ulrich thomsen Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Ulrich Thomsen to Star in Spanish/Scandinavian 'The Frost'
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Casting », Cinematical Indie »
Who is Ulrich Thomsen? He's played a neo-Nazi locked in a battle between good and evil (Adam's Apples), a famous pianist returning to his hometown (Allegro), a befuddled criminal forced into running a restaurant (Flickering Lights), a Templar Master in the late 12th century (Kingdom of Heaven), and even a villainous henchman (The World is Not Enough) among dozens of parts since 1994. His signature role is probably the lead in the intense dysfunctional family drama The Celebration. According to Variety, he has now signed on to star in The Frost, a psychological drama "turning on the disintegration of a marriage after a son's death."The Frost sounds like an unusual beast. It's a Spanish/Scandinavian co-production, specifically involving Spain's Alta Realitat, Norway's Frost Media and Sweden's Gota Film. Director Ferran Audí is an experienced Spanish actor; The Frost will be his feature debut. The film is loosely based on Henrik Ibsen's 1894 play Little Eyoff, which has never been dramatized for the screen before.
Ibsen.net reported this past August that Thomsen would star in The Frost and added that Audí had written the English-language script with contributions by Swedish playwright Lars Norén. Ibsen.net also indicated that Swedish actresses Annika Hallin (the very good mystery thriller Kissed by Winter and the upcoming period epic Arn: The Knight Templar) and Bibi Andersson (Ingmar Bergman's Persona) would appear. With such good actors on board, The Frost looks like a strong contender for the festival circuit sometime next year.
Indies on DVD: 'Man Push Cart,' '12:08 East of Bucharest,' 'Allegro'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », New on DVD », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »
There's a great trio of indie DVD releases to choose from this week. When she saw Man Push Cart at Sundance early last year, our own Kim Voynar called it "a beautifully executed film ... about perseverance in the face of emptiness and seemingly insurmountable odds, and yet it isn't a cliched, all's well that ends well film." Writer/director Ramin Bahrani follows the daily life of Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi), a former pop star in Pakistan who now struggles to make a living as a pushcart vendor in New York City. The DVD from Films Philos includes an audio commentary as well as two short films by the director.In her review of the Romanian picture 12:08 East of Bucharest, Martha Fischer declared it to be the funniest film she saw at the Toronto festival last year. As Martha wrote, "set in a small town outside of Bucharest on December 22, 2005 ... the movie documents the efforts of Jderescu (Teodor Corban), a textile engineer/TV station owner, to assemble a panel for a live TV show on the revolution, and then to keep that show in order, once it goes on-air." Tartan Films' DVD includes an audio commentary by the director.
Ulrich Thomsen stars as a famous pianist who returns to his native Denmark in Christoffer Boe's drama Allegro. Sean Axmaker at GreenCine Daily wrote: "Boe takes the handheld work and naturalistic performance style in his own direction, weaving it through a romantic fantasy of troubled love that reveals the impossibility of remaining unhurt in our emotional lives." The DVD from Koch Lorber is a bit light, with only a "making of" feature as an extra, but Boe is definitely a director to watch. His first feature, Reconstruction, was very good, and his latest, Offscreen, which I saw at Fantastic Fest, is mesmerizing, so Allegro sounds like it's definitely worth a rental.
Danish 'Substitute' Scorches Box Office
Filed under: Foreign Language », Independent », Thrillers », Cinematical Indie »
If you cast your eye upon the top 10 most-attended films in Denmark last weekend, you'd spot some familiar titles: Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Fantastic Four 2, Ocean's 13 and even Death Proof (Quentin Tarantino's stand-alone version). You might also recognize the controversial The Art of Crying, which garnered mixed reactions when it played at the Toronto film festival last year. You might try to pronounce Cykelmyggen og Dansemyggen -- evidently a lovely animated family film about a dancing mosquito -- and dislocate your tongue. Or you might idly wonder how that old Tom Berenger mercenary vs. gangs flick The Substitute managed to finish #2. Of course, you'd then wake up and realize it must be another film, and how right you would be! The Danish title is Vikaren, but in any language, it sounds tantalizing. Paprika Steen, wonderful in films as different as Adam's Apples and Okay, stars as a new substitute teacher for a class of sixth-graders. "She wants to train the class for an international competition in Paris," says the description by the Danish Film Institute. "But something isn't right. How is she able [to] read kids' minds? Why is she so mean? And how does she manage to convince everyone's parents she is so great when the whole class knows she is really an alien?" It's categorized as a "children's thriller," but the trailer, even without subtitles, suggests it might also have a deliciously dark sense of humor. Among the cast is Ulrich Thomsen, who was also in the superb Adam's Apples and will be featured in the upcoming Hitman. I'm not familiar with the work of director Ole Bornedal; his previous film, I Am Dina, was released pretty much everywhere but in North America. I'm hoping The Substitute will make it across the Atlantic; it definitely looks like something I want to see.
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