./ Best Scandinavian Cinema
by nickdevucht | created - 09 Jan 2014 | updated - 18 Jan 2016 | PublicList of the best scandinavian films, by a cinematographer from Antwerp/Belgium
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1. The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2013)
R | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy
After living a long and colorful life, Allan Karlsson finds himself stuck in a nursing home. On his 100th birthday, he leaps out a window and begins an unexpected journey.
Director: Felix Herngren | Stars: Robert Gustafsson, Iwar Wiklander, David Wiberg, Mia Skäringer
Votes: 42,640 | Gross: $1.08M
2. The Hunt (2012)
R | 115 min | Drama
A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.
Director: Thomas Vinterberg | Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Lasse Fogelstrøm
Votes: 364,323 | Gross: $0.69M
3. The Reunion (2013)
90 min | Drama
A famous artist isn't invited to her class reunion. She makes a film about what could've happened if she had gone there and confronted her bullies, and later shows that film to her former classmates.
Director: Anna Odell | Stars: Anna Odell, Anders Berg, David Nordström, Erik Ehn
Votes: 5,138
4. Adam's Apples (2005)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A neo-Nazi sentenced to community service at a church clashes with the blindly devoted minister.
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen | Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro, Paprika Steen
Votes: 54,617 | Gross: $0.00M
5. The Green Butchers (2003)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
Two Danish friends are tired of their employer and open their own butcher shop. An electrician accidentally dies in the freezer and he's sold as marinated chicken and business picks up. What happens when they run out of "chicken"?
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen | Stars: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Line Kruse, Ole Thestrup
Votes: 24,660 | Gross: $0.00M
6. Submarino (2010)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
Two brothers meet at their mother's funeral, each in his way on a path of self-destruction, both haunted by a tragedy in their youth.
Director: Thomas Vinterberg | Stars: Gustav Fischer Kjærulff, Sebastian Bull, Mads Broe Andersen, Jakob Cedergren
Votes: 11,586
7. Melancholia (2011)
R | 135 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgård
Votes: 195,880 | Gross: $3.03M
8. The Boss of It All (2006)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy
An IT company hires an actor to serve as the company's president in order to help the business get sold to a cranky Icelander.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Jens Albinus, Peter Gantzler, Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, Benedikt Erlingsson
Votes: 12,669 | Gross: $0.05M
9. The Celebration (1998)
R | 105 min | Drama
At Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed.
Director: Thomas Vinterberg | Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen
Votes: 93,865 | Gross: $1.65M
10. Dancer in the Dark (2000)
R | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
An Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare
Votes: 116,797 | Gross: $4.18M
11. Simon och ekarna (2011)
Not Rated | 122 min | Drama
Two boys come of age in Sweden during World War II.
Director: Lisa Ohlin | Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Helen Sjöholm, Jan Josef Liefers, Stefan Gödicke
Votes: 3,063 | Gross: $0.15M
12. Dogville (2003)
R | 178 min | Crime, Drama
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town she finds out that their support has a price.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, Harriet Andersson
Votes: 158,643 | Gross: $1.53M
13. After the Wedding (2006)
R | 120 min | Drama
A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.
Director: Susanne Bier | Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Rolf Lassgård, Neeral Mulchandani
Votes: 37,084 | Gross: $0.41M
14. The Idiots (1998)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Drama
The group of people gather at the house in Copenhagen suburb to break all the limitations and to bring out the "inner idiot" in themselves.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Bodil Jørgensen, Jens Albinus, Anne Louise Hassing, Troels Lyby
Votes: 33,960 | Gross: $0.01M
15. Open Hearts (2002)
R | 113 min | Drama, Romance
A Dogme film about an engaged couple that is torn apart after the man is paralyzed in an accident, and the woman falls in love with the husband of the woman who caused the accident.
Director: Susanne Bier | Stars: Sonja Richter, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Paprika Steen
Votes: 10,945 | Gross: $0.12M
16. Everlasting Moments (2008)
Not Rated | 131 min | Drama, History
In a time of social change and unrest, war and poverty, a young working class woman, Maria, wins a camera in a lottery. The decision to keep it alters her whole life.
Director: Jan Troell | Stars: Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt, Jesper Christensen, Callin Öhrvall
Votes: 5,956 | Gross: $0.61M
Regie: Jan Troell
Cast: Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt en Jesper Christensen
IMDb Rating: 7.5
In het Zweden van net na de eeuwwisseling, tenmidden van alle sociale veranderingen, oorlogen en tumult, wint Maria een Camera in een loterij. Maria is een jonge dame behorende aan de arme werkende klasse. Hoewel haar leven door de decennia heen, met zes kinderen en een gewelddadige man, niet gemakkelijk is, put ze veel kracht uit haar camera, die haar helpt de wereld te zien.
De tijdsgeest is zo goed overgebracht dat je vaak vergeet dat het niet een film is uit die tijd maar een film over die tijd. De kracht van Maria is inspirerend, vooral omdat het ook nog gebaseerd is op de herinnering van een bestaand persoon. Hoewel de film net niet genomineerd werd voor een oscar, is het gelukkig wel genomineerd voor een Golden Globe.
17. Show Me Love (1998)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.
Director: Lukas Moodysson | Stars: Alexandra Dahlström, Rebecka Liljeberg, Erica Carlson, Mathias Rust
Votes: 55,398 | Gross: $0.17M
./Zweden -->echte titel: fu**cking Åmål Regie: Lukas Moodysson
18. As It Is in Heaven (2004)
Not Rated | 133 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A famous international conductor returns to his small childhood town in Sweden for early retirement. He's asked to help with the church choir. He affects the lives of all in the choir.
Director: Kay Pollak | Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Frida Hallgren, Helen Sjöholm, Lennart Jähkel
Votes: 18,272 | Gross: $0.01M
Regie: Kay Pollak
Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Frida Hallgren en Helen Sjöholm
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Een bijzonder succesvolle concert dirigent heeft genoeg van zijn drukke bestaan en verruilt het voor een eenzaam bestaan in zijn geboortedorp in noord Zweden. Hier wordt er al snel een beroep gedaan op zijn expertise door het koor van de dorpskerk. Hij kan zijn passie toch niet onderdrukken en gaat druk met hen aan de slag. Dit heeft een grote impact op de hele gemeenschap, maar ook op hem. Hij integreert in het dorp, maakt vrienden, maar ook vijanden en er is zelfs liefde in het spel.
De terecht voor een Oscar genomineerd film is een van de meeste prettige films om naar te kijken. De onbevooroordeelde blik die de regisseur werpt op het normale simpelere rurale leven, laat je de karakters onmiddelijk in je hart sluiten. Hoewel de relaties en de liefde op een erg natuurlijke manier worden verfilmd, verlies je jezelf al snel in de romantiek.
19. Falkenberg Farewell (2006)
91 min | Drama
The last summer the five boys are together in Falkenberg. They are now grown up to be young men, on their way out into the world. At least most of them.
Director: Jesper Ganslandt | Stars: John Axel Eriksson, Holger Eriksson, David Johnson, Jesper Ganslandt
Votes: 2,952
20. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
R | 152 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.
Director: Niels Arden Oplev | Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Ewa Fröling, Lena Endre
Votes: 223,338 | Gross: $10.10M
Zweden --> De originele "Män som hatar kvinnor" en niet de onnodige Amerikaanse remake van 2011
21. Brothers (2004)
R | 117 min | Drama, War
Two brothers must negotiate changing roles and shifting family dynamics when one is sent to war in Afghanistan.
