Jeppe Kaas Movies

Maria (Anne Herdorf), Dan (Jorn Lendorph), Tine (Christine Skou) and Henrik (Jeppe Kaas) are four youngsters who are on the verge of having to leave school and enter into the world. In the meantime, they make the best use they can of this idyll. All of them are children of student radicals from the 1960's. However, Maria and Dan's parents still try to be true to the values of that period, whereas Tine and Henrik's parents have turned their backs on that idealism completely, to the point of being willing to commit murder in return for improved social status. Maria is fooling around with drugs, and Dan is fooling around with Maria. Their relative innocence does not protect them, and things with them take a tragic turn. This film is based on a book by Bo Green Jensen. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A career criminal stumbles upon his big chance to get out of the business, though not everyone thinks it's such a good idea, in this witty thriller. Torkild (Soren Pilmark) is the leader of a band of small-time crooks; having just celebrated his 40th birthday (which coincided with his being dumped by his girlfriend), Torkild is looking to land a big score so he can get out of the business. While trying to map out a major heist, a guy known as the Man From Faro (Peter Anderson) approaches Torkild with a job -- he needs someone to steal a bag for him. Torkild and his cronies are up for the job, but they soon discover that a team of security guards is on hand to make sure the bag isn't stolen, and one of Torkild's friends is wounded in a shootout. After they've made their getaway, Torkild discovers why everyone was fighting over the bag -- it contains over four million kroner ($500,000 in American currency) -- and he and his partners decide they're not keen on turning it over to the Man From Faro. After their car breaks down, Torkild and company happen upon an old restaurant that's up for sale, and they decide to use their newfound wealth to buy it and go into business -- which would be complicated enough without the arrival of the Man From Faro, who wants to know what happened to the money he hired Torkild to steal. Blinkende Lygter also stars Iben Hjejle, who gained the attention of American audiences as John Cusack's love interest in the film High Fidelity. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A Danish family attempts to cope with the death of their mother in director Annette K. Olesen's bittersweet family drama Sma Ulykker (Minor Mishaps). When Ulla (Vigga Bro) dies in a sudden, tragic mishap, husband John (Jorgen Kill) attempt to balance his loss by forming a closer relationship with daughter Marianne (Maria Wurgler Rich. Suspecting that the realtionship may be taking on unhealthy undertones, Marianne's sister Eva (Jannie Faurschou) voices her concern to self-absorbed businessman brother Tom (Henrik Pip), who eschews concerns for his family in favor of more pressing personal issues. As the immidiate family continues to deal with the loss and the resulting effects it has on thie interaction, uncle Soren (Jesper Christensen)'s marriage seems to be falling apart at the seams as the result of his wife Marianne's (Karne-Lise Mynster) attraction to co-worker Martin (Oliver Appelt Nielson). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Anna (Ann Eleonora Jørgensen of Italian for Beginners) has just been hired as the chaplain at a women's prison. Inexperienced, but compassionate and energetic, she begins to feel her way amongst the prisoners. Soon, a new prisoner, Kate (Trine Dyrholm of The Celebration), is transferred to the prison and causes a stir. Marion (Sonja Richter of Open Hearts), a junkie, has heard that Kate helped another prisoner get clean and goes to her when her fellow prisoner and dealer, Jossi (Sarah Boberg), cuts her off. Marion kicks heroin, and believes that the introspective Kate has healed her. When Anna gets wind of this, she goes to see Kate, but Kate doesn't want to talk to her. She's even a bit hostile, telling Anna to look after herself and the baby in her belly. Anna believes herself infertile after fruitlessly trying to have a child with her loving husband, Frank (Lars Ranthe). She's shocked to discover that she is actually pregnant, but her joy turns to dismay when she learns that the fetus may have a serious birth defect. Meanwhile, Henrik (Nicolaj Kopernikus), a mild-mannered guard, finds himself increasingly drawn to Kate, to the point of putting his job in jeopardy, while the ruthless Jossi, losing business, feels threatened by the strange new inmate. Writer/director Annette K. Olesen and co-writer Kim Fupz Aakeson made In Your Hands in the Dogme style, shooting on video at Nyborg State Prison. The film was shown at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival and selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

An overly-optimistic preacher with a penchant for taking in lost causes to help around his remote church finds his rose-tinted view of the world challenged by a psychotic neo-Nazi he is trying to reform in this jet black comedy from Green Butchers screenwriter/director Anders Thomas Jensen. Vicar Ivan (Mads Mikkelsen) prides himself on his efforts to help those in need by offering them a variety of odd jobs around the church and spreading the good word. After "adopting" a violent Saudi immigrant and a drunken tennis pro with a history of sexual assault, Ivan is approached by Adam (Ulrich Thomsen) -- a decidedly non-reformed neo-Nazi planning to lie low in the countryside for a spell before returning to the city to once again wreak havoc. When Ivan inquires as to what his new charge's goal will be during his stay in the countryside, the snide hooligan sarcastically states that he would like to bake a cake -- a response which prompts the gullible Ivan to place him in charge of the church's cherished apple tree. As ravens immediately descend upon the tree, Ivan concludes that Satan is attempting to prevent Adam from realizing his true potential. Meanwhile, Adam takes it upon himself to give the cheery clergyman a crash course in the harsh realities of life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Danish director Tomas Villum Jensen's acerbic satire Clash of Egos stars Ulrich Thomsen as Tonny, a husband and father so rage-addled that he got sent to jail for KO'ing a man in public. Tonny's wife, Tanja (Ellen Hillingso), grew humiliated and promptly divorced him, but Tonny luckily managed to swing occasional custody of his two children. On one of their prized afternoons together, Tonny and the kids hearken off to see the new Harry Potter movie, but run headfirst into the discouraging news that the film is sold out. With only one other option available to them at the cinema, the three must endure a thoroughly miserable afternoon at an über-pretentious Danish film called "The Murderer," directed by the snotty artiste director Claus Volter (Nikolaj Lie Kaas in a characterization reportedly inspired by Lars von Trier) . Frustrated, Tonny smashes a window in the cinema lobby (and barely manages to escape re-incarceration for it), then decides to track Volter down to demand a refund on their ticket and concession costs -- little knowing the misery he is about to cause in the life of this revered "film artist." ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Charlotte Sachs-Bostrup directed this family-oriented mystery that attained enormous popularity in its native Denmark, especially among young audiences. At the time of its release, it represented one of several Western European efforts about teen and pre-teen characters playing amateur sleuth. Elena Arndt-Jensen and Nanna Finding Koppel star, respectively, as Karla and Katrine, two girls caught up in the tumult of early adolescence. Karla, hoping that she and Katrine might forge a closer friendship, invites Katrine to spend the holidays with her. Katrine obliges, but nothing quite turns out as they expect. Karla soon falls in love for the first time, with Jonas (Joshua Marc Berman) a young boy close to her age. This is all well and good, of course, but Karla becomes so wrapped up in the new romance that she neglects her friendship with Katrine. These concerns take a back seat, however (and the girls must set aside their conflicts) when a gang of local thieves begins to strike repeatedly, and Jonas and the girls team up to solve the mystery. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

This family-friendly sci-fi outing from Denmark concerns Valdemar, a freshman in high school whose path criss-crosses with that of time machine inventor named Benedict. Benedict, it seems, is immortal: in the Viking Era, the scientist fell prey to a curse by an evil Seeress who prevented him from ever dying. Unfortunately, Benedict can't travel back in time himself to reverse the Seeress's decision, so he asks Valdemar to help by undertaking the journey alone. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi