Tomas Backstrom Movies

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, All Movie Guide

Carl Jorgen Kionig directed this Norwegian police thriller, winner of the Norwegian Amanda award for the year's best film. Axel Hellstenius' screenplay is adapted from a novel by Norway's justice minister Anne Holt. Lesbian policewoman Hanne Wilhelmsen (Kjersti Elvik), who has a live-in lover, tools about Oslo on her Harley-Davidson. After a number of women vanish, police find blood but no bodies, and Wilhelmsen begins a search for the suspected serial killer. Holt's crime novels are a popular, successful series, providing the source for a TV miniseries, Blind Goddess, also directed by Kionig with the same principal cast seen in this feature. Shown at the 1998 Haugesund Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide