Per Jansen Movies

Irony abounds in this comical Norwegian story of two comedians married to each other. At first husband Stig is the star, a stand-up comic noted for his bawdy monologues and cutting remarks about his many friends and acquaintances. He loves his career and has a great time until the terrible night that his greatest fan, a stuffy insurance broker laughs himself to death in the audience. After that poor Stig cannot perform without seeing the broker's face staring back. Naturally this impacts his humor. His wife and manger Ane, who is also a talented singer blessed with an even raunchier sense of humor than his, takes over as his opening act. Soon she becomes the main attraction. Meanwhile the still traumatized Stig stays at home playing with his toy trains and hangs out with his depressed father-in-law who came to stay after he learned that his wife had an affair 50 years ago. Ane is also having an affair with a handsome drummer, more in retaliation for Stig's many indiscretions than out of any real lust. The many goings on are punctuated by asides made directly to the audience. This film will be most enjoyable for those who speak Norwegian as much of the subtlest humor is lost in the literally translated subtitles. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This powerful Scandinavian biopic chronicles the fall of one of Norway's most respected authors, Knut Hamsun (played by Max von Sydow in one of his most acclaimed performances) who up until WWII was considered one of the greatest Norwegians of the 20th century. At the dawn of the war, the Nobel Prize winning author shocked his countrymen by publicly siding with the Nazis. His wife Marie took it a step further and went to Germany to give lectures. Following the war, both were convicted and branded as traitors. Hamsun attempts to answer the questions surrounding the author and his wife's treachery. By the time the war erupted, Hamsun was an elderly curmudgeon who could barely hear. A profoundly lonely man with hatred of British Imperialism, he was an easy target for Nazi propaganda. His wife Marie, who in Norway is still more vilified than her husband, also had her reasons to support the German party, but while though-provoking, they don't invite much sympathy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Ove Rolandsen (Bjørn Floberg) is preoccupied with getting ahead in the world, and having a bit of fun while he does that. It's 1903, and he works as a telegraph operator in a town on the northern coast of Norway. He'd also like to marry Elise (Marie Richardson), the daughter of a local factory owner. She's very nice looking, and she's also interested in him, but there are two obstacles to their getting married. In the first place, she is the fiancee of a ship-owner whose connections are useful to her father's business. In the second place, he's not very well off. He applies himself to his second vocation, inventing, in the hopes of discovering something which will rectify his poverty, and in the meantime, doesn't mind going to bed with the town pastor's pretty wife. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In Viking times, the sons of rulers had a pretty tough act to follow, as their fathers came to rulership by proving their toughness, courage, martial prowess, and ferocity. In this story, Sigurd (Kristian Tonby) is eleven, and he has a lot of challenges in front of him if he wants to assume his proper place in Viking society - especially as he is a pretty frail fellow. He bravely faces every one of his challenges, even though he often fails at them. When he does, he tries again. Eventually, he has faced them all, and sometime after his father's death, he is a fit man to take over his father's earlship. Due to his trials, however, he has a more generous understanding of the poor and outcaste of his time. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Old Martin (Espen Skjonberg) is haunted by his past, and he has a lot to be haunted by. When he was a young man (Nicolay Lange-Nielsen) his uncle gave him the money to set up business in the wilds of western Norway as a horse trader. His uncle also entrusted a girl, Anna (Camilla Strom Henriksen) to him. Martin was already involved in her life: Anna's father had raped her and gotten her pregnant, and Martin killed the man for this. The two worked hard to make a life for themselves in the wilderness, and they eventually had a social life and a child of their own. For some reason, Martin left his wife while she was giving birth to their child, and he had reason to doubt that she would live through the experience. Now, years later, she has contacted him. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Geared for a television audience, this story about a small group of self-respecting but unemployed young men rebelling against certain social and economic issues, pits their generation against that of their fathers. The youngsters broadcast rock music and complaints/appeals for a job from a mobile unit that is difficult to trace. The fathers work at different occupations and come from different backgrounds, but would not approve of their sons' brash actions. Once the young men have gone out on a limb, a simple resolution to their problems seems more and more impossible as time goes by. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi