Ib Tardini Movies

Trine Dyrholm stars in this gentle and earnest Danish-language drama as Lotte, a female soldier who returns home to Denmark exhausted and fully disillusioned following a lengthy period of military service. Wanting to help, Lotte's undependable father offers her a job chauffering his Nigerian girlfriend around; with no other options in sight, she agrees. Both women have put up barriers given their emotional scars from the past, but then something most unexpected happens: a touching and meaningful friendship blossoms between them. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Aage Rais-Nordentoft's coming-of-age drama Kick 'n Rush concerns three friends who bond over soccer. Their relationship hits a rocky patch when Jakob puts the moves on a girl that Mikkel has loved from afar. While this is going on, Bo begins to garner attention for his superior football skills. Their jealousy and resentment begins to tear them apart from each other. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

An enchanted innocent who loves children discovers he cannot be trusted in the modern world in this contemporary fable. Lise (Line Kruse) is a seven-year-old girl whose yuppie parents have little time to spend with her. Lonely and needing a grown-up role model, Lise conjures up an adult as an imaginary friend -- P (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a big but warm-hearted man who hides behind the walls of her bedroom when grown-ups are around. Lise dies in an auto wreck, and P is forced to enter the real world and fend for himself. Strangers take pity of the guileless P, and he soon has a job and a place to live, and even strikes up a friendship with Lise's parents, who only now realize how much they loved the daughter they lost. But as one might expect, P has a soft spot for children, and when he strikes up friendships with a number of kids in the neighborhood, several people wonder if he's making improper advances towards his young acquaintances. Director Ake Sandgren filmed Et Rigtift Menneske using the strictly acetic boundaries of the Dogma 95 style. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this period drama set in Denmark at the dawn of the 20th century, Bente (Bodil Jorgensen) is a middle-aged woman who is single and in no hurry to change. However, her family is deep in debt, and on his death bed, Bente's father makes a final request of her -- that she marry Gorm (Bjarne Henriksen), who is willing to write off the family's balance owed in exchange for her hand. While Bente wants to help her family, Gorm is well-known as a hard drinker with a surly and abusive temperament, and she's not sure if she should have to sacrifice her happiness over a financial matter. Fruen per Hamre was based on a novel by Morten Korchs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A man is given one last chance to repair a broken relationship with his daughter in this downbeat drama. Kaj (Jesper Christensen) once had both self-respect and a solid career as a chef, but these days he's an alcoholic who spends most of his days drinking with a handful of companions in a suburban park near Copenhagen. Liv (Stine Holm Joensen) is a woman trying to run away from a bad relationship with her abusive husband Lars (Lars Brygmann); she and her son Jonas (Marius Sonne Janischefska) move into an apartment near the park, and Kaj is shocked to discover she is the daughter he abandoned nearly two decades before. Kaj invites Liv to dinner only to realize that she isn't sure who he is -- and that she's not at all happy to discover he is her father. When Liv finds herself in dire financial circumstances, she turns to Lars, whose violent temper hasn't mellowed. As Kaj's drinking spirals out of control, he receives a call from Liv; she's in the hospital, seriously injured in a fight with Lars, and she needs Kaj to look after Jonas. Baenken was the first feature film from writer and director Per Fly. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This Danish romantic drama focuses upon an independent woman in her 30's whose resolve to never marry is shaken by a handsome 21 year old. Although Hannah, a flower shop owner, avoids commitment and true intimacy, she still manages to have a healthy sex life. Many men have tried to domesticate her, but all have failed. However, when Hannah meets the self-assured street kid Per, she begins to succumb to domestication. He eventually moves in with her and begins helping her with the business. His presence creates great inner conflict within Hannah. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

His single mother has been seeing some men whose presence in the house makes it impossible for thirteen-year old Nick (Christian Tafdrup) to remain. He finds shelter with a man named Ralph (Stig Hoffmeyer), who enjoys him as a sexual boy-toy until his girlfriend comes back from wherever she's been. Nick, living on the streets, does a little hustling to get by until he gets involved with a gang led by Rene (Danish pop star Dicte), a girl posing as a boy. The two even become lovers for a time, but events accelerate and Nick once again confronts his treacherous confidante, Ralph. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Virtually unknown in English-speaking countries, Emma's Shadow was one of the most popular Danish films of the 1980s, and a winner of several awards in the bargain. Emma, an impulsive 11-year-old girl, is portrayed by Line Kruse. Tired of being neglected by her wealthy parents, Emma fakes her own kidnapping. She hides out with an impoverished Copenhagen sewer worker. Things take a serious turn halfway through, but a lighthearted "Pippi Longstocking" atmosphere pervades the picture throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Orengen, Der Forsvandt is a children's picture about a boy who runs away from home, and since there is not much character development, it is unclear exactly why he did it. Thirteen-year-old Jonas (Mads M. Nielsen) is the lad in question, faced with a depressed mother and the probable reason for her sadness, a father with interests that lie outside the family home and parties to attend. Yet the household is otherwise orderly and responsible, and Jonas has a good relationship with his siblings. In spite of the stable aspects of his life, he walks out one day and sets up an organized housekeeping off in the woods. Unfortunately for the film, somewhere between Jonas' family life and his decision to leave, the storyline fades and weakens. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

When Mette (Line Arlien Soeborg) and her father (Jesper Klein) are left alone over the Christmas holidays to paint the new nursery because Mette's mother is in the hospital with a difficult pregnancy, the father ends up alone most of the time. The 16-year-old Mette is always off with her friends at the disco or skating, and the father does not mind until he discovers that young Joenne (Carsten Joergensen) has taken some topless photos of Mette and clearly is intending to go further in their relationship. Suddenly the father starts hanging out with Mette and her friends as they practice winter sports together -- and there is hardly anything stranger, or more embarrassing, as far as Mette is concerned. It is clear that father and daughter are heading toward a change in their relationship as both have to adjust to her "growing up." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

More of a study in the process of growth between the years of 13 and 15 than an unfolding drama of youth and its foibles, this autobiographical look backward by director Nils Malmros was filmed over a two-year period so as to actually capture the physical and psychological changes in the young actors themselves. There is really no story involved in the simple depiction of the teenagers, although the hint of a conflict between the popular Elin (Eva Gram Scholdager) and her classmates, as well as some suggestion as to Elin's personality and motivations is the closest the film comes to a plot line. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide