Paprika Steen Movies

Plagued by alcoholism and having relinquished custody of her two young sons in a messy divorce, a veteran actress attempts to reconnect with her estranged children and ex-husband following a painful stint in rehab. Thea may have a fondness for drink, but when she's dry she's as sharp as a razor. Forced to confront her demons on-stage after winning the role of Martha in a production of Who's Afriad of Virginia Woolf?, the decimated thespian realizes that her only hope for recovery is to reach out to the very same children she once abandoned. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Adam's Apples screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen pens director Paprika Steen's darkly comic tale of an opera-obsessed cafeteria manager who works on a financially strapped ferry running between Copenhagen and Stockholm. Cafeteria manager Jan (Lars Brygmann) isn't the most likable of characters. Not only has his fixation on proper procedure isolated him from his co-workers, but even Jan's shrieking wife Anna (Sidse Babett Knudsen) can't find many redeeming qualities in her severely grating spouse. One night, after hiding out in the local opera house, Jan comes home to yet another battle with his embittered bride. The following day, Jan's life takes a wholly unexpected turn when the fed-up captain of the ferry grows tired of Jan's behavior and demands that the obnoxious employee seek professional help. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Jacob Thuesen takes a satirical look at the life of an aspiring filmmaker in this story of an emerging director who remains doggedly determined to realize his vision on the big screen despite the lofty pretension and swelling egos of his useless instructors and eccentric fellow students. Erik Nietzsche can't seem to grasp the unwritten rules of the film industry, and as a result he just doesn't seem to fit in. A calm observer to the chaos that swirls around him, Nietzsche falls in love, experiences the stress of union disputes, and struggles to deal with the absurdities of the entertainment industry before finally getting his one big shot at fame. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A woman who has drifted away from her boyfriend's affections finds love in the arms of his son in this independent drama. Laura (Dina Korzun) is an attractive woman in her early thirties who was living in her native Russia when she met Alan James (Rip Torn), a legendary music producer from Memphis. Alan brought Laura back to the United States and moved in with her, but now that the couple have a three-year-old son, Laura finds herself a stranger in the city she now calls home and is growing increasingly distant from the philandering Alan. After a testimonial tribute to Alan, Laura meets his grown son Michael (Darren E. Burrows) for the first time; Michael has a difficult and sometimes combative relationship with Alan and prefers to keep a distance from him and his life, but Michael and Laura find they quickly develop a strong rapport. Laura and Michael's friendship soon grows into an affair, but as Laura considers her unhappiness with Alan, she also feels guilty about betraying a man who has given her a life she would hardly have dared to dream of when she was younger. Forty Shades of Blue was helmed by Ira Sachs (who earned enthusiastic reviews for his 1997 debut feature The Delta), from a script he co-wrote with Michael Rohatyn. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two people are brought together by a tragic accident in this emotional drama. Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and Cecilie (Sonja Richter) are a couple in Copenhagen who've fallen deeply in love and have made plans to marry. One day, Joachim is severely injured in an auto accident when he's struck by a woman named Marie (Paprika Steen), leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. As fate would have it, the doctor put in charge of Joachim's care is Niels (Mads Mikkelsen), who happens to be Marie's husband. Joachim, deeply depressed since the accident, tells Cecilie to leave him and find someone else, but while she intends to stay with the man she loves, she finds it increasingly difficult to deal with his mood swings and frequent anger. Meanwhile, Marie, wracked with guilt over the accident, asks her husband to look after Cecilie, and as they spend more and more time together, they find themselves becoming increasingly attracted. Eventually, Cecilie and Niels become lovers, leaving them both to deal with their betrayal of the people they've sworn to stand by. Filmed following the austere guidelines of the Dogma 95 movement, Open Hearts received its North American premier at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival and was screened in competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Mifunes Sidste Sang is the third feature produced according to the Dogma 95 manifesto, ten strict rules drawn up by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. The title of the film refers to the late Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who played a bogus samurai of peasant origins in Akira Kurosawa's Shichinin no Samurai/ Seven Samurai. The protagonist, Kresten, comes from humble country origins but now lives in the yuppie circles of Copenhagen and has the prospects of a glittering career until a telephone call on his wedding night shatters his hopes of a better life. Kresten's father has just died; he has always told everyone he knows, including his wife Claire, that he has no living family, but now he has to explain he does have one after all. When he returns to his father's dilapidated farmhouse, he meets his elder brother Rud, who is mentally retarded. Kresten is embarrassed by the prospect of having his poverty-stricken past unveiled and keeps his wife away, telling one lie after another. While trying to settle things on the farm, he becomes attached to his brother and tries to find a housekeeper to help alleviate the horrible conditions he is living in, so Kresten can go back to his comfortable life without feelings of guilt. However, the housekeeper turns out to be a high-class hooker on the run, and Kresten is extremely attracted to her. Meanwhile his wife, who is beginning to get suspicious, is threatening to join him. The basic philosophy behind the film is you can't lie your way out of the past on the farm. Director Soren Kragh-Jacobsen followed the Dogma 95 rules closely in this film -- the music is recorded along with the images, the camera is hand-held, there is no artificial lighting, no props, the plot takes place here and now without superficial action, no guns or murders. But unlike Lars von Trier's Dogma film, The Idiots, it was not shot on video and the director admits to adding a shrub or two to the farm scenes. Mifunes Sidste Sang-Dogme 3 received the Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999, while actress Iben Hjejle got a Special Mention for her role as Liva, the prostitute. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

This Danish comedy drama won the Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. It opens in rural Denmark as family members assemble for the 60th birthday celebration of patriarch Helge (Henning Moritzen). At the family estate are Helge's children: France-based restaurateur Christian (Ulrich Thomsen), whose twin sister killed herself; surviving sister Helene (Paprika Steen); and younger brother Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen), married with three children. At the birthday dinner, the bitter Christian stands to deliver a toast -- but instead makes a startling speech accusing Helge of sexual abuse involving both twins. Following principles outlined in 1995 by Danish fimmakers in their Dogme 95 proclamation, this film adheres to their manifesto guidelines of handheld cameras, direct sound, location filming, and the elimination of technical tricks. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

This modern update of Romeo And Juliet finds two young lovers torn between family loyalty and love in Copenhagen. Rami is a Palestinian operative who falls for Julie, a lonely woman who works at a service station. Lines from Shakespeare are recited by a laundromat manager who serves as a one-man Greek chorus at the appropriate times. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi