Bodil Jorgensen Movies

A small boy with a big dream of riding an elephant finds his hopes suddenly dashed when the curmudgeonly superintendent who presides over the apartment building informs the tenants that in order to rent the grounds for their extravagant summer party they will have to pay an exorbitant fee. All signs indicated that this would be the best party ever; not only was there going to be plenty of great food, but the organizers promised to bring in a live elephant in order to entertain the children! Frode couldn't have been looking forward to the party more. But then the superintendent proved to be a stickler for details, insisting that the tenants cough up a tidy sum for use of the apartment grounds. His dreams now fading before his very eyes, Frode discovers that downstairs neighbor Mr. Storm has been the victim of mysterious burglaries, and that he's offered a substantial reward for the capture of the culprit responsible for the crimes. Now, if Frode and his friends can beat their bitter rivals the basement gang to nabbing the burglar, perhaps they can use the reward money to finance the party and make this the most memorable summer ever. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

With the bleak comedic drama Dark Horse, Icelandic director Dagur Kári reworks several thematic and topical elements from his prior film, Nói Albinói. He also crafts a feature which brings together two trends of Scandinavian cinema in the early 2000s: matter-of- fact examinations of ordinary, working class Scandinavian folks, with intersecting lives and stories, shot in stark black-and-white (typified by films such as Ragnar Bragasson's Born), and the low-key, whimsical, offbeat humor of northern European directors such as Aki Kaurismaki.Dark Horse opens in Copenhagen, where Daniel, a twentysomething young man, makes a paltry living as a graffiti painter, accepting money from Danish residents to create personalized valentines on the sides of buildings. Unable to collect enough from this trade to pay his rent, he is evicted and must approach his father for lodging, but the father refuses, forcing Daniel to sleep in his car. Daniel's friend Roger (nicknamed "Grandpa") works at a local medical clinic that is conducting sleep experiments on volunteers, including a judge; in Roger's off time, he trains as a football referee. Roger confides in Daniel about his discovery of a former model Franc, who works at a local bakery; Daniel and Franc inevitably then become involved, to Roger's consternation, and Roger plots to intervene by attempting to win Franc for himself. Meanwhile, the judge, suffering from pronounced sleep deprivation, has a complete emotional and mental breakdown and flies off the handle, engaging in increasingly bizarre and dysfunctional behavior. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

This black comedy from Denmark involves the exploits of Bjarne and Svend, two friends who go into the meat-cutting business together only to see their venture fail miserably. But when Svend starts experimenting with a strange new culinary concoction, business picks up -- but they find that getting ahold of their "secret ingredient" will be more of a challenge than they thought. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Lars von Trier wrote (in four days) and directed this Danish comedy-drama about a group of Copenhagen eccentrics who find a therapeutic release and confront apathy via unacceptable, idiotic behavior which they call "spazzing." Stoffer (Jens Albinus) is supposed to be selling his uncle's house but instead it becomes the focal point for geeky group activities. Restaurant patrons are disturbed by the group's mischief, but single diner Karen (Bodil Jorgensen) develops an appreciation of their antics. Stoffer, at his birthday party, wishes for a "gangbang," and both clothes and inhibitions are soon discarded. But when Stoffer calls for the group members to let idiocy invade their personal daily lives, only Karen takes up the challenge. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide