Kim Bodnia Movies

Two Danish schoolchildren -- one meek and unassertive, the other angry and vengeance-prone -- forge a friendship with ugly consequences in this cautionary tale from director Susanne Bier. The story opens with physician Anton (Mikael Persbrandt, working abroad in a Kenyan hospital, where he's routinely treating female victims of a psychotic thug known as Big Man (Evans Muthini). Anton himself suffers from a dysfunctional home life, given his emotional estrangement from his wife (Trine Dyrholm), and his desire to set a positive example for son Elias (Markus Rygaard) -- the physician longs to mend both relationships but finds this difficult given his frequent absenteeism. Meanwhile, another family suffers from equally grave issues: Claus (Ulrich Thomsen) and his son, Christian (William Jøhnk Juels Nielsen), move from London back to their home country of Denmark; Claus is still reeling from his late wife's recent death from cancer, and father and son find it more and more difficult to connect with another. But Christian has much deeper issues than simple filial alienation -- an almost pathological addiction to retribution that manifests itself in a knife-wielding attempt to protect new friend Elias from a local bully. Elias and Christian become fast companions, but as they do, it draws out a level of rage in both boys that threatens to culminate in shocking, terroristic levels of violence. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A dedicated defense attorney becomes the target of a sinister blackmail plot in this dark crime thriller featuring Pusher star Kim Bodnia. Jonas Bechmann (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) prides himself on playing by the rules, but upon being threatened with exposure he decides to take matters into his own hands. Now, as he sets out to hunt down those attempting to orchestrate his downfall, his investigation leads him back to his father's mysterious death a year and a half prior, and into the treacherous world of violent con Claes Kiehlert (Bodnia). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cultures collide and traditional beliefs are challenged when a group of Danish explorers arrive in the Arctic Circle and encounter an Inuit community determined to maintain their sense of culture in Atanarjuat director Zacharias Kunuk's cinematic meditation on this cultural and historical event. The year is 1922 and elderly shaman Awa (Pakak Innukshuk) is struggling to maintain his stormy relationship with rebellious daughter Apak (Leah Angutimarik). Her life marred by the same tragedy that befell her father, Apak is a shaman who is neglecting her current mate in favor of spending time with her deceased previous husband in the spirit realm. When a group of Danish explorers arrive and Awa is prompted to define his beliefs, his attempt to convey to his community the potentially damaging effects of Christian influence on Inuit culture offers a stirring look at the true meaning of tradition. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Gunnar Vikene's dark comedy Himmelfall (Falling Sky) concerns itself with patients and doctors at a mental institution in the days before Christmas. The head psychiatrist (Kim Bodina) is impotent and his wife (Hildegun Riise) is engaged in an affair with a cabbie (Endre Hellestveit). Reidar (Kristoffer Joner) is a patient with a senile mother and a firm belief that a meteor is going to slam into the hospital. He is in love with Juni, another patient whose parents are celebrating the holidays on vacation without her. Complications arise when Juni and the cabbie meet. Falling Sky was screened at the Gothenburg Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

"You can never leave your past behind you" is the theme of Dragonflies, a Norwegian-Swedish co-produced psychodrama. Eddie and Maria are a pair of lovers looking to start their lives anew after serving time in prison. Despite the difficulties ahead of them, they're managing well until the arrival of Kullman, Eddie's former cohort and cellmate. An aggressive personality, Kullman moves in all his belongings and declares he's there to stay. And while he claims he's out to reform himself, he drops hints that a crime is brewing at the back of his mind, with a role reserved for his old pal Eddie. Often intense, the film showcases the talents of two rising stars, director Marius Holst and actor Marie Bonnevie. ~ Connor McMadden, Rovi

Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn follows up his intense crime drama Pusher with this story of a young couple living on the edges of society. Leo and Louise (Kim Bodnia and Rikke Louise Andersson) are in love and share a flat; Leo likes to go drinking with his buddies and watch action movies on the VCR, while Louise prefers quiet nights at home. Louise's brother Louis (Levino Jensen) is a racist thug who imagines himself an underworld kingpin. Lenny (Mads Mikkelsen) is a friend of Leo's who loves movies but is painfully shy around women; when he finally works up the nerve to ask Lea (Liv Corfixen), a waitress at an all-night diner, for a date, a mix-up finds the two seeing the same film but at different theaters. While Leo seems better adjusted with his friends, that begins to change when Louise informs him that she's going to have a baby. Leo doesn't react well to the news: he becomes remote and begins to turn violent, as a long-held self-loathing finally begins to rise to the surface. Bleeder received strong notices, particularly for the performances by Kim Bodnia and Rikke Louise Andersson, in its showings at the 1999 Venice and Haugesund Film Festivals. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Director Nicolas Winding Refn spins this brutal and strangely affecting trilogy focusing on the dredge of Danish society and the criminal conscience. With a cast that includes actual underworld figures and a soundtrack showcasing a variety of little-known, underground musical acts, this gritty trilogy offers a compelling look at the criminal life that rings savagely true while occasionally disarming viewers with oddly placed moments of dark humor and thoughtful meditation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi