Rom (2024) - Bendixen and terrific trio win with great romcom

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A beloved trio of seasoned actors in one of the world's most beloved cities tease on this poster for Niclas Bendixen's Rom

Gerda and Kristoffer have been married for 40 years and have been gifted a vacation in Rome by their daughter. But when they happen upon Gerda's old Swedish art teacher there, the stay gets thrown on its head, and old secrets and truths start to seep out.

Rom is written by co-writer/co-star Kristian Halken (A Funny Man/Dirch (2011)), co-writer/executive producer Christian Torpe (Rita (2012-20)) and co-writer/director, great Danish filmmaker Niclas Bendixen (Ditte & Louise (2018)). The original Danish title translates to 'Rome'.

The film's motor is first and foremost its star trio: Halken as the delightfully frank and ordinary man Kristoffer; Bodil Jørgensen (Hvide Sande (2011, TV-series)) as the more vivacious Gerda, whose buried passions are unearthed by Rolf Lassgård (Min Pappa Marianne (2020)) as the expat hedonist. They all three give delightful performances in a film that bursts with a sense of spontaneous fun and lightness.

Manuel Alberto Claro's (The Pact/Pagten (2021)) cinematography imbues the Roman holiday that encompasses the entire film with this sense of 'real-life' and spontaneity. The plot and lines are funny, filled with fine little details and unpretentious but charming turns. Underlying the misadventure rests a keen wisdom about love and marriage, and Bendixen and his stars capture this very well in a genuinely funny, very successful romcom that also wins on lots of lovely local Italian flavors in the guise of performances, locations and vocabulary.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 2.592 mil. €, approximately 2.8 mil. $

Box office: 1.01 mil. $ and counting

= Uncertain

[Rom premiered 3 February (Göteborg Film Festival, Sweden) and runs 98 minutes. 1.347 mil. € of the film's budget came from a DFI subsidy. Shooting took place in Rome, Italy. Bendixen's mother passed away suddenly during shooting. The film opened #1 in Denmark, where it has sold 90k tickets to date and plays in the Biografklub Danmark/Cinema Club Denmark, meaning that a large portion of its patrons pay only half prize. It is set to release in Sweden on 5 April. Bendixen does not have his next film announced yet. Jørgensen returns in Seaside Hotel/Badehotellet (2013-) and theatrically in B.O.Y - Bruises of Yesterday; Lassgård in Whiskey on the Rocks (2024, miniseries), with no theatrical return announced yet; and Halken's return is not announced yet. 67 IMDb users have given Rom a 7.4/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Rom?

Oldboys (2009) - Steen, Halken and Co. win with lovable senior soccer dramedy

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'Forgotten, alone and more than 37 km away from home' reads the funny tagline on this poster for Nikolaj Steen's Oldboys

A Danish old-boys soccer team on their way to play a Swedish policemen team forget their goalkeeper Vagn at a gas station. He soon bands up with a Danish robber he happens upon, and together they head towards the match.

Oldboys is written and directed by debuting Nikolaj Steen (Minkavlerne (2019, TV-series)).

The script is full of weak points, (concerning a concussion, the 'forgetting Vagn' scene, igniting a car's engine etc..) Still I laughed copiously; the old men or boys and their coach (Rasmus Bjerg (Player (2013))) are fun, and Kristian Halken (Miss Viborg (2022)) is formidable as Vagn. Oldboys is formulaic and flawed but a lot of fun and with a lot of beneficial heart to it.

 

 

Watch a short clip from the film here

 

Cost: Uncertain; projected 5 mil. DKK or approximately 0.64 mil. $

Box office: Approximately 0.6 mil. $

= Huge flop (projected return of 0.93 times its cost)

[Oldboys was released 20 November (Denmark) and runs 95 minutes. It was supported with 3 mil. DKK by the Danish Film Institute. If made on a very slim 5 mil. DKK budget, the film would rank as a huge flop: It sold 56,820 tickets in its sole release country (Denmark) at a 83 DKK average prize at the time, coming to approximately 4.7 mil. DKK or 0.6 mil. $. The film won 2/7 Robert award nominations (Denmark's Oscar), among other honors. Steen has kept out of cinemas since, instead directing for TV. Halken returned in 4 short, TV and a voice credit prior to his theatrical return in A Funny Man/Dirch (2011); Robert Hansen (Vildbassen (1994)) in Bølle Bob - Alle Tiders Helt (2010). 1.3k+ IMDb users have given Oldboys a 6.6/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Oldboys?

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?

Speed Walking/Kapgang (2014) - Funny and sweetly nostalgic 70's coming-of-age in rural Denmark

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'Welcome to the adult world' is the tagline for Niels Arden Oplev's Speed Walking

Martin is soon getting his confirmation (a Christian rite-of-passage for teenagers), and as he comes home one day, he has lost his mother to cancer. In the time following this profound loss, Martin is also very interested in a girl in the neighborhood. And a boy.

 
Set somewhere in the 1970's Jutland, Speed Walking is a sweet, fun, unpretentious and charming coming-of-age dramedy. - Surprisingly amusing and with very fine acting by debuting actor Villads Bøye as the boy Martin and the two other kids, Kraka Donslund Nielsen and Frederik Winther Rasmussen. Backing them up is a barrage of wonderful Danish actors: Especially Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen (2010-13)) is a treat here, and her delivery is flawless and particularly funny if you understand Danish. Anders W. Berthelsen (Mifune/Mifunes Sidste Sang (1999)) is also great as the unprepared father, and Kristian Halken (Dark Horse/Voksne Mennesker (2005)) makes a good, vague country priest.
The film takes a light tone to its theme of youth and reminds its audience that even in the midst of tragedy, a teenager will be a teenager. The sports angle, - the film's title refers to a particular and very amusing type of fast-walking discipline that Martin excels in in his village, - only further lightens the terrific film.
It is directed by great Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo/Män Som Hatar Kvinnor (2009)).

Related post:

Niels Arden Oplev: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo/Män Som Hatar Kvinnor (2009) - An exciting adult ride in sadism and mystery from cold cold Sweden

Villads Bøye and Sidse Babett Knudsen in Niels Arden Oplev's Speed Walking

Watch the trailer with English subtitles for this deeply sweet movie here

Cost: Estimated 22.5 mil. DKK (3.7 mil. $)
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown

What do you think of Speed Walking?