A Season of Scandinavian Cinema
We will be screening the Norwegian film Max Manus: Man of War on December 9 for a special December movie night event! Directed by Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg, the film dramatizes the exploits of the eponymous Norwegian resistance operative. Despite an almost complete lack of formal education, Manus (played by Aksel Hennie) bands together with other Norwegians outraged by German occupation during World War II and makes multiple escapes from captivity whilst performing acts of sabotage. Besides Max Manus, we will be displaying other movies from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. After all, if you can’t visit the North Pole this holiday season, why not explore somewhere in that area?
De usynlige
(or Troubled Water)
As a teenager, Jan Thomas (Pål Sverre Hagen) was convicted for murdering a boy he claims to have killed on accident. Now an adult, he is released from prison, finds a job at an Oslo church, and falls in love with the priest Anna (Ellen Dorrit Petersen). Meanwhile, the mother of the dead boy (Trine Dyrholm) panics that Jan Thomas will again threaten the children of the community. (2008, dir. Erik Poppe, Norway, 121 minutes)
Druk
(or Another Round)
Four high school teachers (Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe) are unhappily entering middle age. Stuck in a rut at home and at work, they decide to test a quack psychiatrist’s theory that humans are happier and freer when they maintain a constant blood alcohol level of 0.05%. (2020, dir. Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark, 116 minutes)
Du skal ære din hustru
(or Master of the House)
Failed businessman Viktor (Johannes Meyer) acts tyrannically towards his gentle wife Ida (Astrid Holm). When he threatens to dissolve their marriage unless her mother (Clara Schønfeld) and the meddling nanny Mads (Mathilde Nielsen) are sent away, the women of the house decide to teach him a lesson in gratitude by giving him a taste of his own medicine. (1925, dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer, Denmark, 107 minutes)
Until the death of his mother, Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen) rarely left their shared apartment; Kjell (Sven Nordin) has lived in institutions most of his life and is obsessed with sex, yet remains a virgin. Thanks to a new social program, the two roommates are given an apartment in Oslo, if they can manage to live independently. At first simply answering the phone or buying groceries is a struggle, but autonomy encourages to live more adventurously. (2001, dir. Petter Næss, Norway, 89 minutes)
In early 20th century Uppsala, siblings Fanny (Pernilla Allwin) and Alexander (Bertil Guve) Ekdahl belong to a well-off family that manages a theatre. When their father (Allan Edwall) suddenly dies, Mrs. Ekdahl (Ewa Fröling) marries the local bishop (Jan Malmsjö). Unfortunately, the authoritarian bishop has no interest in preserving the free-spirited nature of the Ekdahl household and is especially disapproving of Alexander’s habit of inventing stories. The item on display features both the theatrical cut and the original, longer cut released as a television miniseries. (1982, dir. Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 188/312 minutes)
Kautokeino-opprøret
(or The Kautokeino Rebellion)
November 8, 1852. The Sámi denizens of the village of Kautokeino launch a symbolic attack against Norwegian society, represented by a tradesman, a sheriff, and a priest. Some they kill, others they scourge. The Norwegian state then moves to punish the rebel leaders. (2008, dir. Nils Gaup, Norway, 96 minutes)
Kongen av Bastøy
(or King of Devil’s Island)
Rumors say that the newest inmate at Bastøy juvenile correctional facility, 17 year-old Erling (Benjamin Helstad), is a murderer. Erling immediately clashes with the island facility’s governor (Stellan Skarsgård), who believes manual labor, rigid discipline, and harsh punishment are needed to turn the boys into productive citizens. When the dorm master (Kristoffer Joner) proves responsible for a boy’s death, Erling leads his comrades in a rebellion that will prompt a response from no less than the Norwegian Army. (2010, dir. Marius Holst, Norway, 115 minutes)
Erik (Espen Klouman Høiner) and Phillip (Anders Danielsen Lie) are best friends and aspiring novelists. While Erik struggles to get his first book published, Philip becomes a literary celebrity at age 23. However, Philip’s mental health plummets after a bad breakup, and he wonders if he’ll ever write again. (2006, dir. Joachim Trier, Norway, 109 minutes)
A model-influencer couple (Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean) get a ticket aboard a superyacht in exchange for social media promotion. They and their fellow wealthy passengers are guaranteed that the crew will indulge their most absurd requests, but their privilege evaporates when the voyage goes awry. (2022, dir. Ruben Östlund, Sweden/UK, 147 minutes)
The Norwegian government says there’s nothing to worry about – it’s just some bears making trouble in the mountains and forests. But local hunters don’t believe it – and neither do a trio of college students (Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Mørck, and Tomas Alf Larsen). Armed with a video camera, they trail a mysterious poacher (Otto Jespersen), until they are straight in the path of his quarry: trolls. They document every move of this grizzled, unlikely hero – the Troll Hunter – and risk their lives to uncover the secrets of creatures only thought to exist in fairy tales. (2010, dir. André Øvredal, Norway, 104 minutes)
Utvandrarna
(aka The Emigrants)
Karl Oskar (Max von Sydow) and Kristina Nilsson (Liv Ullmann) struggle to make a living on their farm. Bad weather means their rocky plot returns even worse harvests than normal. After hunger claims one of their children, they decide to make the arduous journey from Småland, Sweden to the Minnesota frontier alongside relatives and neighbors who also dream of a richer and freer life in America. The sequel, The New Land, is also included in the two-disc set on display. Both movies are based on Vilhelm Moberg’s tetralogy. (1971, dir. Jan Troell, Sweden, 192 minutes)
Volaða Land
(or Godland or Vanskabte Land)
It is the late 19th century, and a Danish priest, Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove), has landed in Iceland, then a dependency of Denmark. His mission: travel to a Danish settlement on the southeast coast and oversee the establishment of a new church. However, Lucas is poorly prepared for the harsh terrain and the reality of being an intruder in a land, and amongst a people, that is not his own. (2022, dir. Hlynur Pálmason, Iceland/Denmark, 142 minutes)
