A SECOND CHANCE

It’s only the ‘goodies’ that get a second chance in this new rather overwrought melodrama from Danish Oscar winning director Susanne Bier as the ‘baddies’ evidently do not deserve to dig themselves out of the hell holes of lives they have ended up with.  The action starts with Police Detective Andreas and his partner Simon bursting into a squalid apartment to arrest Tristan on drug charges when they discover a distraught crying baby lying in his own excrement. A horrified Andreas tries to get the Authorities involved, but Social Services claim that is still not enough cause to have him taken into care.

Meanwhile at Andreas own rather idyllic lakeside house that seems like something right out of the pages of Elle Décor, his wife Anne who is suffering from a serious strain of post-partum depression and is trying to cope with their own baby who seems to never stop crying.  On yet another restless night Andreas wakes up to the sound of Anne screaming her head off as she cannot get baby Alexander to wake up.  She refuses to accept that he is dead and in her hysterical state tells Andreas that if he takes the baby away, then she will kill herself.  After he gets her sedated and back to bed he drives off with the baby’s body to the hospital to do the right thing.  However somewhere along the way he comes up with the crazy idea of breaking into Tristan’s apartment and swapping Sofus his baby with dead Alexander.

Just when you are taken in and thinking that as unorthodox and immoral as this is, it maybe the best chance for poor neglected Sofus as obviously his drug-addled mother is not a fit person to be a mother, there is a sharp twist in the plot that surprises us …. and Andreas  …. as after all, nice middle-class Anne is even worse. It’s inevitable that Andreas is not going to get away with this audacious far-fetched scheme but he is relying on the fact that his Police partner Simon is a serious alcoholic and his judgment is befuddled when he is under the influence.  Also he believes that Tristan and his girlfriend Sanne have such little regard for baby Sofus that they will not even notice that he has been swapped.

Ms. Bier forsakes any hint of subtlety and lays on the drama very heavy handedly, and milks it even further with eerie nighttime shots of the mist over the lake accompanied by doom-laden music that tips you off that more tragedy is just around the corner.  The movie’s saving grace is its cast led by the rather dashing Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ( Jaime Lannister in ‘Game of Thrones’) back to his Danish roots as Andreas the father too perfect for his own good, and Nikolaj Lie Kaas as the lowlife Tristan.

The only one who comes out well from all this is Sofus who lives happily ever after with his mother who in the end, turned out to be the one who really did warrant that second chance.

★★★★★

THE HUNT

Lucas is slowly getting his life together after a messy divorce with a traumatic custody battle, and also losing his teaching job as a result of the recession. Now in this small Danish country town he is working helping out at a kindergarten in the day and hanging out having fun with his male friends at night. It's not a perfect situation with him alone in the big house that he once shared with his family, but he has just heard that his son wants to come live with him so things are definitely on the up.

That all changes suddenly one day when in a fit of pique a 5 year old girl called Klara blurts out to Grethe the Kindergarten's owner that Lucas had exposed himself to her. A flummoxed Grethe calls in a child psychologist to see if there is any truth in the accusation, and in his overly-cautious way of desperately trying not to upset the child anymore, inadvertently puts words in her mouth and so draws the wrong conclusion.  Lucas is told to take a few days off whilst the matter gets sorted out, and Klara's parents ...... who happen to be Lucas's best friends .... are called in and told of the accusation.

From there the situation snowballs out of control as Grethe gives all the other worried parents a vague list of 'symptoms' to watch out for and then they all become convinced that Lucas has molested their children too.  And then when young Karla attempts to recant her story and tell the truth, this is rejected and explained away by the 'experts' as actually the severity of the abuse that has been inflicted upon her. When the local Magistrate refuses to charge Lucas due to an overwhelming lack of evidence, almost the entire community are outraged as they are totally convinced that a pedophile is loose in their midst now. 

As we know that the whole thing is a lie from the outset, it's harrowing to watch Lucas falsely treated like a criminal by the very community that he was once such an integral part of it.  They take out their anger on him both physically and verbally inflicting their own concept of justice on a man they unanimously feel should be punished.

Fast forward to when the truth finally is allowed to come out, and when the whole town accepts that it was all one huge mistake, Lucas and them kiss and make up, and life gets back to exactly where it was again for them all.  Or does it ... wait for the most unexpected finale before you decide .

Directed and co-written by Thomas Vinterberg ('The Celebration') it has a remarkable centered performance from acclaimed Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen with his weather-beaten sad face. Its a break from seeing him from playing a villain as he is usually typecast .... he was Le Chiffre in 'Casino Royale' and is currently playing Hannibal Lecter on NBC TV. He subtly portrays the persecuted Lucas with an intense quiet dignity despite all the hatred that is heaped upon him, until he finally lets his inner rage surface.  It's powerful stuff that it makes you want to root for him even more as the plot thickens.  Mr Mikkelsen was deservedly given the Best Actor Award at Cannes Film Festival for this.

Credit too for an astonishingly realistic performance from young Annika Wedderkopp as Klara, and also to Thomas Bo Larsen ('The Celebration') as Theo who was so torn between his loyalties as Klara's father and Lucas's best friend.

A harrowing take on a very difficult subject where people are so desperate to over-protect young children that they inadvertently see what they want to see and are totally blind to the truth.  It will make you both angry and sad. Trust me.

Out now on VOD & DVD.

★★★★★★★★

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED

In the opening moments of this new Danish movie and we see a Scandinavian middle-aged blonde woman and the coast of Sorrento and Pierce Brosnan, there is this decidedly deja vu feeling, but luckily this is not in fact 'Mamma Mia 2'. And thankfully Mr Brosnan is not called on to sing again. It is however an over-sentimentalized romantic-comedy which although directed by Suzanne Bier (Oscar Winner for 'In A Better World') and is peppered with some tart wee moments, has an annoyingly predictable Hollywood-type happy ending.

Ida is cancer and chemo free and is just about to throw herself into enjoying life again when she discovers her big lump of a husband Lief in flagranti with much younger Tilde from the Accounts Department at his firm.  He storms out and so Ida is left to fly to Italy on her own to attend their only daughter's wedding.

Astrid is marrying Patrick after a whirlwind three month romance, and they are going to have the ceremony in a delightful villa overlooking Naples Bay. The villa needs some urgent TLC as its been rather neglected by the owner Phillip, Patrick's father a successful businessman, who has never been back there since his wife died some years ago.  Although Phillip too lives in Copenhagen .... he is actually British (I guess getting Mr Brosnan to learn danish was too tall an order).

A distraught Ida has an unfortunate first encounter with a very angry Phillip and they don't hit it off at all.  But then they do .... but that's later, and it is very obvious from the 'i hate you' type conversation that they labour through initially that they are going to end up in bed.

Guests gather for the wedding and they are an odd bunch.  Phillip's sister-in-law who has acted as Patrick's mother de facto and who has always had the hots for her late sister's husband; Lief turns up with an uninvited Tilde in her tight fitting ensemble; and then there is the local hired help who are far too intimate with the hosts. And then both father and son change course .... and normally I avoid any spoilers in my reviews but these are so obvious from the start..... Patrick blames the fact that he was only trying to please his Dad by getting married and really he wants to hitch up with the handyman.  Dad meanwhile overnight suddenly stops being perpetually angry and is ready for love.  With Ida naturally (lest you think that he too was after the hired help).

The only redeeming feature about this muddled lightweight movie (other than the location) is the stunningly sensitive performance by Trine Dyrholm as Ida .... she is dignified and poised even with all the traumas that are heaped on her (and it's a far different role than the evil Queen she played in last year's hit 'A Royal Affair). The fact that there is such a lack of any believable 'chemistry' between her and a miscast Mr Brosnan as Phillip is certainly not her fault at all, but it does put a big damper on the whole story.

This movie only ended up on my watchlist because of Miss Bier whose resume includes some very impressive movies that really resonated with me. Besides her Oscar Win, she has also helmed 'After The Wedding', 'Brothers' and 'Open Hearts' but on the minus side her foray into making a Hollywood resulted in 'Things That We Lost In The Fire' a real mish-mash of a drama that that never caught alight. I much prefer Miss Bier's output when it is gritty and realistic, and hope now that she has dabbled in some (trite) light relief she will get back to something more meaty again. 

P.S. Her next movie 'Serena' now in post production could be just that  AND it has the benefit of having Jennifer Lawrence & Bradley Cooper in the cast.

★★★★★

Available on Amazon & Itunes VOD 

ONLY GOD FORGIVES

There's an awful lot of violence, and a great deal of red, and hardly any screenplay and just a mere hint of emotion in Nicolas Winding Refn's controversial new movie that the Critics have either vehemently panned or praised lavishly: there is no sitting on the fence on this one.

Julien, a man of very few words, runs a kickboxing club in Bangkok with Billy his older brother. They have a troubled past which is rarely alluded too, but accounts for the fact that they are now far from home. Julien seems in a perpetual trance drifting through the city and relying on strippers and prostitutes for some sexual relief. Billy is just the same but he obviously is deranged and so ends up viciously raping and murdering one.  With the complicity of the police the father of the victim then kills Billy and starts off an unending avalanche of bloody brutality.

Crystal, the siblings mother, and a highly successful drug dealer flies into town from the U.S. to avenge her eldest son's death when it is apparent that Julian is reluctant to do so.  She is not reluctant to get her hands dirty .... not literally as she is bewigged and decked out like one of the cast of the Real Housewives ..... but she will ensure that the thugs she employs get revenge for her.

She, and everyone else, are up against a sword-wielding retired policeman who has resolved to single-handedly scourge the city of it's corrupt underbelly of brothels and fight clubs.  When he is not relentlessly slicing off body parts and cutting them up, he loves to croon pop songs in karaoke bars.

This Danish/Thai production reunites director Refn with Ryan Gosling but this is really not in the same league as their 2011 smash-hit 'Drive'.  With such a sparse screenplay the movie relies on its dramatic visuals to carry the story ..... and its highly-stylised sets and beautiful cinematography are stunning ..... but it lacks a real soul.   I had read somewhere that Refn was quoted as saying that he wanted to make a film about a man who wanted to fight God.  Hmmm somehow that's not what he ended up with.

I'm still unsure what to make of Gosling's performance as so much of it was internalised, but Kristin Scott Thomas's rather outrageous turn as the domineering trashy Crystal was nothing short of a sheer delight. For me she was a refreshing breath of fresh air in this dark heavy plot, and was an inspired piece of casting.

P.S. I've never professed to be anything less than subjective in my reviews, so as I cannot abhor such an excessive use of violence it's impossible for me to be objective about a movie like this which completely overdoses on it.  For some reason (that even I have trouble fathoming out) I found the use of it in 'Drive' much more acceptable.

In US Theaters now and also on AMAZON VOD 

THE ACT OF KILLING

The subject of Joshua Oppenheimer's fiercely compelling documentary is definitely one of the most evil and sadistic acts of genocide that I have ever seen on the silver screen.  It tells some of the stories of the Indonesian death squads of the mid 1960's who tortured and killed over one million 'communists' at the behest of the Military Dictatorship of that period.  Oppenheimer invited a couple of the lead executioners to re-enact how they went about their murderous activities, and these Hollywood-obsessed gangsters leaped at the chance of making their own movie with themselves in starring roles.

The end result is a movie about the making of their movie when  two of the most notorious of the thugs, Anwar Congo and his sidekick Herman, go back into the same areas where they annihilated most of the residents, and now get the present-day inhabitants to take part in their re-enactments. It would seem that no-one, including the petrified locals dare refuse these infamous killers anything. Now some 50 years after the events, with the complicity of corrupt powerful businessmen and an ineffectual Government, the gangsters are not only universally feared but they feel completely safe from any threat of possible International Criminal Court charges.

Oppenheimer filmed this over six years from 2005 - 2011 so the continuity is tad awkward at times especially with Anwar's changing hair coloring, but it gave the Director the opportunity to not only involve other Death Squad Members  but also to cover some events of the reactionary right-wing paramilitary organisation the Pancasila Youth.  It makes you realise the fact that although the genocide may be a thing of the past, the Country is still effectively controlled by these several million uniformed thugs who bare more than a passing resemblance to Hitler Youth.

When the first cut of the movie was shown to Werner Herzog the Executive Producer (along with Errol Morris) he said it was the most frightening and surreal film that he had ever seen, and he was not exaggerating.  As the thugs revel in talking about the countless atrocities that they enjoyed committing and were unmitigatingly proud of, the silent audience in the theater is numb with sheer disbelief. Each obscene fact they reveal never seems to prepare you for the fact that there is even worse to follow.  And when they are embraced by the Vice President of Indonesia who claims in a speech to a packed stadium 'we need gangsters to get things done', you realise there is no morality at all.

There is a scene towards the end of this harrowing movie when Congo is with his young grandsons watching  the rushes of the re-enactments, and he begins to understand something of the horror he put his victims through. It is, as Oppenheimer forces him to admit, far too little and far too late.

The man and his cohorts were/are monsters. Whatever reservation I had about the format of this movie and giving these killers a platform was soon dispelled as I really needed to know the history and the full impact of this genocide, and why the perpetrators are not only free but so proud of their record.  This is one of the toughest movies to watch, and I know the memory of it will haunt me for a very long time yet, but I am grateful for the experience.

When Steven Boone of The Guardian in the UK reviewed this movie he summed it up so succinctly 'It's often said of documentaries that they deserve to have as wide an audience as possible. This doesn't deserve; it demands.'

★★★★★★★★★★

A ROYAL AFFAIR

Poor Caroline Mathilda didn't have a lot going for her. As a teenage British Princess back in the late 18th Century she was betrothed to her royal husband sight unseen and he turned out to be infantile and deranged.  Nevertheless she was shipped off to the snowy back and beyond of Denmark to be it's Queen not speaking more than the odd phase in Danish, and she also had to deal with a wicked step mother-in-law. When she did get her first peace of happiness she had the misfortune to fall in love with a very surly and serious German!

This extravagant epic costume drama is evidently based on a true story, and tells how the new Queen quickly realises that the King is no more interested in their marriage as she is, and so once she gets pregnant after the first night, and bears him an obligatory Heir, she bans him for her Bedchamber. Once he bores himself with his local whores, Christian takes himself off for a Grand Tour of Europe but halfway through it he manages to have a particularly bad manic spell and his Councillors hurriedly hire a renegade Doctor to help Christian through this.  

Strueness is not only an unorthodox Doctor and a German to boot, but he is also a leading member of a secret movement which is seeking radical social reform of  Denmark which at that time was an ultra conservative country run by rich aristocrats where the peasants are simply their slaves.  The King however, knowing nothing of the Doctor's real intentions, takes a great shine to Strueness in whom he sees a true friend, and the pair soon become inseparable.

The Physician uses this closeness to encourage and empower the weak King to start pushing his Council for some reforms, and when they retaliate by conspiring to have Strueness arrested and exiled, the King really comes into his own, and disbands them totally and finally makes the Doctor de facto King.

The King is not the only one who takes a real shine to Strueness and soon he is paying late night visits to the Queen's Bedchamber. This is a perfect arrangement until the Queen gets pregnant and as all the Court knows she hasn't slept with the King for years, this could turn out to be her undoing.  And the Wicked Stepmother and the banished Council Elders insure it is just that, and much much more.

This is Denmark's Official Entry for Best Foreign Picture Oscar and it has a fine array of their homegrown talent.  Directed and co written by Nikolaj Arcel (who also co-wrote the screenplay for 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo') from the best selling novel by Bodil Steensen-Leth. Strueness was played by Mads Mikkelsen, Denmark's leading man of the moment (equally good as Le Chiffre in 'Casino Royale') , King Christian was played by Mikkel Boe Følsgaard a young actor still at Drama School but that didn't stop him picking up the Silver Bear at Berlin Film Festival last year for this performance, and the beautiful Swedish actress  Alicia Vikander played the young Queen who wanted more out of life.

It'a a lush big budget rather glorious movie which even managed to make Denmark look inviting (a lot of the exteriors were shot in Prague however) and its a very engaging piece.  However have your kleenex ready at the end, as even in historical romantic dramas like this the path of true love is not always a happy one.
★★★★★★★★★

THE AMBASSADOR

'THE AMBASSADOR' is the work of Mads Brugger a Danish documentarian setting himself up as an 'African Diplomat' and under the pretense of representing Liberia he settles in the Central African Republic ostensibly to expose widespread corruption but at the same time becoming a diamond drug smuggler. This hilarious and completely compelling movie is about being a con-man trying to outplay a whole series of local con-men in this latest 'Mickey Mouse' Regime who are now in power in this desperately poor Third World Country.  But on reflection there is also a distinct possibility that the filmmaker has set this whole thing up and is actually conning us too.  Regardless of who is being taken for a ride it is an immensely funny film that takes aim at the farcical machinations in this African State where no-one is technically bribed but they all expect to be given a bulging 'envelope of happiness'.  

P.S. I met Mads at Sundance when the movie was premiered and he assured me it was all true.  Hmmmm.  Really Mads?

This has been re-printed from my SUNDANCE 2012 Blog as the movie is now in a few selected theaters now.

★★★★★★★★

TEDDY BEAR

This is the story of Dennis a middle-aged pumped up 6' 5" bodybuilder who weighs in at 305 lbs but still lives at home with his diminutive shrew of a mother who bullies him like mad.  After Dennis's old Uncle marries his new young Thai bride it sets him off thinking that he too may actually be able to get a lady friend of his own.  After lying to his mother he sneaks off to Thailand but this powerfully shy big man can not overcome his fears and insecurities when he tries his hand at being a sex tourist.

He is totally miserable in Pattaya City until he discovers a gym, and the widow owner, and suddenly things are looking up.   Only snag is how the hell is he going to tell his fierce controlling mother?

Usually Danish movies are always so bleak .... maybe it's something to do with all that cold weather.... but despite the icy glares of Dennis's mother, this one was really quite sweet and totally charming.  

P.S. It won the World Cinema Directing Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for filmmaker Mads Matthiesen, : and this review is reposted from my Sundance 2012 Blog

★★★★★★★★

KLOWN

Hapless Frank has learned that Mia his girlfriend is pregnant, but she is having second thoughts about giving birth, as she seriously doubts Frank’s potential as a father. When he fails the simple test of babysitting Bo his nephew (he leaves him alone in the house when it is being robbed) Frank takes drastic action.  He’s just about to go on a men’s only debauched canoeing trip with his best pal Casper and so he ‘kidnaps’ Bo to prove to Mia that she has got it all wrong about him.

Highly energetic sex-obsessed Casper who has dubbed this as 'The Tour of Pussy' (one of the stops is a high-class private Brothel) is none too pleased to have Bo tagging along, but he eventually agrees even though he doesn't temper his outrageous behavior one little bit, much to the timid boy's discomfort.

At the first campsite they stop at, 40-something-year-old Casper goes to try his luck with a party of high school girls, whilst Bo ends up in tears after being picked on by some bullies.  Frank, considering that this is his first ‘parental’ test clumsily tries to resolve Bo’s problem which is all about him being teased in the bathrooms for having a small penis.  He handles the situation very badly and is accused of being a pervert and the three of them end up being evicted from the campsite in the middle of the night.

Their canoe capsizes and they seek refuge in a nearby house owned by a buxom young woman who offers them towels, pancakes and then herself.  Only Casper accepted all three, which she bitterly regretted the next morning.

Now that both men have both behaved badly in front of Bo they start to panic that he will spill the beans when they get back home and so decide that they only way that can ensure his silence is to get something embarrassing on the boy.  So they  sneak into the tent to surreptitiously take a picture of the sleeping 12 year old’s small penis.

By this point in the movie I have already shouted so many ‘Oh My God’s’ as I stare in sheer disbelief at how inappropriate, to say the very least, that this story is.  And it even gets worse.  Poor Bo is at the mercy of two men not used to looking out for another human being, Casper will drop him at first sight of anyone who will drop their pants for him (and they don’t always have to be female even) and socially awkward Frank is so inept that he could unintentionally do the kid real harm through his negligence.

There are seemingly no limits as to what hijinks they will get up too for a laugh in this extraordinary raunchy comedy that had me both highly mortified with horror AND laughing my head off.  Good taste didn't ever enter the equation. I think the first reaction is from my Brit Methodist upbringing where decency was drummed into us and one would never have laughed at such crass humor, if it ever had even been available then. The story line alone about poor Bo’s appendage could even be considered borderline child molestation, but somehow they manage to make it all seem acceptable and brilliantly funny. Just.

The whole movie is the work of the two highly successful Danish comedians who both wrote and starred in it.  Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam have a hit TV series for 6 seasons also called 'Klown', which is a sort of Danish ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’  and this film was born from that.  And to add another level to its credentials, it has been produced by Lars Van Trier’s company.

About to open here in the US in a limited release and also V.O.D., but when it was shown in Denmark back in 2010 it was the second highest grossing movie of the year (the first was 'Avatar'). Two people who didn't get to see it then were Mr Christensen’s children aged 12 and 14 ….. he is quoted as saying ‘ when I realized that I couldn't show the movie to them, I realized we had gone too far!’

Or had they?  By the time I reached the final scene I was hooked, but then if you a regular reader of my Blog you will appreciate that I do have very catholic tastes.  If you do too, then you should try this.  It is as bizarre as they come.  But very very funny too.

P.S. If you like your humor much more watered down then maybe you’ll be interested in knowing that Hollywood is already working on their sanitized version to be directed by Todd Philips who did 'The Hangover' movies.  I’m so going to pass on that one.

★★★★★★★★

PATRIK 1.5

Sven and Goran are a happily married gay couple in their mid-30’s.  They have great jobs, and a new house in a small country town (which bares more than a passing resemblance to Legoland).  They want for nothing.  Except a child.  So they get approved by the authorities, but it turns out  that even though gay adoption is legal in their native Denmark there is still a resistance to actually find kids for same-sex couples and so it soon looks likely that the nursery they have lovingly made may never get to be occupied.  And then one day they get a letter announcing that after all there is one slightly troubled child available, Patrik 1.5 years old, who will arrive at their home the next week.

Turns out there is a typing error in this communiqué and so they are totally unprepared for the tough teenager who, at 15 years old, already has a history of violence and crime, who turns up on their doorstep announcing  that he is Patrik.  He too is horrified at the mistake when he discovers that Sven and Goran are gay as he is convinced that they will molest him.  As its Friday night they will all have no option than to get through the weekend together until the Adoption Office opens again in Monday Morning.

Without giving too much of the plot away, Patrik reluctantly ends up moving in albeit temporarily which in turn has Sven moving out of the marital home  …. but panic not, as in this  delightful endearing comedy, all’s well end’s well. 

R.T.V. By placing the emphasis on the human relationships rather than sexual orientation this wonderful feel-good movie makes light of what are often heavy issues.  And it has one great message when it suggests that sometimes the things we least desire are exactly what we need.  Hmmm.


★★★★★★★★