The Best Danish Films: Top rated films from "Gyldendals filmguide: Danske Film fra A til Z" (1935-1998)
Reviews by Morten Piil, Ulrich Breuning, Bo Green Jensen, Eva Jørholt, Claus Hesselberg, Bo Tao Michaëlis, Liselotte Michelsen, Dan Nissen
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- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsThorkild RooseLisbeth MovinSigrid NeiiendamThe young wife of an aging priest falls in love with his son amidst the horror of a merciless witch hunt in 17th-century Denmark.****
- DirectorNils MalmrosStarsEva Gram SchjoldagerJan JohansenLine Arlien-SøborgWe follow the Danish students in a class at Århus Katedralskole late 1950s, from age 13 till 16.****
- DirectorBille AugustStarsPelle HvenegaardMax von SydowErik PaaskeWhen his wife dies, Lasse takes his 12-year-old son, Pelle, from their home in Sweden to Denmark in search of a better life.****
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsEmily WatsonStellan SkarsgårdKatrin CartlidgeOilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.****
- DirectorSvend MethlingStarsRasmus ChristiansenEllen GottschalchIngrid MatthiessenWhat might become the greatest challenge for the elderly Brasen couple having opened a summer guest house by the sea? Financial struggle or the sudden influx of demanding residents? Based on Herman Bang's short-story.***½
- DirectorJohan JacobsenStarsBodil KjerPoul ReichhardtKarin NellemoseA good natured soldier with a killer right hand, falls in love with a beautiful girl who has a troubled past.***½
- DirectorJohan JacobsenStarsPoul ReichhardtBodil KjerGunnar Lauring***½
- DirectorPalle Kjærulff-SchmidtStarsOle BusckKjeld JacobsenAstrid VillaumeA young boy grows up during the German occupation of Denmark in World War II.***½
- DirectorHenning CarlsenStarsPer OscarssonGunnel LindblomBirgitte FederspielIn 1890, Pontus, the starving writer, wanders the streets of Christiania, in search of love and a chance to get his work published. All he meets is defeat and suffering while his sense of reality is withering. One moment his is delighted and the next he curses everybody. All the time he manages to maintain human dignity and pride.***½
- DirectorFranz ErnstStarsPernille KløvedalMargit IversenSteen KaaløLone flees from a girls' home in Jutland, and goes to Copenhagen after a showdown. Here we follow her through various environments until she disappears into the city's throng.***½
- DirectorMorten ArnfredStarsAllan OlsenFrits HelmuthHanne RibensThe coming of age of a young man in the 1950s.***½
- DirectorSøren Kragh-JacobsenStarsAlex SvanbjergOtto BrandenburgPeter SchrøderA weak, dyslexic boy is bullied in school. His Tarzan obsessed dad calls him Rubber Tarzan. He makes a friend in crane driver Ole, who tells him: There's always something, you're good at. You just have to know what it is.***½
- DirectorNils MalmrosStarsLine Arlien-SøborgJesper KleinCarsten JørgensenIn Århus, Denmark, mom's in hospital, pregnant, while dad and 16 y.o.daughter are spending time together painting the baby room. Dad can't accept that his daughter has grown up with interest in guys etc. Instead, he turns to spying on her.***½
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsMichael ElphickEsmond KnightMe Me LaiA cop in a dystopian Europe investigates a serial killings suspect using controversial methods written by his now disgraced former mentor.***½
- DirectorSøren Kragh-JacobsenStarsLine KruseBörje AhlstedtErik WedersøeEmma (Line Kruse) is an eleven-year-old only child from a wealthy Danish family. Emma's parents seem more interested in their own interests than in her. One evening when Emma overhears her mother talking about how tragic it must be to have your child kidnapped, Emma decides to stage her own kidnapping. She soon meets Malthe, a kindhearted, child-like, naïve sewer cleaner who literally stumbles on to her. She convinces Malthe that she is a Russian princess whose family is being chased by Bolsheviks, so Malthe lets Emma stay with him in his very modest abode. After being "kidnapped" for a few days, Emma decides to return home. But, just as she is about to return, she overhears a couple of servants talking about how her parents don't seem to be very upset over her dilemma. She then returns to Malthe, and a close bond soon develops between Emma and Malthe. Meanwhile, the police are finally called and begin their investigation. Emma writes a ransom note for $2,000, and her father pays it. Emma uses the money to buy Malthe some new clothes and to treat him to a "Russian" feast at the Grand Hotel. Just as they are leaving the hotel, the police finally catch up with them. Malthe believes the police want to return Emma to the Bolsheviks so he flees with her into the sewers.***½
- DirectorNils MalmrosStarsThomas SchindelTom McEwanMichael CarøeA director recounts his experiences on his first film and memories from his childhood.***½
- DirectorNils MalmrosStarsTanja SkovMartin BergMarianne PedersenA young woman who falls in love with her teacher is hit by heartache and challenges she is not prepared for and struggles to escape her dark frame of mind.***½
- StarsErnst-Hugo JäregårdKirsten RolffesGhita NørbyDoctors at an ultramodern hospital in Denmark become convinced, by way of weird, inexplicable happenings, that the place is haunted.***½
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsUlrich ThomsenHenning MoritzenThomas Bo LarsenAt Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed.***½
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsBodil JørgensenJens AlbinusAnne Louise HassingThe group of people gather at the house in Copenhagen suburb to break all the limitations and to bring out the "inner idiot" in themselves.***½
- DirectorGeorge SchnéevoigtStarsJohannes MeyerSusanne FriisGerda SprehnThree younger men each has to step up to the challenge and overcome the local and rather maniacal patriarch Mikkelsen (Johannes Meyer). Vilhelm (Paul Rohde) is to take over the patriarch's business and marry Mikkelsen's daughter Anna (Gerda Sprehn). Kristian (Hans W. Petersen) is Mikkelsen's unknown son about to win the national bicycle championship and to marry Mikkelsen's lodger Lotte (Beatrice Bonnesen). Nummesen (Chr. Arhoff) is Mikkelsen's wit-full friend about to help everybody out and eventually to marry Mikkelsen's housemaid and former mistress Rasmine (Helga Frier).***
- DirectorEmanuel GregersStarsBodil IpsenPeter MalbergPeter NielsenThe seamstress Bolette lives in a little village in the countryside. She is unmarried, but in her youth she had a love affair with Peter Enevoldsen, who now is the political leader of the parish. Bolette is a strong and frank woman, who never hesitates to express pungent truths. She finds out that Enevoldsen's son Karl is in love with the housemaid Sophie and has made her pregnant. As Sophie needs financial support Bolette goes straight to Enevoldsen and tells him the whole story. He gets furious and disowns his son. The prominent men in the parish are tired of Bolette's sharp tongue and want to get rid of her. Enevoldsen suggests that they shall try to marry off Bolette with the peddler Morten Madsen, who lives in another parish. When they offer Morten 650 Danish crowns, a pig, a fatted calf and an alarm-clock if he marries Bolette, he accepts. Bolette and Morten find out that they like each other and the wedding day is settled. But Morten now has a bad conscience about taking bribes for marrying Bolette and doesn't know how to solve this.***
- DirectorEmanuel GregersStarsBodil IpsenMarguerite VibyValdemar MøllerDuring his journey through Jylland together with his wife Countess Danner, King Frederik VI experiences that there is a unique collection of antiquities in the manor house Stensskov.***
- DirectorSvend MethlingStarsCarl AlstrupErika VoigtPoul ReichhardtThe salesman Peter has for many years toiled and dragged for his strict boss to keep the family's high consumption running. His only joy is his daughter Jenny, who secretly has a relationship with the boss. But when the downtrodden Peter gets an idea from his doctor that he only has a short time left to live in, it becomes an abrupt awakening - both for him and his loved ones.***
- DirectorJohan JacobsenStarsChristian ArhoffSvend BilleBeatrice Bonnesen***
- DirectorBodil IpsenStarsMogens WiethBodil KjerGull-Maj NorinIn broad daylight, a man runs at full speed across the Town Hall Square wearing a dress and white. People stare in amazement as he tries to grab a seat in a phone box to make a call. However, his story is even more incredible than they can imagine.***
- DirectorJohan JacobsenStarsEbbe RodeGunnar LauringMarguerite VibyHelene Helberg wants to teach her unfaithful husband, the handsome architect Gunnar Lauring a lesson for his constant flings. She succeeds very well shifting from the provoking sex symbol to the shrewd mature master of conflicts. However, she is about to fall into her own trap, when she falls in love with an attractive pianist.***
- DirectorEmanuel GregersStarsIb SchønbergIngeborg BramsEdvin TiemrothThe priest at Snarø, Adam Valerius, has been a widower for 3 years.***
- DirectorTheodor ChristensenStarsAsbjørn AndersenPer HolstEbbe RodeDocumentary about World War II seen from the resistance movement. Composed of, among other things, footage from filmmakers who worked closely with the freedom fighters, the film gives a first-hand insight into the dangerous resistance work. And a sharp critique of the Danish government's cooperation policy.***
- DirectorOle PalsboStarsIb SchønbergBetty HelsengreenGrethe HolmerIn a small Danish village, Marius and Johanne Bastrup supplement their income by running a boarding house for young pregnant girls who want a place for a "discreet stay".***
- DirectorOle PalsboStarsEbbe RodeAgnes Thorberg WiethBjarne ForchhammerA shameless car salesman and womanizer Kurt (Ebbe Rode) is caught red handed when trying to cheat his way to the family fortune.***
- DirectorAstrid Henning-JensenBjarne Henning-JensenStarsEbbe RodePreben NeergaardLily WeidingDanish noir crime drama with a poetic nerve. Two boys, Kristinus and Jakob (Rode and Neergaard) experienced a loveless and abusive childhood. Now as grown-ups, they are acting outside the law.***
- DirectorAsbjørn AndersenStarsBodil KjerEbbe RodeIb SchønbergA man and a woman form a team traveling round performing as a professional dancing couple who has difficulty making ends meet.***
- DirectorBodil IpsenLau LauritzenStarsPoul ReichhardtIb SchønbergIngeborg BramsThis is the story of two different men and their struggle against alcoholism.***
- DirectorOle PalsboStarsEllen GottschalchKjeld JacobsenFreddy KochThe Schmidt widow and five children are all at sea when bank-manager Anders B. Schmidt passes away and an unknown son surfaces. Soon the content of the will of the diseased is about to be revealed.***
- DirectorAnnelise ReenbergStarsIb SchønbergHenny Lindorff BuckhøjKnud HeglundWho is the father of Annemarie' (Annemette Svendsen) - is it the inn-owner (Ib Schønberg) or the miller (Knud Heglund)? Will she marry the miller's son (Louis Miehe-Renard) without knowing if he is in fact her brother? And who is the mysterious lady (Karen Nellemose) who appears out of nowhere, who snappily turns around the ailing inn and who also knows the true secret about Annemette's birth?***
- DirectorTheodor ChristensenPer HolstBørge HøstStarsH.C. HansenMogens WiethGunnar HansenSeminal Danish documentary detailing Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark in the Second World War between 1940 and 1945.***
- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsHenrik MalbergEmil Hass ChristensenPreben Lerdorff RyeFollows the lives of the Borgen family, as they deal with inner conflict, as well as religious conflict with each other, and the rest of the town.***
- DirectorSven MethlingStarsKjeld PetersenJessie RindomBirgitte ReimerA comedy of a man's Kafkaesque experience with the Danish welfare system starting with the IRS, the traffic police thinking he's drunk because he's seeing elephants (he drove into one earlier) and finally from jail to a mental hospital.***
- DirectorBent ChristensenStarsOsvald HelmuthEbbe RodeGunnar LauringSet in the late fifties in Denmark the poor junk yard assistant Harry inherits some money. He decides to use the money to hire a butler. The butler isn't too keen on the job at first, but he takes it because there aren't that many butler-jobs around at the moment. In the beginning both of them don't know what to expect of the other, but find a way to satisfy both of them. The people in the neighborhood at first make jokes about Harry and his butler, but in the end they start to accept him when he starts to help them.***
- DirectorLene GrønlykkeSven GrønlykkeStarsJesper KleinPaul HüttelInge BaaringThe warmhearted but rather naive Carl Henning (Jesper Klein) is an 18 y.o. dairy apprentice. He takes the run after a nightly fight with his employer (John Wittig), and is soon introduced to society's darker sides.***
- DirectorJannik HastrupFlemming Quist MøllerStarsBo JakobsenJesper KleinPeter BelliWhile Benny's father is busy working and his mother occupied with friends Benny discover a wonderful world in his own bathtub.***
- DirectorJørgen LethStarsMarino BassoFelice GimondiEddy MerckxThe images from the Tour de France in the television production Eddy Merckx in the Vincinity of a Cup of Coffee may be seen as a small sketch for the fully unfurled epic cycling drama Stars and Watercarriers. The film follows the 1973 Giro d'Italia and in his commentary Leth explains the fascination exerted by the great cycle races: "The most beautiful, most pathetic images cycling can give us involve extreme performances in classic terrain." The action literally emerges on the move and the riders readily assume the roles tradition and epic necessity allocate to them, with the central conflict between the accustomed winner and greedy Belgian legend Eddy Merckx and the Spanish mountain specialist José Manuel Fuente. Stars and Watercarriers was created by a small film unit that use a vivid, documentary style to describe the race from close up and sometimes quite from within. The film consist of ten sections, each with a title such as "A road of pain" and "A peaceful day"; thus it alternates between dramatic and more peaceful passages, which Leth's commentary leads the viewer through soberly, empathetically and humorously. The chapter "The trial of truth" stands out with its focus on the Danish star Ole Ritter, his technical, physical and psychological preparations and his performance in the time trials. Ritter is lauded with words such as "power, cycle and style in the simplest manifestation possible", and aesthetically, too, the section stands out: there is no background music or ordinary real sound. Instead, a sound close up of the chain as it seems to sing emphasises the utter concentration of Ritter's venture. Throughout the film Gunner Møller Pedersen's music supports the dramatic and aesthetic aspects of the race and thus sets the mood. The music mimics the light tread of the mountain specialists when they are in focus and seems to indicate the beat as we watch the more powerful riders.***
- DirectorHans KristensenStarsOle ErnstFrits HelmuthAgneta EkmannerPer is hired by a creepy manager to set fire on a factory that is part of a major fraud case. Of course, it goes wrong and Per must go underground at the director's deserted farm in Sweden.***
- DirectorJørgen LethStarsDavid SaundersRoger De VlaeminckMarc DemeyerThe film follows the French Paris-Roubaix spring classic, notorious for the hellish paves or cobbled roads of the north "which are no longer used for traffic but only for transporting cattle - and for cycle races". We are there from the dawn preparations and rituals on the outskirts of Paris and through the rigours of the race with special focus on a number of prominent cyclists to the final outcome on the Roubaix cycle track - followed by the filthy riders taking their showers. There is also an eye for life among the spectators and the media event as such. The film alternates among different kinds of shot with a view to establishing the most suitable view of the narrative: shots from motorcycles, which are able to convey the motion of the race and provide close ups of the riders in the style of television cycle race reporting; fixed cameras stationed at strategically important points along the route, where viewers can watch riders passing in real time and thus gain a clear overview of the distance between the leaders and the main field: and the Olympian eye of the helicopter shots.***
- DirectorAnders RefnStarsJens OkkingLotte HermannBodil KjerReleased from a mental institution, a cop returns to work where he's stored away in the fraud department. However, with the help of a tabloid reporter, he investigates an old horse race fraud case and people start dying around him.***
- DirectorBille AugustStarsClaus StrandbergKirsten OlesenJens OkkingA young man finds love and settles down, but when his young wife spirals into depression they both have decisions to make.***
- DirectorMorten ArnfredStarsOle ErnstKaren-Lise MynsterAnna VallgårdaKnud is a pig farmer, and he lives with his wife, Katrine, and their two young children. But life gets tough when the problems start to pile up at the pig farm and in their private life.***
- DirectorSøren Kragh-JacobsenStarsPeter Hesse OvergaardMichael FalchMette Munk PlumIn the littered poor eighties, John lives quietly and confined, while René almost throws himself into reality. Still, the two young people become friends.***
- DirectorBille AugustStarsAdam TønsbergPeter ReichhardtMorten HoffIn the early '60s, 3 Danish classmates join a "den"/tree house. Steen likes his pet fish Zappa because it eats the weaker fish. Bjørn attracts girls and Mulle is a talkative, strong boy. Steen gets them into burglary and later escalates.***
- DirectorBille AugustStarsMads Bugge AndersenKatarina StenbeckPeter SchrøderBuster is an aspiring magician battling his status as a geek. Making things more difficult is his small size. This movie chronicles Buster's unique way of dealing with bullies, school, his first job and girls.***
- DirectorBille AugustStarsAdam TønsbergLars SimonsenCamilla SøebergDenmark, 1963: Teenagers Bjørn and Erik are into girls and being in a band helps Bjørn meet Anna. Erik likes Kirsten but she likes Bjørn. Having a mentally ill mom at home also ruins Erik's chances. Anna's pregnancy changes everything.***
- DirectorGabriel AxelStarsStéphane AudranBodil KjerBirgitte FederspielDuring the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.***
- DirectorMorten ArnfredStarsKarina SkandsHarriet AnderssonErik MørkA young girl emerges into womanhood and transcends the restricting emotional poverty in which she was forced to live.***
- DirectorBirger LarsenStarsAnders SchoubyeTommy KenterBirthe NeumannLasse is 12 years old and not the most eager schoolboy. In fact, he's a bit of a mess. This is abruptly changed when his mother leaves Lasse's father and moves in with a wealthy dentist. But even though Lasse soon becomes virtuous and gets praise, the loss of his father does not disappear so easily.***
- DirectorHelle RyslingeStarsPeter Hesse OvergaardKirsten LehfeldtSteen SvareThe gallery owner Lasse is more vain than he is an artist.***
- DirectorEddie Thomas PetersenStarsJesper Gredeli JensenTrine DyrholmKirsten OlesenFranco lives in a rough part of Copenhagen. His hooker mother has little time for him. Franco drifts into a life of crime, repeatedly confronting the authorities. To give him a new start, he's placed in a foster home far away from Copenhagen. His new family greets him with warm hospitality. There's also the beautiful countryside and, last but not least, the teen-aged daughter.***
- DirectorSøren Kragh-JacobsenStarsTomas Villum JensenMorten Buch JørgensenNikolaj Lie KaasA group of school-mates form a resistance group in nazi-occupied Denmark.***
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsBarbara SukowaJean-Marc BarrUdo KierJust after World War II, an American takes a railway job in Germany, but finds his position politically sensitive with various people trying to use him.***
- DirectorErik ClausenStarsErik ClausenHelle RyslingeLeif SylvesterThe early 1990's: 300,000 Danes are out of work. Viggo, a machinist with two grown children, is silent about feelings, scared he'll lose his job, loud about the value of trade unionism, interested in his pet fish, and argumentative at dinner. His wife Oda puts up with his moods and works on family genealogy. When Viggo is laid off, he becomes a fish out of water, hardly looking for work, starting a garden, and taking up with Karen, a polished but unhappy widow. He lies to his wife about a union training and goes to Mallorca with Karen. When she stops the affair, Viggo ends up in a psychiatric ward and must figure out what's really important in his life and in his character.***
- DirectorJan TroellStarsMax von SydowGhita NørbyAnette HoffNorwegian Nobel Laureate Knut Hamsun's controversial support for the Nazi regime during World War II and its consequences for the Hamsun family after the war.***
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsKim BodniaZlatko BuricLaura DrasbækA drug pusher grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord.***
- DirectorNils MalmrosStarsAnneke von der LippeHelene EgelundTrond HøvikYoung vicar Mr. Paul arrives at the Faroe Islands to take up a benefice, and meets the young Barbara, twice married to vicars, and with both husbands laid cold in the grave. Despite the warnings of the surrounding community and his own religious scruples, he falls victim to Barbara's at once innocent and sinful charm. The appearance of the charming and gallant Andreas Heide in Thorshavn puts their love to the severest of tests.***
- DirectorJonas ElmerStarsSidse Babett KnudsenBjarne HenriksenNicolaj KopernikusThree friends, Steffen, Thomas and Mogens spend a lot of time together in Julies apartment while they talk about soccer and how to get enough money for tickets to the big game next week. At the same time Julie is trying to get in contact with her boyfriend René who she thinks is having an affair. They all talk a lot about whats on their mind during this week.***
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsThomas Bo LarsenUlrich ThomsenMia Maria BackThe bank robbers Karsten and Peter are on the run in Sweden. With them is one of their teenage daughter.***