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

♥♥

 

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? 

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

♥♥♥

 

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?

Uncle/Onkel (2019) - Warm, special Southern Jutland visit with great amateur actor performances

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Low-Budget Movie of the Year

Kris is a young woman farmer who lives with her old uncle in Southern Jutland, where she manages the farm and their household at the expense of her interest in becoming a veterinarian and having a romantic and sexual life as well.

Onkel is written and directed by Frelle Petersen (Hundeliv/Where Have All the Good Men Gone (2016)).
It is an extremely quiet and small film in terms of scale and conflict; the central conflict is within Kris herself, as a friendly local veterinarian and a sweet young man she meets force her to reevaluate her life: Would selling the farm and no longer being the primary care person for her uncle be an option?
Responsibility and familial care are decisive elements of Kris' life, and the film portrays a very sympathetic group of people, who are simple, good folks. Petersen has managed to get some very precise and warm performances out of his cast of amateur actors: Jette Søndergaard (Hundeliv) and Peter Hansen Tygesen, portraying Kris and her uncle, are in fact niece and uncle in real life, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ole Caspersen, who plays the veterinarian Johannes, is also a veterinarian in real life. An added bonus pleasure for Danish audiences is the fact that everyone in Onkel speaks with authentic Southern Jutland accent.
The first more than 8 minutes go by without dialog, as we are introduced to the routine-driven life in this place, but Kris' dilemma becomes compelling, and the film has warmth and humor as well. Petersen has even co-produced, photographed and edited the film himself: The vast landscapes and impressive farming machines are inherently fascinating and cinematic, and Petersen has an eye for this. But the natural beauty is withheld visually, just as Kris' life is chaste and withheld.
The film's culmination is not entirely satisfying, SPOILER as Kris stabs out at her budding romance, causing her to lose him. She goes on, without shedding tears, cutting herself out from life around the farm, but we as audiences need a release of some kind, and need to see that the tenderness and love that Kris rejects exists without her.

Related post:

Frelle Petersen: 2019 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2019 in films - according to Film Excess

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 3.5 mil. DKK, equaling approximately 0.52 mil. $
Box office: Uncertain, likely around 1.4 mil. DKK and growing
= Uncertain
[Onkel premiered 30 October (Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan) and runs 106 minutes. The film was supported by the Danish Film Institute. All the actors are amateurs cast within a 15 km radius in Southern Jutland to secure that they all spoke the authentic dialect. As research for the film, Petersen lived and worked at the farm in the film for a period of time. Shooting took place in Southern Jutland and in Copenhagen, Denmark. The film won a Best Film prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The Danish premiere was held in Tønder in Southern Jutland. The film has sold 17,496 tickets in production country Denmark to date. Petersen and Søndergaard both don't have their next projects announced. 53 IMDb users have given Onkel an 8.1/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Onkel?

Murk/Mørke (2005) or, Shutter Jutland

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Mega-flop of the Year

Star Nikolaj Lie Kaas' face is planted in a fog over a man in a boat on this poster for Jannik Johansen's Murk, which has the tagline 'Ingen bør dø alene', translating to, No one should die alone

Jacob and his wife are journalists on the newspaper Politiken. When Jacob's fragile sister takes her life on her honeymoon, Jacob goes to the site of her tragedy in the little town of Mørke in Jutland to investigate her suspicious husband-to-be.

Murk is written by Anders Thomas Jensen (Men & Chicken/Mænd & Høns (2015)) and co-writer/director Jannik Johansen (Stealing Rembrandt/Rembrandt (2003)). Mørke is the name of a real town in Jutland, and the name translates to 'murk'.
Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Clash of Egos/Sprængfarlig Bombe (2006)) plays the protagonist as a really sour, sullen, skeptical, doubtful man; Nicolas Bro (People Get Eaten/Mennesker Bliver Spist (2015)) is frightening as the psychopath brother-in-law Anker. Together the two keep things lively in a somewhat anemic script, which trots around more than necessary in things we have already figured out. The film is handsomely shot (by Rasmus Videbæk (Island of Lost Souls/De Fortabte Sjæles Ø (2007))), if also sometimes stating the obvious, and well scored (by Antony Genn (The Look of Love (2013))).
Bit parts, especially the country cop, lack color. Laura Drasbæk (Daisy Diamond (2007)) is good but has ridiculous hair here. Murk is an overall good, quiet thriller.

 

Related post:

 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch an automatically generated Wikipedia video of Jannik Johansen here

Cost: 22 mil. DKK, equal to approximately 3.33 mil. $
Box office: In the neighborhood of 1.068 mil. $
= Mega-flop (returned around 0.32 times its cost)
[Murk premiered 23 August (Copenhagen International Film Festival, Denmark) and runs 124 minutes. Both of Kaas' parents committed suicide, when he was young. The film sold 100,682 tickets in its production country Denmark, making a gross of somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.068 mil. $, which would make the film a mega-flop. It only played in 3 other markets, only at relatively small festivals. The film was nominated for 5 Robert awards (Danish Oscars) and 2 Bodil awards (Danish film critics awards). There was talks of a US remake in the following years, which never came to fruition. Johansen returned with White Night/Hvid Nat (2007). Kaas returned in Allegro (2005), also with Bro. 2,510 IMDb users have given Murk a 6.8/10 average rating at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Murk?

The Art of Crying/Kunsten at Græde i Kor (2006) - Fog's South Jutland incest drama adaptation is a deeply affecting masterpiece

♥♥♥♥♥♥

+ 3rd Best Movie of the Year
+ Best Danish Movie of the Year + Best Drama of the Year + Best Adaptation of the Year

'When dad is happy he forgets to kill himself' reads the tagline on this ominous Danish poster for Peter Schønau Fog's The Art of Crying

In 11 year-old Allan's family in Southern Jutland, his father Henry regularly gets 'poorly' and has to be 'comforted' by Allan's sister Sanne, while their mother leaves them on sleeping pills. But when funerals hit their small town, Henry gets an occasion to shine; by getting everyone to cry with his eulogies.

The Art of Crying is written by Bo Hr. Hansen (Word of God/Gud Taler Ud (2017)), adapting Erling Jepsen's (Frygtelig Lykkelig (2004)) same-titled, autobiographical 2002 novel, and directed by debuting Danish master filmmaker Peter Schønau Fog (You Disappear/Du Forsvinder (2017)).
It is an exceptional, original, heartbreaking and often awfully funny film, which manages eminently to catch the dilatory cadence of the people and region it takes place in, and their rather chilling gloom, especially as it plays out in Henry's intimate and also overly intimate relationship with death. Dark humor also runs as an invisible current through the flat landscapes and the people that move around in them, and through Jepsen and Hansen's dialog.
The film's superb quality of course also stems from first rate performances all-round: Especially Jesper Asholt's (Truly Human/Et Rigtigt Menneske (2001)) portrayal of the terribly destructive Henry and Jannik Lorenzen (Young at Heart/Ungt Hjerte (2016)) and Julie Kolbeck as his two unlucky children are fiercely real in their deeply moving performances.
The Art of Crying is likely the best Danish film in years.

Related posts:

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch a short clip from the film here, in which Allan and his milkman father Henry are out on a visit  

Cost: 16.5 mil. DKK, equaling approximately 2.53 mil. $
Box office: 2.2 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.86 times the cost)
[The Art of Crying premiered 9 September (Toronto International Film Festival, Canada) and runs 107 minutes. The funding includes 8.2 mil. DKK in state support. The film was the 18th highest-grossing in Denmark in 2007 with 2.2 mil. $ from 228,303 admissions, an impressive number in the small country, but although it was screened at at least 15 festivals and released regularly in a few countries, it hasn't registered foreign grosses (besides 16k $ in Mexico). The film won an AFI award, 2/4 Bodil award nominations (Denmark's film critics' award), the Nordic Council film prize, 8/11 Robert awards (Denmark's Oscar) and many other honors. It was also Denmark's entry for the 2008 Oscars, but it was snubbed. Fog returned with You Disappear/Du Forsvinder (2017). Asholt returned in Temporary Release/Ledsaget Udgang (2007), Lorenzen in April 9th/9. April (2015). 1,996 IMDb users have given The Art of Crying a 7.5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Art of Crying?

Terribly Happy/Frygtelig Lykkelig (2008) or, A Fix in Southern Jutland

♥♥♥♥

Not much is revealed, besides a story that involves a man, a woman and a gun, on this forgettable poster for Henrik Ruben Genz's Terribly Happy

A policeman from Copenhagen draws his gun on his wife and gets sent to a position in Southern Jutland as punishment. As a countryside cop there, he soon finds himself entangled in the very particular 'methods' of the locals.

Terribly Happy is written by Dunja Gry Jensen (Norskov (2015-17)) and co-writer-director Henrik Ruben Genz (Chinaman/Kinamand (2005)), based on the same-titled 2004 novel by Erling Jepsen (Ingen Grund til Overdramatisering (1999)). Despite the film having a bit of a slow uptake, it proves to be a good, exciting country-set noir/dark comedy.
Kim Bodnia (The Name of the Game/Krigarnas Ö (2016)) and Lene Maria Christensen (Brothers/Brødre (2004)) are perfect as the town's punchy heavy and its good-looking blond.
Terribly Happy has several intense scenes and homicidal-fatalistic horrors. Some minor flaws and an annoying tail to an otherwise great, wicked ending weigh it down a little bit. Still this is a very well-made and recommendable plate.

In lieu of a trailer for the film, not currently available on Youtube, here is a bizarre television event in which Jepsen is to have a conversation with Genz but slaps him playfully in the face twice in the beginning, making Genz's lip bleed so that he leaves the situation, leaving the writer awkwardly alone with the still filming camera crew

Cost: 20.5 mil. DKK, equaling approximately 3.41 mil. $
Box office: Uncertain
= Uncertain - but likely a huge flop
[Terribly Happy premiered 5 July (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic) and runs 99 minutes. The film has played at at least 16 film festivals in different countries. It had a limited release in North-America, where it peaked at #51 and in 9 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 170k $. In its native Denmark, 266,795 paid admission to see it, which is considered successful here. Unfortunately, the film played within the framework of the Cinema Club Denmark, which means that most audiences only paid half prize for their tickets. I'd predict its theatrical gross somewhere in the 15 mil. DKK range, making it still a huge flop by Film Excess' high standards. This is in line with its producer's statement in an interview that he hasn't made a dime on it. It was Denmark's entry for the 2010 Oscars, but it wasn't nominated. It won 7/14 Robert nominations (Denmark's Oscar) and 6/7 Bodil nominations (Denmark's film critics' awards). Genz returned theatrically with Excuse Me/Undskyld Jeg Forstyrrer (2012), another Jepsen adaptation. Terribly Happy is certified fresh at 89 % with a 7.3/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Terribly Happy?

Sorrow and Joy/Sorg og Glæde (2013) - Malmros' film of his life's major tragedy

♥♥♥♥

 

The poster for Nils Malmros' Sorrow and Joy exudes the gravity of the film

 

Filmmaker Johannes returns home one day in 1984 to his home, as a tragedy has taken place: SPOILER His mentally ill wife has murdered their 9 months old baby.

 

As in most of his previous films, personal real-life experiences also dictate this film by co-writer-director Nils Malmros (Tree of Knowledge/Kundskabens Træ (1981)), which takes place in his own, very Jutlandic environment. Sorrow and Joy is elegantly shot (by Jan Weincke (Aching Hearts/Kærestesorger (2009)), debuting digitally) and told, to a large degree through flashbacks, as Johannes (Malmros' alter ego) tells his story to his psychiatrist.

Central are the two phenomenal, strong lead performances: Jakob Cedergren (Submarino (2010)) even looks like the loving, chronically distanced Malmros, and Helle Fagralid (Reconstruction (2003)) succeeds in getting us to understand the wife and her condition. In well-played supporting parts Nicolas Bro (Men & Chicken/Mænd & Høns (2015)) and Søren Pilmark (Kon-Tiki (2012)) can be enjoyed.

SPOILER Not until the end, when Johannes gets permission to make the film we are watching, - and maybe also during the trip to Berlin, - does one feel the strangeness that rests in the fact that Malmros here has staged the tragedy of his own life, (which almost no one else ever does.) It is both exhibitionistic and narcissistic in some way.

Sorrow and Joy is co-written with John Mogensen (Facing the Truth/At Kende Sandheden (2002)). In its best scenes, it is beautiful, because it shows a relationship which is built on heartfelt love.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 21.5 mil. DKK, equal to approximately 3.2 mil. $

Box office: Unknown

= Unknown (but likely a big flop)

[Sorrow and Joy premiered November 7 (in Malmros' native Aarhus, Denmark) and runs 107 minutes. The last piece of the budget (2 mil. DKK missing) came from an old schoolmate of Malmros, who had been a LEGO board member. Filming took place in Jutland, including in Malmros' own garden. The title is loaned from a 17th century hymn by Thomas Kingo. Danish media granted Malmros anonymity around the time of the tragedy, so Malmros himself chose to go public with his tragedy with the film, which was well-received by Danish critics and public: 270k tickets were sold in Denmark, (especially to older ladies) which is considered a very good performance. The film was the Danish Oscar-submission of the year but didn't get nominated. It won one Robert award (out of 11 nominations) and no Bodils, out of 3 nominations. It was screened at 7 international film festivals, but the international gross is not public. 814 IMDb-users have given Sorrow and Joy a 7.1/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Sorrow and Joy?

R/R: Hit First, Hit Hardest (2010) or, Prison Ain't Nice

♥♥♥♥♥

 

2 Film Excess nominations:
  
Best Lead Actor: Pilou Asbæk (lost to Stephen Dorff for Somewhere)
Best Director: Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer (lost to Sofia Coppola for Somewhere)

 

+ Best Prison Movie of the Year

 

The simple French poster for Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer's R

 

Rune arrives to Horsens State Prison, where he gets humiliated and establishes himself as a drug-smuggler. SPOILER But he winds up in a jam and gets murdered as a result, which provokes great consequences for his co-conspirator Rashid.

 

R is the kind of feature debut that creates great respect; in this case to its great, Danish writer-director duo Tobias Lindholm (A War/Krigen (2015)) and Michael Noer (Key House Mirror/Nøgle Hus Spejl (2015)), who give an unexpected, tight and goosebumps-inflicting, crime-deterring prison film. R will inevitable foster reflection and debate about the prison as an institution and a (dubious) means of corrections.

Pilou Asbæk (Ben-Hur (2016)) is impressive as Rune/R. The film investigates the brutality and logic of violence in a highly impressive raw, docu-style manner.

 

Related posts:

 

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]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Tobias Lindholm: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

A War/Krigen (2015) - The Dane goes to war in Lindholm's great third feature

A Hijacking/Kapringen (2012) - Realistic piracy negotiation drama-thriller, minimalist-Scandinavian style
The Hunt/Jagten (2012) - Vinterberg's strongest film since 1998 is a reversed Celebration (writer)

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

 

The filmmakers talk about the film here

Cost: 4.755 mil. DKK, equal to approximately 0.72 mil. $

Box office: Unknown

= Unknown (but likely a big flop)

[R premiered in sometime in January (International Film Festival Rotterdam) and runs 96 minutes. It was shot on location in Horsens State Prison. The film played at 15 film festivals around the world, winning a number of awards. 32,180 paid admission to see it in its native Denmark, - not an impressive number. Without foreign numbers, a definite theatrical status cannot be exacted, but if it more than doubled its gross outside of its native Denmark, it would still be a big flop. R won the Robert Award (Danish Oscar) for Best Danish Film of the Year as well as Bodil Awards (Danish critics' awards) for Best Film and Best Actor (Asbæk). R has a 7.2 IMDb average as rated by 3,406 users.]

What do you think of R?