Jesper Christensen Movies

In this gritty spy thriller, Helen Mirren plays a retired Mossad agent named Rachel. Once upon a time, Rachel was part of a celebrated trio of secret agents who tracked down a Nazi war criminal in East Berlin in 1966 -- an incident so applauded in history, that now, three decades later, her own daughter has just published a book about the exploits. But one of Rachel's former partners in espionage, David (Ciarán Hinds), seems less than reverent about his memory of the time, and he proves his feelings with a decision that sends Rachel and her other former partner, Stephan (Tom Wilkinson), on a forced revisit through time. For 30 years, Rachel has been living one truth, but now, as the past collides with the present, a new and deadly story begins to emerge. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Festival cause célèbre Ole Christian Madsen -- the director of critically championed prior efforts including Kira's Reason (2001) and Prague (2006) -- turns away from the domestic drama that characterized his earlier filmography with this unusual period thriller, adapted from historical events. Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen star, respectively, as Flame and Citron. As two members of the anti-Nazi Danish resistance during the Second World War, their activities predominantly consist of hunting down and rubbing out Denmark's most prominent Nazi collaborators, and thus furthering the way for the Allied cause. Although Madsen opts for conventional subject matter here, and even a traditional perspective given his film's anti-Nazi stance, his deglamorized presentation retains a certain uniqueness, with the two main characters presented not as conventional heroes, but thoroughly desperate characters from the dregs of society with nothing left to lose except for their own lives -- and sociopaths prone to the most sadistic acts of ultraviolence against the enemy. Citron fares worst, as an utterly irredeemable alcoholic and drug addict, crumbling beneath the weight of a miserable, rotten marriage and a less-than-glowing relationship with his young daughter. In touting the film, Madsen openly cited Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows (1969) as one of his key influences. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A devastating betrayal sends James Bond from Australia to Italy and South America on a mission of vengeance that pits the suave super-spy against a powerful businessman with diabolical intentions. Betrayed by Vesper, 007 (Daniel Craig) suppresses the urge to make his latest mission personal as he teams with M (Judi Dench) to interrogate Mr. White (Jesper Christensen). It soon becomes apparent that the organization behind the blackmailing of Vesper is more powerful than Bond and M had previously anticipated, and after discovering forensic evidence that links an MI6 traitor to a bank in Haiti, Bond immediately sets out to gather more intelligence.

