Peter Gantzler Movies

Emerging filmmaker Malgoska Szumowska draws on her own life experiences to craft this semi-autobiographical drama concerning a woman who is suddenly prompted to re-evaluate her sense of self when her whole world begins to collapse. Julia is a successful photographer with a loving husband and a beautiful home, though over the course of just one year her good fortune gradually begins to take a turn for the worse. Shortly after Julia's dog dies, her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer and her career hits the skids. The bad news seems to be snowballing, though with her husband overseas, her sister engaged in an affair with a priest, and her father becoming increasingly needy, the beleaguered woman has no one to turn to. Now forced into a new kind of adulthood due to the close proximity of sickness and death, Julia gradually begins to accept the things that she cannot change in life by finding laughter in the most unusual places, and entering into an unexpected affair. Over time, Julia learns to find courage in the chaos, and accept the inevitable pain as just another part of life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Barely escaping to the east as marauders slaughter his family and lay waste to his village, a ten year old Scandinavian boy named Helgi seeks shelter with his uncle Rurik and bodes his time until the day he will seek vengeance. Years later, during a treacherous sailing adventure, a grown-up Helgi (Ken Vedsegaard) discovers that the newly reigning king is the very man responsible for the carnage that left him an orphan, and prepares to strike back in a battle that will alter the course of history. Based on a true story. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Lars von Trier's black comedy The Boss of It All (Direktøren for Det Hele) concerns an IT company owner who -- in need of a figurehead to "hide behind" when confronted with employee problems -- invented the personage of a CEO during the startup period for his corporation. The scheme worked for a surprisingly long period, but when the time arrives to sell the business, massive problems arise -- for the prospective buyers insist on only negotiating with the CEO, in person. Thus, the owner further extends the ruse, by hiring a down-and-out actor to impersonate the chief officer. With Direktøren for Det Hele, von Trier uses a new means of filmmaking for this film: Automavision, whereby filming is done with an "automatic randomized camera" that selects the shots. It became a means for Von Trier to "clean up" his approach to directorial work and reconnect with his own love of filmmaking. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A man looking to spice up his life gets a bit more excitement than he expected in this manic crime comedy. Arvid (Dejan Cukie) is a bank teller whose life has fallen into a rut -- so deep a rut that his girlfriend, Henne (Trine Dyrholm), breaks up with him for being too dull. Hoping to put some much-needed adventure into his life, Arvid helps stop a robbery at the bank by bashing would-be thief Franz (Peter Gantzler) over the head with a squash racquet. At first, Arvid is proud of his accomplishment, but Franz's wife, Astrid (Line Kruse), tracks him down and tells him a dubious story about how Franz was robbing the bank only so he could pay for medical treatments that would allow the couple to have a child. Imagining he can help out Franz and Astrid and prove himself a dangerous outlaw all at once, Arvid plots a robbery of his own bank, and even persuades his brother Harold (Kim Bodnia) to help out. But crime is not exactly second nature to Arvid and his crew, and soon they find themselves on the run from the Yugoslavian mafia. A major box-office hit in Denmark, I Kina Spiser de Hunde (aka In China They Eat Dogs) spawned a prequel, Gamle Mænd i Nye Biler, in 2002. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide