Cinema is Dope

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The creative fusion of Anders Thomas Jensen and Susanne Bier turn in one of the more memorable family melodrama’s of this decade. IFC Films has this film out on home video and is a highly recommended video rental or purchase. Mads Mikkelsen turns in another stellar performance and Stine Fischer Christensen (who is also great in Echo) really plays her highly emotional and roller coaster role to perfection. Rolf Lassgard is also of note here as he steals nearly every scene he is in with a very gripping portrayal that as much as you want to hate him, you can’t help but ultimately feel sympathy. The in-your-face camera work does take a bit to get used to, but after awhile you won’t realize it and certainly adds more tension to the melodrama throughout.

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After the Wedding Synopsis:

Jacob Petersen has dedicated his life to helping street children in India. When the orphanage he heads is threatened by closure, he receives an unusual offer. A Danish businessman, Jorgen, offers him a donation of $4 million dollars. There are, however, certain conditions … Not only must Jacob return to Denmark, he must also take part in the wedding of Jorgen’s daughter. The wedding proves to be a critical juncture between past and future and catapults Jacob into the most intense dilemma of his life.

Amazon.com Link:
Buy the After the Wedding DVD

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Adam’s Apples Synopsis:

The comedy “Adams Apples” is a modern religious fable about belief, and the fight between good and evil. Adam is a neo-Nazi, who is send on community service with the priest Ivan. Ivan gives Adam the task of baking an apple pie with apples from the tree in front of the church. Meanwhile birds, worms and lightning are attacking the apples. Ivan believes it is the Devil, who is testing them, but Adams believes it is God, because it might be, that evil does not even exist.

Hands down one of my favorite films this decade and a criminally under seen gem destined for timeless cult appeal and following. Anders Thomas Jensen does a lot with very little here, sparse script, good versus evil and a cast that takes the material and hits a home run with it. In particular Mads Mikkelsen as Ivan proves there might not be another actor on his level in this day and age.

Ulrich Thomsen should get a little more international attention starring in the new Tom Tykwer thriller, The International, which bows into theaters February 2009 and seems to retread global corporate corruption themes that the Constant Gardener also explored. For festival audiences his role as Michael might be a big break out role for him in what seems at least on paper at least a Jensen scripted Michael Douglas/Falling Down type of tale.

For Mads Mikkelsen I am definitely curious on the supernatural time travel thriller Die Tur aka Past Perfect where he plays a down and out artist who discovers a time portal, which he attempts to use to go back to an earlier point of his life to try and make things work out better, but instead creates a nightmare that spirals out of control. (more info)

Mads Mikkelsen next big project after this is in the viking film, Valhalla Rising (see also post here) where he plays One-Eye. It’s about as close as we will ever see him perhaps inhabiting an Conan the Barbarian type of role and should be quite bloody and entertaining. The WWII film, Flammen & Citronen with filmmaker Ole Christian Madsen should also be another upcoming film to seek out as it looks to be a very strong and well told drama.

For Nicolas Bro, post-Adam’s Apples, I’ve found that his dark drama-doc-thriller-fantasy, Offscreen, is by far his best work to date and a real must see for daring filmgoers. His next big upcoming film will be in the international production, The Good Heart, which also stars Paul Dano and Brian Cox. The film seems centered around dying bar owner (Brian Cox) who takes in a homeless man with healing powers (Paul Dano) and supernatural themes enter and they somehow wind up at what seems to be a mental institution playing frisbee. (via Cinematical)

Paprika Steen post-Adam’s Apples has been incredibly busy bouncing around TV projects and starring roles like the upcoming Jensen penned, Fear Me Not. Her most prominent role to date has been as an alien substitute teacher in The Substitute, which plays at Fantastic Fest this year.

Anders Thomas Jensen has several projects in the work (mostly screenplays in production with no word when he will take the director reins again). Notable of his upcoming projects are:

Ved verdens ende (Winter 2009): The comedy drama tells the story of criminal psychologist Adrian, who is sent to Indonesia to examine the mental state of Severin Gertsen, a Dane who claims to be 129 years-old thanks to a carnivorous plant. Both men embark on a frantic chase through the jungle in pursuit of the precious plant, with the whole Indonesian army and a gang of local mobsters on their heels. (source)

Fear Me Not (Fall 2008): Plays at the Toronto International Film Festival and the San Sebastian International Film Festival and is about, “42-year-old Michael needs a change in his life, so when he hears about clinical trials for a new anti-depressant, he signs up to be a guinea pig - without telling his family. Because of dangerous side effects, the trial is subsequently abandoned but Michael continues to take the pills. Having lost all control, Michael’s repressed instincts resurface with a force and violence that no-one could have predicted.” (more)

Brothers (Fall 2008): Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father) remakes Bier’s and Jensen’s 2004 entry, Brothers. Cast includes: Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire and Sam Shepard.

Antichrist (Fall 2009): Lars von Trier and Jensen team up with a terror in the woods entry starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Stills are bound to leak spoiling the ancient evil at work in the film, but regardless of that von Trier and Jensen teaming up to make a horror thriller certainly seems like it could work, assuming their very strong personalities can gel enough to make things work. Clearly they have agreed enough to make it this far so I can only assume they will spurn each other on more creatively to make one of 2009’s most nerve rattling films!

The one film that sticks out odd in all the upcoming Jensen projects is his work on the Keira Knightley period piece, The Duchess. The film features a stellar cast and with Jensen wit and prose could certainly soar when its released later this year.

The only other Jensen project of late aside from With Your Permission (which played Toronto last year) is Clash of Egos, which remains my most sought after film of his to see as he pokes fun at the filmmaking industry in it. Sadly no one has picked it up yet for a video release with English subtitles and believe me I did lobby with Jensen that I hoped to see it one day when I ran into him earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival.

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Sunday, August 17, 2008

Ulrich Thomsen who many might remember as Adam Pedersen in Anders Thomas Jensen’s, Adam’s Apples, stars in the upcoming Danish film, Fear Me Not, which is co-written by Jensen along with its director Kristian Levring. In reading an earlier version of the synopsis for this film it sounded like the character of Michael played by Ulrich Thomsen might have a similar Michael Douglas/Falling Down character turn, which with Jensen involved certainly made it a must see film of 2008!

Fear Me Not will be screening at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival and the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Synopsis:

42-year-old Michael needs a change in his life, so when he hears about clinical trials for a new anti-depressant, he signs up to be a guinea pig - without telling his family. Because of dangerous side effects, the trial is subsequently abandoned but Michael continues to take the pills. Having lost all control, Michael’s repressed instincts resurface with a force and violence that no-one could have predicted.

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Since he has been very popular here this week, here are some older images of Mads Mikkelsen in the Anders Thomas Jensen scribed and Susanne Bier directed, Open Hearts (Elsker dig for evigt).

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I really admire this great Japanese poster artwork for After the Wedding (Efter brylluppet). The split panel is a nice touch that really helps to display the emotion of the film. This Susanne Bier (director) and Anders Thomas Jensen (screenwriter) collaboration certainly pays off, although the extremely tight framing still seems at times strange to me.

After the Wedding is currently out on US Region 1 DVD via IFC.

In addition to the always solid Mads Mikkelsen in the film (whom you can just barely spot in the top wedding photograph above), Stine Fischer Christensen does a great job in a supporting role. I’ve seen her around in various other films, but it really was her work here that made a lasting impression on me. She is also featured in my favorite movie so far of 2008, Echo, as Angelique.

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Nicolas Bro is Gunnar in “Adams æbler” aka “Adam’s Apples.” Along with Tim League of the Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest this film was my favorite of 2006. It was also easily the biggest rush of cinema I had last year. Seeing it for the first time at the Prado Suburense movie theatre at the Sitges Film Festival was a jolting experience (see the pic I took of it here). The entire audience got into the film and the electricity and buzz going through the audience with each passing scene was other worldly. It was a golden movie experience where cinema gives you a born again type of experience.

Adam’s Apple appears to be featured in an upcoming issue of Film Movement.

If you like Nicolas Bro then you should definitely make plans now to see him in what I consider his best performance by far to date in “Offscreen” which is screening at Fantastic Fest this year (more details here).

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