Scandinavian Cinema
'Scandinavian' is an Alice grouping which includes Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. To find films from one of these countries specifically use the 'By Country' link on the left hand menu.
From the sublime to the ridiculous; from Bergman to Lars von Trier, there is something in this section for everyone.
Films from this region are often deeply personal and have a brutal honesty about them. Characters are often deeply flawed or troubled but not judged. The Dogme 95 collective (founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg) exemplifies this attitude in their manifesto. Not just the stories but the film-making process itself is absolutely 'no frills'. (Visit www.dogme95.dk for more details.)
Other notables in this section include the quirky Finlander, Aki Kaurismaki, Fridrik Thor Fridrikkson from Iceland and Norwegian, Erik Skjoldjaerg.
Pictured: "It's one of the most delicious parts I've ever played. I've never been such a bastard before." Stellan Skaarsgard on his role in the rivetting 'Zero Kelvin'
Cool and Crazy (2001)
7/10
Director: Knut Erik Jensen
Much as "Buena Vista Social Club" revealed a rich and unexplored world of music and culture, "Cool & Crazy" introduces us to a group of men who find p... Read more
Day of Wrath (1943)
8/10
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Starring: Thorkild Roose, Sigrid Nejiendam, Lisbeth Movin
Set in seventeenth-century Denmark, Day of Wrath is a dark and powerful tale of love and betrayal, and of a community obsessed with the fear of witchc... Read more
Songs From The Second Floor (2000)
7.6/10
Director: Roy Andersson
Starring: Lars Nordh
Songs from the Second Floor (Swedish: Sånger från andra våningen) is a Swedish black comedy-drama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 6 Oc... Read more
Gertrud (1964)
7.5/10
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Starring: Nina Pens Rode, Bendt Rothe
Acclaimed director Carl Dreyer's ('The Passion of Joan of Arc') final film, 'Gertrud' is the story of a woman's search for a romantic ideal of total a... Read more
Simple Simon (2010)
7.1/10
Director: Andreas Ohman
Starring: Martin Wallstrom, Bill Skarsgard, Cecilia Forss, Sofie Hamilton
Eighteen-year-old Simon (Bill Skarsgard) is a boy with Asperger's syndrome who likes space, science and circles. His world is suddenly turned upside d... Read more
Sawdust and Tinsel (1956)
7.7/10
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Ake Gronberg, Harriet Andersson
Ingmar Bergman presents the battle of the sexes as a ramshackle, grotesque carnival in one of his most vivid early works. A twisted relationship devel... Read more
The Spider (Edderkoppen) (2000)
4.5/10
Starring: Jakob Cedergren, Stine Stengade, Lars Mikkelsen
A reporter is drawn into the dark side of post-war Copenhagen as he attempts to uncover a crime syndicate on an unprecedented level. In 1949, durin... Read more
Escape (2012)
6.1/10
Director: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Isabel Christine Andreasen, Hallvard Holmen
In 14th-century Norway, with the terrors of the Black Plague 10 years in the past, tragedy finally catches up to 19-year-old Signe (Isabel Christine A... Read more
Heartbreak Hotel (2006)
5.2/10
Director: Colin Nutley
Starring: Helena Bergstrom, Maria Lundqvist, Claes Mansson, Johan Rabaeus
English filmmaker Colin Nutley once again works with his Swedish wife, Helena Bergstrom, in this intelligent and sharply funny drama about two forty-s... Read more
Brink of Life (1958)
7.7/10
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Bibi Andersson, Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin, Max von Sydow, Eva Dahlbeck
Three seemingly different women meet in a Stockholm maternity ward in this award-winning drama from Ingmar Bergman ("Persona"), which compares and con... Read more