Meta Louise Foldager Movies

This enormously controversial psychodrama-cum-horror film from Danish enfant terrible Lars von Trier charts the degeneration of a marriage into apocalyptic violence, chaos, and insanity following an unthinkable domestic tragedy. The film opens with a prologue. While they make love in their apartment on a snowy winter afternoon, a husband and wife known only as "He" and "She" (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) fail to keep an eye on their young toddler. In a horrific turn of events, the child wanders over to an open window, entranced by the snow cascading down, and falls two stories to his death. Von Trier then divides the remainder of the film into four chapters, beginning with "Grief." In that segment, the woman finishes a month's hospitalization, and accuses her husband of apathy over the child's death, but proceeds to take responsibility for it herself; he calmly and rationally guides her through this process. In the second segment, "Pain," she confesses to him that she's most terrified of their property in the forest, because she spent time with her son there over the preceding summer; as a form of therapy, he takes her to that locale on a wilderness retreat. She appears to grow more calm and rational over their first days in that milieu. Yet the recovery, it seems, was only illusory, and the subsequent two chapters, "Despair (Gynocide)" and "The Three Beggars," depict the woman's shocking and abrupt regression into unbridled insanity, culminating with grotesque sexual violence against herself, gruesome acts of destruction against her husband, and an apocalyptic climax. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

First time feature filmmaker Omar Shargawi explores the experiences of Arabs in western countries by focusing on the cultural and religious beliefs that they carry with them when moving into a society that doesn't necessarily share the same value system. Jamil is a young Arab living in Denmark. Alienated from his wife and child after moving into a Copenhagen community populated largely by Arab immigrants, the power of Jamil's weakening family bonds are put to the ultimate test as he sets out to settle some lingering debts. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A young girl with a fascination for the occult must free her brother from the grip of an evil spirit by confronting a dark force that has been gaining power for centuries in director Nicolai Arcel's frightful action adventure film. The time was the 19th Century. A powerful necromancer has been expelled from a secret lodge that was constructed to combat the forces of evil. Flash forward to the present day, where young Lulu and her family are moving into their new country home. Hopelessly bored with her new rural surroundings, Lulu becomes immersed in the mysterious world of the occult. But now Lulu has opened doors that are best left closed, and her brother has become possessed by the spirit of an original lodge member. Should Lulu fail in confronting the dark forces that surround her family, a series of tragic events will soon begin to unfold. But defeating the forces of evil won't be the only challenge faced by this brave young soul, because along the way Lulu will search for a buried treasure and wage a valiant fight to save the souls of the ones she loves most. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Lars von Trier's black comedy The Boss of It All (Direktøren for Det Hele) concerns an IT company owner who -- in need of a figurehead to "hide behind" when confronted with employee problems -- invented the personage of a CEO during the startup period for his corporation. The scheme worked for a surprisingly long period, but when the time arrives to sell the business, massive problems arise -- for the prospective buyers insist on only negotiating with the CEO, in person. Thus, the owner further extends the ruse, by hiring a down-and-out actor to impersonate the chief officer. With Direktøren for Det Hele, von Trier uses a new means of filmmaking for this film: Automavision, whereby filming is done with an "automatic randomized camera" that selects the shots. It became a means for Von Trier to "clean up" his approach to directorial work and reconnect with his own love of filmmaking. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide