Camping (2009) - Hilarious but slight Danish dramedy

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The stars of Jacob Bitsch's Camping look more or less content in huge, yellow waterproof capes on its inviting poster

Two years have passed since Connie's father shot himself in the family caravan. Now Connie, her brother and their mother are to become reunited. And what better way than through a holiday. In the family caravan, of course.

Camping is the surprisingly funny debut for Jacob Bitsch (Amina's Letters/Aminas Breve (2017)), written by Anders Frithiof August (A Funny Man/Dirch (2011)). It successfully blends dark humor with funny situations and three well-written lead characters. Kirsten Lehfeldt (The Legacy/Arvingerne (2014-17)), Mia Lyhne (Nothing's All Bad/Smukke Mennesker (2010)) and Oliver Brandel all have a knack for delivering lines, and their masterly performances carry Camping to its several laughs.
The film sports welcome, implicit satire and a fair visual side. Unfortunately, - and typical of not a few Danish films, - it is 'under-written', meaning that it is simply too short and slight. Whether it stems from lack of self-confidence, funds or something entirely else is impossible to know, but it is a shame, because Camping, while it lasts, is a warm and hilarious companion.

Watch Camping star Mia Lyhne play Danish Crown Princess Mary in a satirical video from Danish comedy show Live from Bremen/Live fra Bremen here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown, but likely a mega-flop
[Camping was released 4 September (Denmark) and runs 79 minutes. It was released in 15 theaters in Denmark and sold a mere 18,090 tickets. It was additionally screened at 6 international film festivals. Even if the film was made on a small 10 mil. DKK (approximately 1.5 mil. $), the small theatrical reception would make it count as a mega-flop. It was financed as one of four low-budget collaborations between Nimbus Film and TV2. Bitsch has since made two shorts and directed episodes of Sjit Happens (2014-17). His second feature is getting released in 2017. 266 IMDb-users have given Camping a 5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Camping?

A Soap/En Soap (2006) - P. Christensen's great melodrama debut

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+ Best Copenhagen Movie of the Year + Best LGBT Movie of the Year + Best Melodrama of the Year

The delicious, pink poster for Penille Fischer Christensen's A Soap

QUICK REVIEW:

In a block in Nordvest, Copenhagen, Charlotte (Trine Dyrholm (Love Is All You Need/Den Skaldede Frisør (2012))) moves into a flat atop Veronica (David Dencik (Daisy Diamond (2007))), a pre-op transgender person, and the two gradually get closer and start to attract each other.

A Soap, the feature debut of great Danish co-writer-director Pernille Fischer Christensen (Someone You Love/En Du Elsker (2014)), is a really good, deeply melancholic film. It seeks boundaries and at times may make you uncomfortable. By demonstratively relegating a melodrama to us, using narration, the film transcends its earthbound base. A Soap, in a sense, shows us that life is a bagatelle, - a soap.
Christensen co-wrote with Kim Fupz Aakeson (In Order of Disappearence/Kraftidioten (2014)).

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]

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

David Dencik in Pernille Fischer Christensen's A Soap

 In lieu of a trailer for the film, which isn't on Youtube currently, here's a trailer for a more recent Fischer film, A Family/En Familie (2010) (which is far from the quality of A Soap) with English subtitles

Cost: 1.5 mil. $ 
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty (but looks like a huge flop)
[A Soap was released April 7 (Denmark) and runs 104 minutes. At the Berlin Film Festival, the film won the Grand Jury Silver Bear Award and the Best First Feature Film Award. At the Danish Bodil awards, the film won the Best Danish Film of the Year award as well as the Best Actress Award for Dyrholm, her third up to that point. 29,060 paid admission (accounting for approximately 0.3 mil. $) to A Soap in its native Denmark, which is so few that it should likely count as a huge flop theatrically. The international figures available, from the US (where it played in 2 theaters for 8 weeks, making 4k $), Brazil, Mexico and Portugal, add 145k $ to the number, still firmly setting the film in the huge flop category. 1,649 Rotten Tomatoes users have given A Soap an average 3.6/5 rating.]

What do you think of A Soap?