Anne-Lise Gabold Movies

Busted by authorities while attempting to gain entry into Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theater and subsequently transported to a remote retirement community, senile former stage director Walter Jan Malmsjo) attempts to stage a geriatric production of Romeo and Juliet in hopes of impressing ageing diva resident Virginia (Ghita Norby), who longs to assume the role of Shakespeare's ill-fated heroine one last time, in director Suzanne Osten's warmhearted tribute to the films of Ingmar Bergman. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This flat tale of teen innocence lost is based on a 1958 novel by Klaus Rifbjerg and features, aside from middle-class manners, Tore (Thomas Algren) -- a popular young high-school stud, his devoted buddy Janus (Allan Olsen), his girlfriend Helle (Simone Bendix), and Helle's mother Mrs. Jundersen (Susse Wold). Helle has consistently refused any sexual advances made by Tore, and since a sub-text of the plot seems to say that young teen men must have sex or else, Tore is seduced by Helle's mother. Meanwhile, Janus does not know about Helle's stance on her own virtue and finds a fast-and-loose young woman to initiate him into the wonders of sex. The effect of Mrs. Jundersen's indiscretion, however, is more than anyone could have expected. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This farce, tinged by social commentary, begins when a worker named Age (Nesper Christensen) is dumped by his girlfriend Else (Ulla Henningsen) for the death of their sex life, killed off by Age's overwork and exhaustion. Else also evicts his buddy Viggo (Tommy Kenter) from the living quarters that had been shared by the three of them. On the heels of that indignity, the two homeless friends lose their jobs at the factory where they both work, and then find themselves trying to escape a fate worse than death as the subjects of an experiment by an evil industrialist and his like-minded daughter. Eventually, life takes a turn for the better as they escape the unknown terrors planned by the menacing father-daughter duo. Age's exploits are interspersed or sometimes highlighted by Viggo's sax performances (by JesperThilo, an accomplished tenor saxaphonist), one of the better features of the film. The work of Hans Kristensen as a writer and director, with Hans Hansen as a cowriter, although known for its social commentary, cedes stage center to farcical humor here - for better or worse. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A prominent member of the Danish Parliament is murdered during a house debate on nuclear energy, and the police investigative unit is all too zealous in their pursuit of suspects. Bent Christensen's crime drama -- based on a popular novel by Paul-Henrik Trampe -- works fairly well as a mainstream thriller but fails as the powerful statement against police corruption it was obviously meant to be. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

An American gangster of Swedish origins returns to his homeland to set up shop as a morality crusader, much in the manner of the later phenomenon of televangelists. While indulging in behind-the-scene shenanigans including rape and murder, the gangster (played by American Clu Gulagher) preaches to large audiences, using mass hypnotism and show-biz razzmatazz to get his message across. The film also features a brief performance by Per Oscarsson, following his highly publicized "retirement" from screen acting. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This historical drama takes place in Denmark sometime after the Reformation. In the story, the Vicar of a small town is being brought up on charges of murder. It is a frame-up. The vicar is a bad-tempered man and is known to have struck the murdered man. The victim, the Vicar's servant, was the brother of a wealthy farmer who had sought to marry the Vicar's daughter. The town's bailiff, who must judge the case, is the Vicar's son-in-law. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this Danish suspense film, the foibles of the psychological helping professions are wryly surveyed. A woman has murdered her husband. That's clear enough. Now the woman is in a psychiatric hospital because it seemed clear to the judges that she was not fully competent. Her doctor, who is helping her a great deal, has problems of his own. First, he is against the cookie-cutter treatment practices of his hospital, second, he is on shaky mental ground himself. Then he violates his therapeutic ethics by carrying on an affair with the woman he is treating. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

When a student from a middle-class family comes to study at Copenhagen University, he quickly makes friends with a crowd of wealthy revelers. He socializes with the group, most of whom have never had to work for anything in their lives. Knowing he is out of his league economically, he continues take part in the antics of the group and falls in love with a very wealthy girl. When she is forced to marry a rich man she detests, the heartbroken student draws away from the good-time crowd as he becomes a victim of the socially conscious conditions that prevail. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi