A cinematic journey to the Nordic countries
A keen traveler, I am also a music lover, and I particularly enjoy discovering and listening to music from different countries, often in languages I don’t understand. A few months ago, I published the post ‘Beyond Eurovision: A musical journey around Europe’, where I ‘visited’ 22 European countries, listening to some of my favorite musicians from each of these countries. This musical journey was followed by similar ones to Greece, Norway, Iceland, and California. But, I am also a film enthusiast, and as such I enjoy watching films from other countries, not always in English (as long as they have subtitles). To marry my love for cinema with my passion for traveling, this week I’m embarking on a cinematic journey around Europe. The first stop will be the Nordic countries.
A cinematic journey to the Nordic countries
This cinematic journey to the Nordic countries was inspired by the BFI London Film Festival I attended earlier this month (it took place between the 2nd and the 13th of October 2019). Two of the films I watched at the festival were Icelandic.
This was not the first time that my love for the Nordic countries, however, has drawn me to films from there. In the last few years, film festivals have provided a space for this love to flourish. When I lived in Leeds, I used to attend the Leeds International Film Festival every November (this year takes place from 6th to 20th November). Now that I live in London, I have the BFI London Film Festival on my doorstep, as well as other lesser-known ones, such as the European Psychoanalytic Film Festival (due to take place from 31st October to 3rd November 2019), and the French Film Festival UK (due to take place from 1st November to 15th December 2019). I find such festivals a great opportunity to discover and watch films from other countries, as these are rarely shown in cinemas or on TV.
Films are like journeys, not only for the characters, but also for the viewers. They take us to a different world, and often help us escape (at least for a couple of hours) from our own world, our reality, and our problems. They can help us gain a new perspective on our own world and re-evaluate our lives. Or, they can educate us and help us learn about people and places we know very little about. I personally enjoy films from other countries, as I can get a deeper understanding and appreciation of everyday life there, get to know other cultures and their people, and immerse myself in a real (not a fantastic or even historical) world miles away from my own. In a nutshell, watching a film can be similar to traveling, and this is where the power of cinema lies.
This cinematic journey to the Nordic countries will be followed by another one, around Europe. I have only watched a small number of films from each of these countries, so it wouldn’t be fair to talk about my ‘favorite’ films. I’d rather talk about those that come into my mind when I think about the Nordic countries. This could be simply because I have seen a very small number of films from there, or because these films have had an impact on me and stayed in my mind for various reasons. Or, possibly because of a combination of these reasons. Some of these films, however, have become ‘favorites’ of mine. Most of the films I will discuss are fairly recent ones; this reflects my own lack of familiarity with the classics, but also the fact that I got to know these Nordic films mostly thanks to the film festivals.
So, let’s begin this cinematic journey to the Nordic countries from Iceland…
A cinematic journey to Iceland
As already mentioned, two of the films I watched at the BFI London Film Festival this year were Icelandic. So far, these are the only Icelandic films I’ve ever watched, but I hope they won’t be the last.
‘A White, White Day’ (‘Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur’) is a 2019 Icelandic drama starring Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson. Hlynur Pálmason’s film is about Ingimundur, a Police Officer mourning the loss of his wife. In the aftermath of her tragic death, he discovers that she’d had an affair with another man, and goes on to investigate… ‘A White, White Day’ has been selected as the Icelandic entry for the 92nd Academy Awards. And the Oscar goes to… Iceland perhaps?
The other Icelandic film I watched at the 2019 BFI London Film Festival is ‘The Juniper Tree’ (‘Einitréð’). This 1990 film was directed and written by the American Nietzchka Keene; it was restored last year by the Center for Film & Theatre Research, in Wisconsin. It is a very minimalistic film shot in black and white and stars only 5 actors, including Björk Guðmundsdóttir. ‘The Juniper Tree’ is actually the first of the three feature films starring the famous Icelandic singer (she also starred in ‘Dancer in the Dark’ and ‘Drawing Restraint 9’). Although all the actors are Icelandic, the film is in English. It is based on an Icelandic fairytale.
Next on my list is ‘Jar City’ (‘Mýrin’), also starring Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson. This 2006 film is based on Arnaldur Indriðason’s novel of the same name.
A cinematic/musical journey to Iceland
In my recent post ‘A musical journey to Iceland’, I wrote about some of my favorite Icelandic musicians, including composers Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ólafur Arnalds and Hildur Guðnadóttir, who are all famous for composing music for cinema and TV. Jóhann Jóhannsson has composed music for a large number of international films and he has been nominated for an Oscar three times (for the films ‘Sicario’, ‘Arrival’, and ‘The Theory Of Everything’). Despite not being an Oscar winner, he has won a Global Globe Award for the film score for ‘The Theory Of Everything’. Ólafur Arnalds has composed the soundtrack to the British TV series ‘Broadchurch’ (starring Olivia Colman), whereas Hildur Guðnadóttir has composed the soundtrack to the recently released ‘Chernobyl’ TV series.
Iceland and the Oscars
Iceland has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (or, the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, as it will be known as from 2020) once only. This was in 1991 with ‘Children of Nature’ (‘Börn náttúrunnar’) directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.
A cinematic journey to Norway
One of the films I watched at the BFI London Film Festival last year was ‘The Quake’ (‘Skjelvet’), a 2018 Norwegian disaster film (or Scandisaster) directed by John Andreas Andersen. It is the sequel to ‘The Wave’ (‘Bølgen’), which had been released in 2015 (but I only watched after ‘The Quake’). Neither film’s basic premise is fictional. ‘The Wave’ is based on the fact that the mountain Åkneset will someday erode into the Geirangerfjord and its collapse will produce a tsunami crushing everything in its path. ‘The Quake’ is based on the fact that an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 on the Richter scale shook Oslo in 1904; in the future, the Norwegian capital is likely to be shaken again.
Norwegian crime novels adapted into films
Let’s now leave natural disasters aside, and talk crime. Norwegian best-selling author Jo Nesbø is currently one of the most successful crime writers worldwide. In 2011, his novel ‘Headhunters’ (‘Hodejegerne’) was adapted into a film (in Norwegian) directed by Morten Tyldum. So far, it is the highest-grossing Norwegian film of all time. In 2017, another novel by Nesbø, ‘The Snowman’, was also adapted into a film (in English), directed by Tomas Alfredson and starring Michael Fassbender.
Despite the (real) threat of major natural catastrophes and the great number of fictional murders and crime taking place there, Norway remains one of my favorite countries to visit, as well as one of the happiest and the safest counties in the world.
Norway and the Oscars
The Norwegians have been nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film five times (but never won). The most recent nomination was in 2012 for ‘Kon-Tiki’, directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg.
A cinematic journey to Sweden
Ingmar Bergman is perhaps one of the most famous Swedes of all time, as well as the most famous Swedish filmmaker. Between 1944 and 2003 he directed 45 feature films, including ‘The Virgin Spring’ (‘Jungfrukällan’, 1960), ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ (‘Såsom i en spegel’, 1961), and ‘Fanny and Alexander’ (‘Fanny och Alexander’, 1983), which have all won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Other famous Bergman’s films are ‘The Seventh Seal’ (‘Det sjunde inseglet’, 1957) and ‘Wild Strawberries’ (‘Smultronstället’, 1957).
Swedish crime novels adapted into films
Fast forward to the new millennium, Stieg Larsson was a Swedish crime writer, best known for the posthumously published ‘Millennium’ trilogy. All three books have been adapted into films in Swedish. ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, first in the series, has also been adapted into a film in English, directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. David Lagercrantz continues Larsson’s legacy and so far has written the fourth, fifth and sixth novels in the ‘Millennium’ series. In 2018, ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’, fourth in the series, was adapted into a film (in English) directed by Fede Álvarez and starring Claire Foy.
Camilla Läckberg is another worldwide famous Swedish crime writer. She has written many crime novels, some of which have been adapted into TV series. One of them, however, has been adapted into a film (which I am yet to watch). ‘The Hidden Child’ (‘Tyskungen’) was directed by Per Hanefjord in 2013.
My favorite Swedish actors
Perhaps I should now mention two of my favorite Swedish actors. Born in Gothenburg in 1988, Alicia Vikander has already won an Oscar, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in the 2015 film ‘The Danish Girl’. Her career includes roles in Swedish, Danish and American films, including ‘A Royal Affair’ (‘En kongelig affære’) (a Danish film which has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film), ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’, ‘Jason Bourne’, and ‘The Light Between Oceans’. A few weeks ago, I saw her in the world premiere of the 2019 film ‘Earthquake Bird’ at the BFI London Film Festival. Directed by Wash Westmoreland, this mystery film is set in Tokyo in 1989; Vikander plays a Swedish expat who is suspected of murder when her friend goes missing. The film is in both Japanese and English, and Vikander had to learn Japanese for her role.
Alexander Skarsgård was born in Stockholm and he is the eldest son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård. He is best known for his roles in the American TV series ‘True Blood’ and ‘Big Little Lies’. More recently, he also starred in the British TV series ‘The Little Drummer Girl’. Skarsgård has also starred in many films, including Lars Von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’ (2011), as well as ‘The Hummingbird Project’, which I watched at the 2018 BFI London Film Festival.
Last but not least, I would like to include ‘Border’ (‘Gräns’), a 2018 film directed by Ali Abbasi. This fantasy film has won the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival last year. I personally watched it at the 2018 BFI London Film Festival, but I have to admit that I have rather mixed feelings about it.
Sweden and the Oscars
Sweden has won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film three times (and been nominated 16 times in total). All three wins were for Ingmar Bergman’s films, as mentioned above.
A cinematic journey to Denmark
From ‘Border’ and Sweden, let’s now cross the Øresund Bridge and visit neighboring Denmark. This Scandinavian country has produced some landmark TV series, including ‘The Bridge’ (‘Bron/Broen’) (actually a Danish-Swedish co-production), ‘The Killing’ (‘Forbrydelsen’), and ‘Borgen’.
My favorite films
Denmark is also Lars Von Trier’s country of origin. The Danish filmmaker has written and directed some landmark films, including ‘Breaking the Waves’, ‘Dancer in the Dark’ (the 2nd film starring Icelandic musician Björk), ‘Nymphomaniac’, and perhaps my favorite films of all times: ‘Dogville’ starring Nicole Kidman. A young woman finds refuge in a small American town, Dogville, but soon the locals start treating her like a slave. It is basically a story about crime and punishment, a theme that strongly resonates with me. The story is told in nine chapters and a prologue, and takes place on a stage with minimalist scenery reminiscent of a black box theater stage. I found that this very minimalistic staging further enhanced the resonance of the story contributing towards a profound and cathartic emotional experience.
To the list of my favorite films (irrespectively of their country of origin), I have also added ‘The Guilty’ (‘Den skyldige’), a 2018 Danish thriller directed by Gustav Möller. A Police officer answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman; sitting behind his desk, he co-ordinates a race to save her. What makes this film so unique and memorable is the fact that what the viewer sees takes place in a single location: in a Police setting. The audience simply pictures the rest: the woman calling, the cars racing, etc. This makes for such a powerful experience. When I watched ‘The Guilty’ at the BFI London Film Festival last year, it made such an impression on me. I wasn’t the only one; an American remake is planned and will star Jake Gyllenhaal.
On that note, I would strongly recommend watching ‘The Guilty’ and ‘Dogville’; out of all the films I’m discussing here, these two are my favorites. As I’m writing this post, I realize that these two films share a similarity in their minimalistic staging, a similarity I hadn’t considered previously.
Other Danish films
Another Danish film I watched at the 2018 BFI London Film Festival is ‘That Time of Year’ (‘Den tid på året’), a comedy directed by Paprika Steen and starring Sofie Gråbøl (famous for her role as Detective Sarah Lund in ‘The Killing’). It’s Christmas, that time of year when families get together and complex family dynamics resurface… ‘Men & Chicken’ (‘Mænd og Høns’), directed by Anders Thomas Jensen, is another Danish comedy dealing with the concept of family, albeit in a rather different way. I watched it at the Leeds International Film Festival in 2015.
Danish directors
Lars Von Trier is not the only Danish director worth discussing here. In my recent post ‘World Mental Health Day 2019’, I discussed ’55 Steps’, a 2017 film starring Helena Bonham Carter and Hilary Swank. It was directed by Bille August, the Danish director whose 1987 film ‘Pelle the Conqueror’ won the Palme d’Or, the Golden Globe, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
’55 Steps’ is based on a true story that transformed psychiatric practice in the United States. Eleanor Riese was committed to a psychiatric hospital in San Francisco and developed physical symptoms (side effects to the antipsychotic drugs she had been forcefully administered). She took the case to the court, and in 1987, in Riese v. St. Mary’s Hospital and Medical Center, the California State Court of Appeals declared that psychiatric patients had the right to exercise informed consent regarding the use of antipsychotic medication.
Susanne Bier has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film twice: for the 2006 film ‘After the Wedding’ (‘Efter brylluppet’), and, 4 years later, for ‘In a Better World’ (‘Hævnen’). An American remake of the former, directed by Bart Freundlich, and starring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams, has recently been released. The latter actually won the Oscar. In 2014, she directed the through-provoking ‘A Second Chance’ (‘En chance til’) where she raises questions about the role and responsibilities of the State in the raising of children. She has also directed ‘Bird Box’, a 2018 American horror film starring Sandra Bullock, and ‘The Night Manager’, a British TV serial directed starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman.
Denmark and the Oscars
Like Sweden, Denmark has won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film three times (and been nominated 12 times in total). In the last decade, Denmark has had 5 nominations and 1 win. As mentioned, ‘In a Better World’ (‘Hævnen’), directed by Susanne Bier, is the 3rd and most recent Danish film to win the Academy Award.
A cinematic journey to Finland
The final stop of this cinematic journey to the Nordic countries will be Finland. I now have to admit I haven’t watched many Finnish films. Aki Kaurismäki is the best-known Finnish director. His 1983 debut feature film ‘Crime and Punishment’ (‘Rikos ja rangaistus’) is based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel of the same title. His 2002 film ‘The Man Without a Past’ (‘Mies vailla menneisyyttä’) is the only Finnish film nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
If you’ve enjoyed this cinematic journey to the Nordic countries, join me next week for a cinematic journey around Europe.
Alex
(the Traveling Psychiatrist)
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