Early on in the year may be as good a time as any to look back at 2015, before the number of films begins to snowball and as the awards season slowly winds down. What has been overlooked? What made the festival rounds but is conspicuously missing from this year’s lineup, having perhaps gotten lost […]
The opening credits spell it out: 800,000 sheep among 320,000 Icelanders. Living in the remote northern part of the country, two brothers, bachelor sheep farmers past middle age, live alone on side by side farms. Their family has lived in the region for generations, raising prized thoroughbred stock. Both brothers have an attentive, paternal relationship with their herds—their constant companions—yet the men haven’t said a word to each other […]
Directed by Jonas Alexander Arnby Written by Rasmus Birch, based on an idea by Christoffer Boe, Arnby, and Birch Produced by Caroline Schlüter Bingestam and Ditte Milsted Released by Radius Danish with English subtitles Denmark/France. 84 min. Rated R With Sonia Suhl, Lars Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter, Jakob Oftebro, Stig Hoffmeyer, Mads Riisom, Esben Dalgaard, Gustav […]
John C. Reilly was a triple threat at Cannes, costarring in Lobster and sharing screen time with Salma Hayek in Tale of Tales, two films in the competition. He also popped out of nowhere in a cameo in Thomas Bidegain’s debut, the French-language Les Cowboys, one of the most ambitious films in the entire festival. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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: […]
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 […]