits the spot. It also does a good job of incorporating digital three-dimensional effects to especially dramatic moments.
A couple of minor reservations: In one scene involving danger, the landscape changes too noticeably back and forth. And some of the playful/romantic scenes are a bit tame.
The original Danish title (Drengen Der Ville Gøre det Umulige) translates to 'the boy who wanted to do the impossible' , (which was the UK title as well.) The film is written by Bent Haller (The Secret Weapon/Aberne og det Hemmelige Våben (1995)) and Michel Fessler (Man to Man (2005)) and directed by the great Danish animation filmmaker Jannik Hastrup (Benny's Bathtub/Bennys Badekar (1971), short).

Related review:

Jannik Hastrup: 2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Benny's Bathtub/Bennys Badekar (1971, short) - A boy's fantasy adventure in Danish animation classic

Watch the Danish trailer for the film here, (unfortunately without English subtitles)

Cost: 33 mil. DKK, equal to approximately 5 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown
[The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear was released December 18 and runs 75 minutes. It was Haller's biggest movie to date, a Danish-French-Norwegian co-production, which is also the reportedly first film ever to receive a Greenlandic voice version, which was finished about a year after the film's initial release. The film reportedly got 65,700 admissions in its native Denmark, (Greenland is a part of the Danish kingdom), which is far from hit status there. However without numbers from other countries, - the film has also been shown at, and received praise and prizes at several festivals, - it is impossible to say whether it became profitable theatrically, although it is unlikely. 754 users have rated the The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear 3.1/5 at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear?

Qivitoq (1956) - Nordisk and Balling's irresistible Greenlandic adventure

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The beautiful, artistic poster for Erik Balling's Qivitoq

Qivitoq is a quite unique film; among the only fiction films to be filmed on location in Greenland ever, this was also the first Danish film to be Oscar-nominated as Best Foreign Film, and the film was also nominated for the Cannes Palme d'Or. The Oscar was lost to Federico Fellini's masterpiece La Strada (1954).
Watching the beautifully restored version of the film today is a succulent joy, (the Danish-issued DVD from Nordisk even (thankfully) has English subtitles.) - Filmed in Eastmancolor, as only the second color-film that Nordisk Film made, Qivitoq has spectacular Greenlandic panoramas and gives a stunning, fresh look inside the Greenlanders' way of life. The film was shot over the course of 3 difficult months on location, in which none of the dailies could be developed and screened up there due to the remote location and climate. Poul Pedersen's (Kispus (1956)) photography is very good work despite or perhaps because of these unusual limitations and conditions.
The story centers on the arrival of a young Danish lady to the huge polar-country: Eva Nygaard, who is coming to surprise-visit her fiancée, who is a doctor serving there at the moment. But as she learns that he has succumbed to the harshness of Greenland (in his own words) and embraced the blond nurse at the hospital, she desperately wants to go home again, but is stuck there for a while until sent on to the expatriated Dane Jens at another small coastal town for homeward travel.
Danish actor/folk-hero Poul Reichardt (The Soldier and Jenny/Soldaten og Jenny (1947)) plays Jens, the Charlton Heston-like, rough-and-tumble, hard-edged male who gradually softens up to his unexpected visitor. Danes especially may greatly enjoy and sometimes be amused by Reichardt's untamed manners in the role.
Astrid Villaume (Pelle the Conqueror/Pelle Erobreren (1987)) is sweet as Eva, but the two characters' problems don't reach very affecting heights before the 3rd act.
The plot seems to sometimes be as important as the shots of nature and culture in the first part of the film, but then something happens that speeds up the drama, and Qivitoq later gets very exciting, as Jens has to try to SPOILER save his Greenlandic friend Pavia, who has gone 'qivitoq', meaning that he has left society to go into the ice country to survive there on his own for as long as possible, (effective suicide in other words.) The amazing footage of the chase in the extreme iceberg-country is a highlight of Qivitoq that took 3 days to shoot with great strains and pains involved.

Poul Reichardt in the ice in a still from the climactic chase in Qivitoq

The details:

Only a few times, the filmmakers had to resort to blue-screen post-production shooting, but unfortunately, a few of these stand out, - undoubtedly because the rest of the material is so crisp and delicious to look at. 
The film's theme of a man's resisting the impulse to throw himself away in despair and self-destruction is auspicious when linked to Greenland, as the country, (which is a part of the Danish kingdom), has a staggering occurrence of alcoholism, drug abuse and other forms of physical abuse and suicide.
In secondary parts in the film, a young Kirsten Rolffes (The Kingdom/Riget (1994-97)) and Bjørn Watt-Boolsen (Olsen-bandens Flugt Over Plankeværket (1981)) as the irresponsible doctor are good.
The film is a great romantic drama that stands tall in its great director Erik Balling's (Martha (1967)) impressive body of work. Qivitoq is a treasure in Danish and world cinema's vaults that ought to be bought and seen by as many people as possible.
If you are interested in other Greenland-centered films, check out the great, Danish family animation The Boy Who Wanted to Do the Impossible/Drengen Der Ville Gøre Det Umulige (2002).

Related post:

Top 10: The best adventure movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

In lieu of a trailer for the film, (which I can't find on youtube), here is someone's more recent video of Greenlandic footage


Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown

What do you think of Qivitoq?
Any stories about the film are welcome
Also, if you know of any other recommendable Greenland-centered films, please advice here