Noi the Albino/Nói Albinói (2003) - Kári's personal, escape-themed debut

♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best Icelandic Movie of the Year

 

The title character sprints through a winter landscape on this poster for Dagur Kári's Noi the Albino

When Nói doesn't get up for school, his grandmother goes out and gets the shotgun and fires a shot off out through his window. Nói may be a wunderkind, as his psychologist announces, - but he is also preoccupied and lazy, and a bit of a rascal.

 

Noi the Albino is written and directed by debuting, great Icelandic filmmaker Dagur Kári (The Good Heart (2009)).

It is an unpredictable film that Kári has made, marking the arrival of the Icelandic Jim Jarmusch-reminiscent auteur. He stylishly serves us a mercilessly cold and undesirable portrayal of Icelandic life, which is only uplifted by harsh absurdly comical scenes, SPOILER such as Nói's dropping pig's blood all over his grandmother and father, or when he has to dig a grave in the middle of a blizzard.

Ultimately Noi the Albino is a tragedy that celebrates the eternal dance with the idea of escape, poignantly understandable here in a small Icelandic fishing village.

 

Related posts:

Dagur Kári: 2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

The Good Heart (2009) - Cox/Dano paired again in Kári's financially disastrous, original, warm and great dramedy 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 1.1 mil. €, approximately 1.28 mil. $

Box office: 1.3 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.18 times its cost)

[Noi the Albino premiered 24 January (Angers European First Film Festival, France) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in Iceland, including in Reykjavik, and in Cuba. The film opened #92 to a 4k $ first weekend in North America (New York), where it peaked at #81 and in 7 theaters, grossing 60k $ (4.7 % of the total gross). The film sold 5,511 tickets in co-producing country Denmark, coming to approximately 418k DKK or 65k $ (5.1 %). The film won 6/11 Edda awards, Iceland's Oscar, was nominated for 3 European Film awards and several other honors. Kári returned with Dark Horse/Voksne Mennesker (2005). Tómas Lemarquis (Blade Runner 2049 (2017)), who plays Nói, returned in Nina's House/La Maison de Nina (2005). Noi the Albino is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Noi the Albino?

The Green Butchers/De Grønne Slagtere (2003) - Great performances in Jensen's hilarious morbid comedy

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Comedy of the Year

Two of the most beloved stars of Danish cinema are going into a meat grinder on this wacky poster for Anders Thomas Jensen's The Green Butchers, which effectively conveys the film's grotesque humor

Svend convinces his joint-smoking butcher friend Bjarne to open their own butcher shop together. Bjarne meanwhile falls in love with local young woman Astrid, while Svend begins to make a signature chicken sausage for the enthusiastic customers. - Made from humans.

The Green Butchers is written and directed by great Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen (Flickering Lights/Blinkende Lygter (2000)).
The wacky story is infused with lots of sharp humor and kooky dialog by Jensen. Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Beast (2011)), Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale (2006)), - whose semi-bald hairpiece in the film is itself a source of great hilarity as inhabited by the wonderfully gifted actor, - Ole Thestrup (Men & Chicken/Mænd og Høns (2015)) and others give outstanding performances.
The Green Butchers is outrageously funny; it is a local favorite that's stands tall as a Danish counterpart to Alfred Hitchcock's hilarious dark comedy The Trouble with Harry (1955). It is a handsome production and probably one of the funniest Danish films ever made.

Related posts:

Anders Thomas Jensen: The Salvation (2014) - Classic western yarn meets Danish dynamite (co-writer)
Love Is All You Need/Den Skaldede Frisør (2012) - Bier strikes gold with Italy-set romcom (co-writer)
In a Better World/Hævnen (2010) - Bier's Big Moral Drama lives on its actors' performances (co-writer)
Sprængfarlig Bombe (2006) - The two Jensens' satire is unrefined but hilarious (writer) 
Murk/Mørke (2005) or, Shutter Jutland (co-writer)

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Open Hearts/Elsker Dig for Evigt (2002) - Bier's excruciating Dogme chamber drama (writer)

Watch a great scene from the film here with English subtitles; (regrettably the format has been cropped)

Cost: 18 mil. DKK, approximately 2.61 mil. $
Box office: Uncertain - but likely around 18 mil. DKK, approximately 2.61 mil. $
= Uncertain, but likely a huge flop (returned around 1 times its cost)
[The Green Butchers premiered 8 March (NatFilm Festival, Denmark) and runs 95 minutes. Shooting took place in Denmark. The film sold 261,726 tickets in production country Denmark, considered a local success but only netting the film around 17 mil. DKK. It was released in many other markets, but mainly at festivals and without the grosses getting recorded online: Only recorded is the tiny North-American release, which grossed 3k $. The film won 1/8 Robert awards (Danish Oscar). Jensen returned with Adam's Apples/Adams Æbler (2005). Mikkelsen returned in Torremolinos 73 (2003); Kaas in Rembrandt (2003); and Line Kruse (Mifune/Mifunes Sidste Sang (1999)) in Baby (2003). The Green Butchers is fresh at 63 % with a 6.26/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Green Butchers?