Director: Susanne Bier | Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Connie Nielsen, Sarah Juel Werner
Votes: 11,810 | Gross: $0.38M
22. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
R | 188 min | Drama
Two young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Bertil Guve, Pernilla Allwin, Kristina Adolphson, Börje Ahlstedt
Votes: 67,488 | Gross: $4.97M
23. In a Better World (2010)
R | 118 min | Drama, Romance
The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
Director: Susanne Bier | Stars: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Markus Rygaard, Wil Johnson
Votes: 41,680 | Gross: $1.01M
24. Bænken (2000)
93 min | Drama
Kaj is an alcoholic living on the money the Danish state is providing him. Him and his friends spend their time drinking beer at a public bench. One day Kaj's life turns upside down when a young lady and her child moves in next to him.
Director: Per Fly | Stars: Jesper Christensen, Marius Sonne Janischefska, Stine Holm Joensen, Nicolaj Kopernikus
Votes: 4,425
25. Flickering Lights (2000)
Not Rated | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A gang of 4 Danish criminals are ordered by Færingen to steal a bag from a safe. When they see DKK4,000,000 in the bag, they keep it for themselves and head for Spain. They end up in a ruin of an old restaurant on Jutland and renovate it.
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen | Stars: Søren Pilmark, Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Votes: 24,206
26. Elling (2001)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
When his mother, who has sheltered him his entire 40 years, dies, sensitive would-be poet Elling is sent to live in a state institution. There he meets Kjell Bjarne, a gentle giant and ... See full summary »
Director: Petter Næss | Stars: Per Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin, Marit Pia Jacobsen, Jørgen Langhelle
Votes: 15,860 | Gross: $0.31M
./ Noorwegen --> Regie: Petter Næss
Oscar genomineerde film, ontzettend grappig en tegelijkertijd hartverwarmend.
Meest internationaal bekende low-budget films van Noorwegen
27. In China They Eat Dogs (1999)
Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two brothers, one cold and ruthless, the other sensitive and reluctant, and their brutal misadventures.
Director: Lasse Spang Olsen | Stars: Kim Bodnia, Dejan Cukic, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Tomas Villum Jensen
Votes: 23,041
28. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,756 | Gross: $2.12M
./ Zweden Regie: Tomas Alfredson
Over een jongen die veriefd wordt op een meisje dat geen zonlicht kan verdragen
29. The Winter War (1989)
199 min | Drama, History, War
In 1939, two Finnish brothers are conscripted in the army to fight in the war between Finland and the Soviet Union.
Director: Pekka Parikka | Stars: Taneli Mäkelä, Vesa Vierikko, Timo Torikka, Heikki Paavilainen
Votes: 8,728
./Finland
Regie: Pekka Parrika
Anders dan alle andere Amerikaanse oorlog films, veel realistischer, harder en diepgaander... ongezien hard in dit genre.
30. The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975)
G | 88 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
Reodor Felgen decides that he will enter a car race to defeat his former friend who has stolen his plans for a car.
Director: Ivo Caprino | Stars: Wenche Foss, Per Theodor Haugen, Harald Heide-Steen Jr., Leif Juster
Votes: 14,339
./Noorwegen
Regie: Ivo Caprino
Animatie cult film
31. The Sacrifice (1986)
PG | 149 min | Drama
At the dawn of World War III, a man searches for a way to restore peace to the world and finds he must give something in return.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Allan Edwall, Guðrún Gísladóttir
Votes: 30,978 | Gross: $0.30M
./Zweden --> Regisseur:Andrei Tarkovskij
32. Evil (2003)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama
A teenage boy expelled from school for fighting arrives at a boarding school where the systematic bullying of younger students is encouraged as a means to maintain discipline, and decides to fight back.
Director: Mikael Håfström | Stars: Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus
Votes: 42,072 | Gross: $0.02M
./Zweden --> Regie: Mikael Håfström
33. My Life as a Dog (1985)
Unrated | 101 min | Drama, Comedy
In the late '50s, young Ingemar learns a lot about life and himself when he is sent away from his sick mother to live with his aunt and uncle in a town full of eccentrics.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Anton Glanzelius, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Lidén, Melinda Kinnaman
Votes: 22,532 | Gross: $8.35M
34. The Man Without a Past (2002)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
M arrives in Helsinki only to be viciously attacked by thugs and pronounced dead by medics. He revives but with no memory of his past or his identity. He rebuilds his life from scratch, but the past inevitably catches up with him.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Annikki Tähti, Juhani Niemelä
Votes: 26,089 | Gross: $0.92M
./ Finland Regie: Aki Kaurismäki
35. Frozen Land (2005)
130 min | Drama
One bad event begins a chain reaction of misery as problems transfer from one person to another. It starts when a schoolteacher is fired and projects his issues onto his teenage son.
Director: Aku Louhimies | Stars: Jasper Pääkkönen, Mikko Leppilampi, Pamela Tola, Petteri Summanen
Votes: 6,343
Regie: Aku Louhimies
Cast: Jasper Pääkkönen, Mikko Leppilampi en Pamela Tola
IMDb Rating: 7.5
In deze film wordt continue de misère van de een overgeheveld op de ander. Beginnend met een leraar die zijn baan verliest, wat tot gevolgd heeft dat zijn zoontje erg komt te lijden onder het alcohol misbruik van zijn vader. Deze film gaat precies over waar Finland bekend om staat: Alcohol misbruik. Dit staat dan ook centraal gedurende de hele film. Deze film was in Finland de op een na best bekeken film van het jaar 2005.
36. The Best Intentions (1992)
Not Rated | 182 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 1909, poor theology student Henrik falls in love with Anna, the intelligent daughter of a rich family in Uppsala. After marrying Henrik becomes a priest in northern Sweden. Urbane Anna hates living in the county, growing restless.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Samuel Fröler, Pernilla August, Max von Sydow, Ghita Nørby
Votes: 3,506 | Gross: $1.25M
Regie: Bille August
Cast: Samuel Fröler, Pernilla August en Max von Sydow
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Niet een film van Ingmar Bergman, maar wel een film over de ouders van Ingmar Bergman. Beginnend in Uppsala, raakt zijn vader, een arme student in de theologie, verliefd op een dochter van een bijzonder rijke familie. Na het huwelijk verhuizen ze naar een klein dorp in het noorden van Zweden, waar zijn vader de functie van priester bekleed. Na enkele jaren kan zijn moeder het niet meer uithouden en gaat terug naar Uppsala. Zijn vader blijft.
Al dan niet geregisseerd door Bergman, is de film wel door hem geschreven. En dat is te voelen. Je wordt meegezogen in de complexe relatie van deze twee sterke, maar wilpelturige persoonlijkheden. Het is een bijzonder intelligente verhaling van liefde en strijd.
37. Headhunters (2011)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Julie R. Ølgaard
Votes: 106,973 | Gross: $1.20M
38. Black's Game (2012)
R | 104 min | Crime, Thriller
After being reacquainted with a childhood friend Stebbi joins the drug trade world in order to pay off his debt. Inspired by actual events.
Director: Óskar Thór Axelsson | Stars: Thorvaldur Kristjansson, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Damon Younger, María Birta
Votes: 4,360
39. Stormland (2011)
111 min | Comedy, Drama
The tragicomic story of lone rebel Boddi Steingrimsson who lives in a small town in Northern Iceland. Boddi hates materialistic modern society in its entirety and on his blog-page he ... See full summary »
Director: Marteinn Thorsson | Stars: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir
Votes: 427
40. The Deep (2012)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Drama
Based on actual events, a fisherman tries to survive in the freezing ocean after his boat capsizes off the south coast of Iceland.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur | Stars: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Stefán Hallur Stefánsson, Joi Johannsson, Thora Bjorg Helga
Votes: 5,724
41. 101 Reykjavík (2000)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Will the 30 y.o. Hlynur ever move out of his mother's apartment in Reykjavík? Social welfare keeps him passive but things change when his mother's Spanish friend, Lola, arrives and stays through Xmas and New Year's Eve.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur | Stars: Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Victoria Abril, Hanna María Karlsdóttir, Þrúður Vilhjálmsdóttir
Votes: 9,937 | Gross: $0.01M
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