Stine Stengade Movies

This family-friendly sci-fi outing from Denmark concerns Valdemar, a freshman in high school whose path criss-crosses with that of time machine inventor named Benedict. Benedict, it seems, is immortal: in the Viking Era, the scientist fell prey to a curse by an evil Seeress who prevented him from ever dying. Unfortunately, Benedict can't travel back in time himself to reverse the Seeress's decision, so he asks Valdemar to help by undertaking the journey alone. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Festival cause célèbre Ole Christian Madsen -- the director of critically championed prior efforts including Kira's Reason (2001) and Prague (2006) -- turns away from the domestic drama that characterized his earlier filmography with this unusual period thriller, adapted from historical events. Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen star, respectively, as Flame and Citron. As two members of the anti-Nazi Danish resistance during the Second World War, their activities predominantly consist of hunting down and rubbing out Denmark's most prominent Nazi collaborators, and thus furthering the way for the Allied cause. Although Madsen opts for conventional subject matter here, and even a traditional perspective given his film's anti-Nazi stance, his deglamorized presentation retains a certain uniqueness, with the two main characters presented not as conventional heroes, but thoroughly desperate characters from the dregs of society with nothing left to lose except for their own lives -- and sociopaths prone to the most sadistic acts of ultraviolence against the enemy. Citron fares worst, as an utterly irredeemable alcoholic and drug addict, crumbling beneath the weight of a miserable, rotten marriage and a less-than-glowing relationship with his young daughter. In touting the film, Madsen openly cited Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows (1969) as one of his key influences. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

An aspiring actress finds her hopes of big-screen stardom unexpectedly complicated when she is forced to contend with an unplanned pregnancy. All Anna ever wanted was to become an actress. A pretty girl from a wealthy family, Anna one day decides to pack her bags and head to Copenhagen without telling her mother and father. Once in the city, however, Anna discovers just what a cruel mistress fate can be upon discovering that she will soon become a mother. Later, after giving birth to a baby girl, Anna does her best to provide for her daughter while still pursuing her dreams of becoming a famous actress. Unfortunately for mother and daughter alike, this path ultimately proves to have tragic consequences. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi