Hans Petter Moland Movies

A crook trying to go straight finds that it isn't as easy as he'd hoped in this comedy drama from director Hans Petter Moland. Ulrik (Stellan Skarsgård) is a nice guy with a vicious streak that he lets out only when he has to -- he's just been released from prison after serving 12 years for murder, but the guards grew to like him so much that they even gave him going-away presents. Ulrik used to work for mob boss Rune Jensen (Bjørn Floberg), but he isn't eager to go back into a life of crime, hoping instead to patch up his relationships with his son, Geir (Jan Gunnar Røise), now in his mid-twenties, and his former wife, Wenche (Kjersti Holmen). Rune arranges for Ulrik to get a job in an auto repair shop run by overexcited Sven (Bjørn Sundquist) and a place to stay with his sister, Karen (Jorunn Kjellsby), but his underground empire has fallen on hard times and Ulrik is one of the few loyalists he has left. Kenny (Henrik Mestad) was the man who finked on Ulrik and sent him to prison, but while Rune wants Ulrik to kill him, Ulrik doesn't see the point. Ulrik's new life doesn't go as smoothly as he would like, though, and Geir isn't so eager to let his father back in his life -- especially since his wife thinks his father is dead. En Ganske Snill Mann (aka A Somewhat Gentle Man) was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A Vietnamese man looking for a better life embarks on a dangerous and eye-opening voyage to America in this powerful drama set during the early '90s. In 1990, Binh (Damien Nguyen) is a man in his early twenties who has never known his parents, though he is clearly of mixed-race parentage, which makes him an outcast in his community. Weary of being treated like an animal, Binh sets out to find his mother, Mai (Thi Kim Xuan Chau), only to discover she works as a servant for a wealthy family who subject her to constant abuse, and that she has a baby son. When a household accident leads to the death of the matriarch, Mai, her infant, and Binh go on the run. Mai then confesses to Binh that she's dying, gives him all the money she has, and implores him to leave Vietnam for America, with his half-brother in tow. Unable to travel to America legally, Binh attempts to smuggle his way into the States aboard a ship; he's found out, and is sent to a prison camp in Malaysia, where he meets Ling (Bai Ling), a beautiful woman who has been forced into prostitution to support herself. Befriending Ling, Binh eventually arranges for passage to America aboard a refugee ship, though the harrowing voyage claims the life of Binh's half-brother. Binh and Ling arrive in New York City as illegal aliens, and soon learn that life in America can be just as harrowing as what they left behind; eventually, Binh runs away, hoping to make his way to Texas where he's learned that his father is living. Produced by Terrence Malick, The Beautiful Country also features supporting performances from Nick Nolte and Tim Roth. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Inspired by the Norwegian Arbeiderpartiet (Labor Party) and originally presented as part of an omnibus effort Most People Live in China) - which was composed of a series of short films designed to represent each of Norway's political parties - this nine minute short from director Hans Petter Moland tells the story about eight senior citizens who happen across a young girl stranded in a swamp. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A sort of Arctic existentialist drama, this Norwegian film was mostly shot in bleak conditions on a frigid island off the northern Scandanavian coast. It is based on a novel about a poet in Oslo in the 1920s, Henrik Larsen (Garb B. Eidsvold). He wants to marry Gertrude (Camilla Martens), but she refuses his proposal. Larsen goes to work for a fur trading company and is assigned to a year in Greenland. At a trapping outpost, he is welcomed rudely by the arrogant, brutish Randbaek (Stellan Skarsgard). Also at the post is the scientist Holm (Bjorn Sundquist). Randbaek , who despises women, constantly ridicules Larsen, stealing his diary and laughing at his affection for Gertrude. Despite being an intellectual, Larsen proves capable of getting more furs than Randbaek. The jealous Randbaek begins to take measures to "even the competition." ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi