Himmerland (2008) User Reviews

Blended plot in Jutland

[turbo_torben · 4/10 · 23 December 2006]

I saw this movie at a test screening, hoping that it would be pretty decent considering the actors; Nicolaj and Zlatko. What they were doing in this movie is beyond my understanding.

Set in the cold winter in Jutland, it bears some resemblance to Fargo. - It has the same "A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere" theme, but the resemblance ends right there. Sean, an American who came to Denmark for a girl, is dragged around by his brother Rasmus. The girl is murdered, and Rasmus figures that Sean can do a lot of his dirty work, since Sean wants to avenge his girlfriend. After that it's a who-tricks-who movie, told in the same manner as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Usual Suspects, 21 Grams and so on... This type of story-telling has been used too many times. It could work, if the basic idea was interesting, however in this case it isn't.

This movie would be pretty good if it was a film school project. It would then show some potential that need a lot of cleaning up. But for a cinema release this movie missed the spot for miles. I don't know if it will ever be released, but they should surely consider a direct-to-DVD release.

Don't wast your time

[fuelrod · 2/10 · 11 January 2009]

This movie demonstrates far to good what happens when one man will do it all himself:

He acts the leading character, he directs the movie and he has shot most of it.

It will work if you are a big talent, Woody Allen or just a genius. But James Barclay is probably just an ordinary guy of the business.

Especially when it comes to the script and the storytelling it's very clear that he could have used someone to challenge him. A strong producer who could have put his finger on the points of weakness in the script, storyboard and cutting. Or could have hired someone to do that.

Bad dialog - Bad acting - Dull zzzzzzzzzztory - Slow, slow, slow pace - Boring and one-dimensional characters.

Pretentious put together with flash backs, odd angles and far to long scenes.

Only thing making this movie worth seeing is a few good cinematographic shots.

Don't waste your time - see the real thing: Fargo, Get Shorty, Pulp Fiction...

What a surprise!!

[tande28 · 8/10 · 23 February 2007]

Saw this movie at a test screening and it was one of those films that keeps you guessing until the end. I really enjoyed the mix of English and Danish as well. It seemed quite natural, since we here in Denmark are used to English in our everyday life.

Nicolai Coaster Waldau, Zlatko Buric and the lead actor James Barclay were all very good. The two girls were not quite as good, but not bad. Overall it was a pleasant surprise to what I was expecting. It was very different than most Danish movies, and we need more of that. And I know that the people behind Himmerland had very little money, and yet this film looked better than most of Denmark's "big budget" movies.

I would be very curious as to why that is. How could a film like this one that cost less than 1 million kroner look so much better than films that cost 20 times as much??? Someone needs to hire the director here! He has some secret the other directors in Denamrk need to learn!! I give this film 8 out of 10 stars. And I recommend it to those people who enjoy watching movies where you can't predict the ending after the first 10 minutes!