Film-Forward

Scandanavia

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Written and Directed by Roy Andersson Produced by Pernilla Sandstrom Released by Magnolia Pictures Swedish with English subtitles. Sweden, Norway, France, Germany. 100 min. Not rated With Holger Andersson, Nils Westblom, Charlotta Larsson, Viktor Gyllenberg, Lotti Tornros, and Jonas Gerholm “Hahahaha!” That’s the sound of a loathsome toy called “bag in laughs,” a periodic sinister […]

Miss Julie

Written and Directed by Liv Ullmann, based on the play by August Strindberg Produced by Synnove Horsdal, Oliver Dungey and Teun Hilte Released by Wrekin Hill Entertainment USA. 129 min. Not rated With Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, and Nora McMenamy Creating a film version of a three-character 19th-century play for modern audiences is […]

The Sleepwalker

Directed by Mona Fastvold Produced by Karin Julsrud and Turid Oversveen Written by Fastvold and Brady Corbet Norway/USA. 98 min. Not rated With Gitte Witt, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, and Stephanie Ellis Unspoken secrets and untold rage permeate this debut feature from Brooklyn-based, Norwegian-raised filmmaker Mona Fastvold. The writer/director impresses with her shaping of disquieting […]

Force Majeure

Written and Directed by Ruben Ostlund Produced by Erik Hemmendorff, Marie Kjellson and Philippe Bober Released by Magnolia Pictures Swedish, with English subtitles Sweden/France. 118 min. Rated R With Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju and Fanni Metelius Films about vacations from hell typically fall into humorous, wacky adventures: […]

The Almost Man

Directed by Martin Lund Released by Big World Pictures Norwegian, with English subtitles Norway. 75 min. Not rated If Alexander Payne ever decided to make a Judd Apatow film, it would look somewhat like The Almost Man. Henrik, played by Henrik Rafaelson, is a 35-year-old man-child (with an uncanny resemblance to Jason Segel) who starts […]