Once in Haiti, a case of mistaken identity leads Bond into the company of the ravishing Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a dangerous beauty with her own vendetta. It's Camille who leads Bond to a ruthless businessman named Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), who is soon revealed to be the mastermind of a powerful but clandestine organization. Greene is conspiring to corner the market on one of the world's most precious natural resources, and in order to make that happen he has forged a deal with an exiled general named Medrano (Joaquin Cosio). By enlisting the aid of his many associates and using his vast resources to force contacts within the CIA and the British government into bending to his will, Greene plans to overthrow the current regime of a Latin American country and hand control over to General Medrano in exchange for a parcel of land that appears barren on the surface, but actually houses a natural resource that will make Greene the most powerful man on the planet. But Bond's mission to uncover the culprit who blackmailed Vesper and prevent Dominic Greene from exerting his will on the entire world won't be easy, because now everyone from the CIA to the terrorists and even M are out to get him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A mother and daughter clash over their conflicting views on intimacy and communication in this unusual independent drama from filmmaker Linda Wendel. Sally (Mille Hoffmeyer Lehfeldt) is a young woman who earns her living by appearing on an adult webcam service, where she performs sexual acts while an audience watches on the internet. Sally's career as a cyberspace sex worker stems from her negative feelings towards her mother Janne (Karen-Lise Mynster), a free spirited woman whose embrace of free love alienated Sally as a child. Looking for revenge against her mom, Sally returns home for a visit and meets Janne's latest lover, Lennart (Jesper Christensen). Sally hopes to hurt her mother by luring Lennart into bed, leading to an ugly confrontation. As its title suggests, One Shot was filmed in one continuous, unedited 78-minute take; it was one of two films shot in this manner that was screened at the 2008 Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, along with Josh Melin's Preludium. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Actor Daniel Craig assumes the role formerly occupied by such screen greats as Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton to set out on the character's very first 007 mission. James Bond has earned his "00" status by masterfully executing a pair of death-defying professional assassinations. Now assigned the task of traveling to Madagascar to spy on notorious terrorist Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan) for his maiden voyage as a 007 agent, Bond boldly goes against MI6 policy to launch an independent investigation that finds him traversing the Bahamas in search of Mollaka's notoriously elusive terror cell. Subsequently led into the company of the mysterious Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian) and his exotic girlfriend, Solange (Caterina Murino), Bond soon realizes that he is closer than ever to locating well-guarded terrorist financier Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), the man who has personally bankrolled some of the most prevalent terrorist organizations on the planet. When Bond learns that Le Chiffre is planning to partake in an upcoming high-stakes poker game to be played at Montenegro's Le Casino Royale and use the winnings to establish his financial grip on the globe, M (Judi Dench) assigns beguiling agent Vesper (Eva Green) the task of watching over the fledgling agent as he plays against Le Chiffre in a covert attempt to destroy the nefarious gambler's well-established monetary stronghold in the underworld once and for all. Bond will need more than his legendary gambling skills in order to win this dangerous game, though, and after allying himself with local MI6 field agent Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) and CIA operative Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), the endlessly suave super-spy puts on his poker face for a high-stakes game of cards in which the stakes are not measured in dollars, but human lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Faith and skepticism walk side by side as two people look toward what might be the end of the world in this made-for-TV supernatural thriller. Richard Massey (Bill Pullman) is a college professor whose teenaged daughter recently died at the hands of a Satanist, who killed the girl as part of a ritual. While Massey is a confirmed atheist, he's trying to make some sort of sense of his daughter's death when he meets Sister Josepha Montifiore (Natascha McElhone), a nun who does research in unusual phenomena. Sister Josepha has become convinced that a number of signs point to the appearance of the Antichrist and the Apocalypse as predicted in the Book of Revelations; Massey becomes her skeptical accomplice as he searches for closure. Written for the screen by David Seltzer, the miniseries Revelations debuted on NBC on April 13, 2005. ~ 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

The Dogma 95 movement has seen some searing looks into the human condition but rarely a romantic comedy -- until now. Veteran Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig spins this deadpan look at a group of lovelorn outsiders living in a grey corner of Copenhagen. After the perennially foul-tempered minister of a local church is fired after doing great injury to the organist, Andreas moves to the area to take over the parish. Staying in a hotel until his predecessor can be wrested from the rectory, Andreas befriends the establishment's scatter-brained manager, Jørgen, who is utterly in love with a beautiful Italian barmaid working at a nearby pub run by Hal-Finn. When the irascible Hal-Finn is chastised by the bar's owner for his unkempt appearance, he goes to a local salon where he meets Karen, a comely hairdresser harried by her grasping mom. Meanwhile, Andreas falls for a lethally klutzy pastry shop assistant named Olympia. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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, Rovi

This Danish children's film compares and contrasts the lives of rich and poor while telling the upbeat story of the friendship between two eleven-year-old girls. The girls are neighbors outside of Copenhagen. Maj-Britt's parents are both unemployed, but remain amiable as they try to scrape by. Her father spends his free hours raising and training racing pigeons. Christina's family are both working professionals with aspirations of social grandeur. Her mother loves to throw posh soirees and is uptight and finicky about their household. Despite their differences, Maj-Britt and Christina are best friends, until the latter's parents end up serving some of Maj's father's squabs for supper. The battle ends when they both try to help mend a pigeon's broken wing. It is good that they have separated this bird for one day a predatory marten swoops in and slaughters the rest of the flock, leaving it up to the girls and their pigeon to concoct a secret plan and save the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This dark Swedish comedy-drama is based on director Mats Arehn's memories of his father. The story is told from Arehn's point of view when he was a child. Palle Hagmann, a 1940's Swedish vaudeville singer is popular. He would be really popular were it not for his reputation for lying and cheating. He rationalizes to his son by explaining the different kinds of lies available. He admonishes him that white lies should be saved for the self. Hagmann tells white ones frequently and with increasing regularity; they get him into trouble. Hagmann moves his family around frequently until they finally end up in the South of France attempting to manage a hotel. Despite Hagmann's largely self-created problems, he remains a devout optimist. Arehn's exploration of his father creates a tragic scenario that ultimately culminates in love and forgiveness. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi