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'
The Best Man's Wedding (2000)
Director: Josef Fares
Starring: Fares Fares, Torkel Petersson, Tuva Novotny, Laleh Pourkarim
Aka "Jalla! Jalla!" Roro (Fares Fares) works as an attendant in a Stockholm park with his best friend Mans (Torkel Petersson) and dotes on his Swedish... Read more
The Other Side of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen) (2017)
7.2/10
Director: Aki Kaurismaki
Starring: Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Ilkka Koivula
Khaled, a Syrian refugee stows away on a freighter to Helsinki. Meanwhile, Wikström is a traveling salesman who wins big at a poker table and buys him... Read more
Elvira Madigan (1967)
7.5/10
Director: Bo Widerberg
Starring: Pia Degermark, Thommy Berggren
Is a simple and tragic story of a young Swedish officer who falls in love with a beautiful circus performer. Outstanding photography makes this film.... Read more
The Man Without A Past (2002)
7.7/10
Director: Aki Kaurismaki
Starring: Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juhani Niemela, Kaija Pakarinen
The second part of Aki Kaurismaki's "Finland" trilogy (coming after "Drifting Clouds"), the film follows a man who arrives in Helsinki and gets beaten... Read more
A Thousand Times Good Night (2013)
Director: Erik Poppe
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Larry Mullen Jr, Maria Doyle Kennedy
A Thousand Times Good Night is an Irish-Norwegian produced English language 2013 drama film directed by Erik Poppe, and starring Juliette Binoche, Nik... Read more
The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)
7.2/10
Director: Daniel Alfredson
Starring: Per Oscarsson, Michael Nyqvist, Peter Andersson, Lena Endre, Noomi Rapace, Annik...
A researcher and a Millennium journalist about to expose the truth about the sex trade in Sweden are brutally murdered, and computer hacker Lisbeth Sa... Read more
Persona (1966)
8.1/10
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Jorgen Lindstrom
'Persona' is recognised as Bergman's most extraordinary and influential film, it is a rich and poetic study of womanhood and identity. Elizabeth (Liv... Read more
A Conspiracy of Faith (2016)
7/10
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Starring: Pal Sverre Hagen, Fares Fares, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Breaking all Danish box office records, the Department Q series follows in the tradition of the ever-popular "Nordic Noir" thriller genre. When a... Read more
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
7.9/10
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, Margit Carl...
Ingmar Bergman's first international success is a delightful comedy of manners about four star-crossed couples spending a Nordic night at a turn-of-th... Read more
Festen ( The Celebration ) (1998)
7.5/10
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Starring: Thomas Bo Larsen, Henning Moritzen, Paprika Steen, Ulrich Thomsen
A hugely dysfunctional family arrives at a secluded hotel for a 60th birthday party for the family patriarch. Suffice it to say, things don't go as ch... Read more