Jesper Christensen Movies
Multilingual Scandinavian actor Jesper Christensen juggled cinematic, television and theatrical roles with great aplomb, but spent several decades in mostly local fare and only began to receive international crossover attention after he reached middle age. Born in 1948, Christensen signed for some of his first professional roles on northern European television during the mid-'70s in such long-form features as Luder (1975), Ellen's Sang (1975), and Stroemer (1976). He subsequently moved into big screen Scandinavian features, hitting his peak with Kjell Grede's ingenious but criminally overlooked life in the arts drama Hip Hip Hurrah! (1987) and Grede's well-received follow-up, Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg (1990). Several key roles brought Christensen audience exposure in the U.S., catalyzed by his star-making turn in the Dogme comedy Italian for Beginners; these included contributions to the 21st and 22nd James Bond vehicles, Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide- 1990
Donna (Birgitte Simonsen) has boyfriends, but she loves Britt (Hanne Windfeld Lund). Britt loves Donna back, but she's going to get married to a man who's probably not good husband material (Ole Lemmkeke). The two of them try to make sense of their lives and loves, but ultimately they are only sure that they care about each other. It turns out that some of their men care about each other, too. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ole Lemmeke
- 1988
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
- Starring:
- Line Kruse, Börje Ahlstedt, (more)
- 1987
This plodding, depressing drama concerns the 19th-century painters who were collectively know as the Skaw (or Skagen) Colony. The group rejected the Impressionist style of painting, opting for the realism of natural light and using the lives of the poor fishing villagers as their inspiration. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stellan Skarsgård
- 1981
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesper Christensen, Tommy Kenter, (more)
- 1980
A young couple struggling with sterility is the subject of this below-average Danish kitchen-sink drama typical of the 1970s. Susanne (Karen Lise Mynster) and Morten (Jesper Christensen) want children like anybody else, but Morten proves to be sterile. They go through the inevitable hospital tests and start seeing other people. The marriage is on the verge of collapse, but true love ultimately keeps it together. The film was director Aase Schmidt's first feature after many years of stage work. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen-Lise Mynster, Jesper Christensen, (more)
- 1978
Told from the point of view of a young man who is so naive as to appear simple-minded, the movie follows a few days in the lives of the unemployed living on the dole in 1930s Copenhagen. It is based on the 1940 autobiographical novel by Eigil Jensen. The main character (Jesper Christensen) hopes for snow, so that he can earn some coins to pay for his sparse, tiny room by shoveling the streets. One of his acquaintances is a man, known as "The Weightlifter," who steals books and passes them on to the poor young man. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesper Christensen, Kirsten Olesen, (more)
- 1977
Jastrau (Ole Ernst) is an uncompromising individualist with strong ideals. In this drama based on Tom Kristensen's best-selling autobiographical novel, Jastrau is an art critic who is being urged to temper his ferocious opinions by his newspaper, in part because he is stepping on too many toes, politically. This violation of his sense of journalistic ethics, and his sense of being trapped in a bourgeois marriage, lead him to drink. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ole Ernst, Kirsten Peuliche, (more)
