The Absent One - 2014 - Denmark

The Absent One - 2014 - 7/10
AKA - Fasandræberne (aka: Disgrace)

 
Before his suicide, a retired detective asks Mørck to look into the old murder of his children.
Mørck dismisses him, then, guilt-ridden, begins to dig though the old files.
Zeroing in on a prestigious boarding school for the rich and troubled.
As with The Keeper Of Lost Causes there are reams of plot and legwork.
The villains are wealthy, prone to Inflicting brutal injuries.
At the center is a witness from decades earlier, now sought by both sides.
Better for fans of police thrillers, rather than viewers who desire in-depth characterizations.

Pusher - 1996 - Denmark

Pusher - 1996 - 7/10

 
Frank’s day had started well enough.  Making deals, drinking, rolling easy.
He is in debt to his supplier, however.
Possible escape arrives with an ex-cellmate, who wants to do a major deal.
All smiles at this stage, before events go to hell.
Hyper kinetic film put Nicolas Winding Refn on the map, and launched Mads Mikkelsen.
Club scenes and street swirl are wonderfully dizzying.
Mostly, it’s the lies, the promises, the pipedreams.

Breaking The Waves - 1996 - Denmark

Breaking The Waves - 1996 - 7/10

 
Bess misses oil rigger husband Jan, emotionally and sexually, and prays to God to return him.
And lo, God responds.  Jan is injured, badly, and flown back.  Paralyzed.
To save him, the devoutly religious Bess, begins offering herself to increasingly brutish men.
Widely acclaimed film, notable for Emily Watson’s fearless performance.
This is really an uncomfortable watch, however.  Score above is for Watson, period.
The director, I felt, took delight in his mistreatment of Bess … and other women in subsequent films.
I am not a fan of Dogma 95, nor of this director.

The Keeper Of Lost Causes - 2013 - Denmark

The Keeper Of Lost Causes - 2013 - 7/10
AKA - Kvinden i buret (The woman in the cage)

 
Mørck doesn’t wait for backup, and he and crew are ambushed.
He survives and is demoted to the basement, sorting and marking cold cases as closed.
Department Q is a dead end, although Mørck is assigned a motivated assistant, Assad.
One case surfaces, a young politico who supposedly committed suicide on a ferry.
Very much a hard core procedural, as the men interview, dig, unearth and irritate.
Taut thriller, followed by two films and a copy-cat TV series.

Babette’s Feast - 1987 - Denmark

Babette’s Feast - 1987 - 7/10

 
Broccoli film.  Meaning, it’s good for you.  You appreciate it, though don’t necessarily enjoy it.
A French refugee is given shelter by an abstemious, devout pair of sisters.
After a decade of repayment service, Babette decides to prepare an elaborate French meal.
For a table gathering who, save one, know nothing of cuisine.
Those who cannot tell the difference between robust peasant fare, and nuanced and subtle dishes.
Akin to giving three-year-olds expensive chocolate truffles, when a Tootsie Roll tastes the same to them.
Yes, this one raked in acclaim and awards.  A high-quality film that I disliked exceedingly.

The Deadly Knell - 1914 - Denmark

The Deadly Knell - 1914 - 6/10  
AKA - Dødsklokken

 
During the dinner party, military brass learn they are at war!
Next scene, the trenches!
A young officer is dispatched, carrying an important dossier to the front.
Except he is betrayed by a higher rank, imprisoned for his trouble.
Fortunately, pageboy cut Hubert (think Hardy Boys) is there to bail him out over and over.
I am guessing the conflict may be the Franco-Prussian War.
Denmark film ends abruptly, missing a reel or two.

English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3349449

Queen Of Hearts - 2019 - Denmark

Queen Of Hearts - 2019 - 7/10
AKA - Dronningen

Husband is a successful doctor, wife an attorney for victims.
Two young daughters, solid marriage –
Until the husband decides to bring his 17 year old son from a previous marriage into the home.
Yes, the kid has problems, and the adjustment is rocky.
But the small daughters take a shine to him, and he grows into the family.
Bringing girlfriends home, however, triggers something.

 
His stepmother suddenly feels old.  Akin to a midlife crisis.
The incomprehensible affair she starts runs hypocritically parallel to teen victims she defends.
Unpleasant slow burn drama, one knows will end badly.

Nordland ‘99 - 2022 - Denmark

Nordland ‘99 - 2022 - 7/10

Alex tries to mend things with an ex-girlfriend.  Her current, drug-pushing boyfriend disagrees.
By the end of the episode, Alex has vanished and suspicion swirls in the Denmark village.
Local cops are disinterested, even though he is the second teen to mysteriously disappear.
Who starts searching?  His gun-toting sister, and his friends.

 
Into the illicit drug world, into rural backwoods, broken down cabins, secret lives.
Slow boil thriller has a brooding launch, then grows progressively darker.
Eight half-hour episodes.  Don’t be put off, this is not aimed for ADHD teens.

Copenhagen Cowboy - 2022 - Denmark

Copenhagen Cowboy - 2022 - 6/10

 
Three unconnected stories of Miu drifting through the Danish underworld.
At one point, Miu is referred to as a “lucky coin”.
Like the coin, she shows two sides.  Good luck or misfortune.
Fans of Nicolas Winding Refn (I’m grudgingly one) will declare this awash in style.
Detractors (on the fence here) will argue Refn is mired in stall.
Lengthy takes serve to permit viewers to feast on visuals, as well as act as padding the time.
Refn’s eye, which to me most resembles Cattet & Forzani, is his strength.
His storytelling, or lack of, is his prime weakness,
Stunning scenes aside, this offers neither substance nor emotional involvement.
The conclusion of the sixth episode seems to point toward Fantasy Island territory, which holds no interest for me.
Not that it matters.  Refn has unwisely aligned with NetFlix.
In patience and foresight, the cable behemoth rivals King Joffrey, who would axe this series.

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words - 2015 - Sweden

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Jag är Ingrid

 
Less a documentary about the movie career, but more a behind the doors personal look.
For a Bergman fan, there is wonderful material here.  Old photos, home movies taken by her father, as well as Ingrid herself who was quite the home movie buff.  A trove of correspondence with lifelong Swedish friends.  Recollections from her four children.
What emerges, however, is the story of a loner and perhaps a lonely soul.
Bergman moves from Sweden to Hollywood to Italy to England.  In two moves, she leaves her children behind.
Always, though, she takes her bulging collection of photos, letters and home movies.
One wonders if, for the woman orphaned early, those physical memories were more important than anything else.

Bron Broen: S01 - 2011 - Denmark

Bron Broen: S01 - 2011 - 7/10
AKA - The Bridge

 
Corpse is found on Øresund Bridge, midway between Denmark and Sweden.
Police from both countries arrive and they will decide jurisdiction when the identity is discovered.
Wait a minute -- The body is actually cut in half --  No, it’s two separate bodies put together.
The murders are the beginning of a series of well planned events and symbolic deaths.
Brief series starts slow, but accelerates to red-line quickly.
Not to be missed is the female Swedish detective, Saga.
She has virtually no social skills, and no check switch - and is painfully funny - but her counterparts recognize her crack investigative skills.

The Chestnut Man - 2021 - Denmark

The Chestnut Man - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Kastanjemanden

 
It’s an old case, a year gone, almost cold file.
Still, the kidnapped victim was – is! – a politician’s daughter.
Then, after a year, a string of women are murdered, limbs removed, displays mounted.
And always those eerie chestnut men somewhere on the scene.
Six part thriller, well written, diabolically constructed, sure direction, solid acting.
None of the detectives are drooling, weirdo types, an overused crutch from imaginatively bereft writers.
Convoluted, perhaps so much, you may need to rewatch a few episodes.

The Hunt - 2012 - Denmark

The Hunt - 2012 - 7/10
AKA - Jagten

 
Harrowing character study, with Mads Mikkelsen as kindergarten teacher.
After a five year old tells that he showed his erection, his life is royally and totally frakked.
Barring a miracle, there is no way a blot like that will ever wash clean.
Everyone in the village turns against him.  Though it never said why, one suspects he could not leave while police investigations were ongoing.  So he lived amidst escalating resentment, fear and hatred.
Almost to a soul, everyone took the child’s story as gospel.
This gets really ugly.

I saw this happen first hand, when a regular customer of the store where I worked was accused by a twelve year old.  He was a math teacher, and completely exonerated.
Transpired the student launched accusations after being displeased with poor grades.
The man was released by the school, the district would not employ him, he could not find work within 100 miles.
He eventually relocated across the country.

Couple years later, a rep from the school district visited the music store.
District honchos had heard there were five guys with BA degrees in Art, English, and History, toiling for budget wages.
The district was desperate for male, “role model” teachers.
Despite financial proposals that were quadruple our meager record store salary, we all refused.
Citing how every single year, it seemed some poor male teacher was accused, cleared, yet ruined.
The stench of accusal, especially related to children, never disappears.

Another Round - 2020 - Sweden

Another Round - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Druk

 
Professor Martin is mired in a rut of mediocrity.
His students do not respect him, his wife finds him a bore, his children disregard him.
Welcome to middle age, coming to terms with shortcomings.
Then, he and three fellow teachers, decide to maintain a .05% level of alcohol to restore sharpness.
An experiment, something they read in a book, a discipline Hemingway adhered to.
Glorification of alcohol usage, condemnation, perhaps accommodation.
Most of us have worked with functioning / non-functioning alcoholics.
This film mirrors much of what I observed, minus the peculiar finale.

Greyzone - 2018 - Denmark

Greyzone - 2018 - 5/10

 
Security forces in Denmark and Sweden hunt for missing nuclear warhead, then advanced drone!
Soon, they realize a high-tech expert has been kidnapped, and she may be forced into dark deeds.
Reviews for this were wide ranging, so I knew there was a 50-50 chance I might dislike this.
Within a half hour you realize the terrorists are Muslim extremists.  Really?
Woman kidnapped, and her son threatened.  Child in danger, really?
To get info, she has to copy files from a security company to drive.  Huh?
Later, load spyware to said outfit.  Say wha?  The company has no malware protection?
More?  Each episode bears a title, which turns out to be a reveal or, worse, a spoiler!
On and on and on and on.  Clichés stack into each other.
The writers are sloths, the story predictable, with characters you want to shove into a garbage truck.

After The Wedding - 2006 - Denmark

After The Wedding - 2006 - 6/10
AKA - Efter Brylluppet

 
Social worker Jacob, seeking more funding to keep the orphanage going, goes to Denmark.
Indeed, that is part of the potential donation, so this is a summons to ask in person.
Once there, he is invited to a wedding, and he spies an old flame.
From then on, revelations surface at a steady pace.
The story is heavy on character development, motivations, and well meaning intentions.
Camerawork includes many extreme closeups, capturing expressions and gestures.
Note:  Hollywood offered an attempt in 2019, casting attractive actors.

Love Is All You Need - 2012 - Denmark

Love Is All You Need - 2012 - 6/10
AKA - Den Skaldede Frisør

 
Young couple (English - Danish) opt to marry at his family villa in Italy.
Girl’s mother, recovering from cancer therapy, discovers husband shtupping flexible replacement.
Boy’s father still has not gotten over his wife’s death.
Surely they will be too preoccupied to take note of each other.
Add coastal scenery, breezy directorial style, light comic touches.
OK date night flick in Danish and Italian, though Mr Brosnan speaks English throughout.

Lang Historie Kort - 2015 - Denmark

Lang Historie Kort - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Long Story Short

Ensemble movie tracks eight or nine friends for two or three years.
Multiple characters seem confusing, but attentive viewers will catch the rhythm and faces soon enough.
Transitory relationships, established friendships, marriages fresh and stale.
At the center is Ellen, who keeps making poor choices as far as men.
Stories advance at various parties. New Years, wedding, birthdays … Alcohol lubricates misbehavior.
Those who favor French fare or Woody Allen romantic dramas should enjoy.

Aquarela - 2018 - Denmark

Aquarela - 2018 - 6/10

Visual presentation of water. Icebound, sheets of rain, rising floodwaters.
Message film showing the influence of global warming on water.
The first 49 minutes reveal autos crashing through once solid ice short-cuts, and glaciers calving icebergs.
Followed by rain swept seas. Finally, submerged towns and residences.
Politicians are doubtless working round the clock to reverse potential catastrophe. Waterworld came out in 1995, in case someone argues we never saw this coming.

The Kindness Of Strangers - 2019 - Denmark

The Kindness Of Strangers - 2019 - 6/10

A woman flees from her physically abusive husband, along with her two small sons.
Soon enough, we realize he is a cop and possesses all sorts of ways to track them down.
Shutting the credit cards, getting the parked car impounded.
Wait! though, she has gone to New York City, That most generous and hospitable of burgs to hide in.
While she and the boys struggle somewhat, they find many open doors.
A concurrent story follows a newly released convict, who is offered the manager post of an upscale restaurant.
Additional characters and narratives weave and tangle.
Fairy tale, set in Manhattan, sugarcoats the plight of true homelessness.