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'
Cold Fever (1994)
7.1/10
Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Lili Taylor, Fisher Stevens
This Jarmusch-like comic road movie charts the adventures of Atshushi (Masatoshi Nagase), a Japanese businessman who decides to go to Iceland and trek... Read more
The Kingdom (1994)
8.4/10
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, Kirsten Rolffes, Ghita Norby
This joyfully creepy and surrealistic Danish medical thriller/satire, is full of jaded New Age practices, a nationalistic neurologist longing for his... Read more
Leningrad Cowboys: Total Balalaika Show (1993)
7/10
Director: Aki Kaurismaki
Finland's Leningrad Cowboys meet the ex-Red Army Choir in this inspired documentary. The Cowboys (a comedy group) claim to be the world's worst rock a... Read more
Europa ( aka Zentropa ) (1992)
7.7/10
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Udo Kier, Ernst Hugo
This penetrating and mesmeric trip into the dark soul of Europe follows a young American pacifist of German descent who sojourns to post-WWII Deutschl... Read more
Leningrad Cowboys Collection ( Leningrad Cowboys Go America / Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses / Total Balalaika Show ) (1989)
Director: Aki Kaurismaki
Starring: Andre Wilms, Jim Jarmusch, Kari Vaananen, Matti Pellonpaa, Nicky Tesco
The legendary Leningrad Cowboys, one of Finland's oddest but most successful exports, are a comic rock band of outlandish appearance with their dark s... Read more
Pelle The Conqueror (1988)
7.9/10
Director: Bille August
Starring: Erik Paaske, Max von Sydow, Pelle Hvenegaard
Winner of the Cannes Festival Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Picture, Bille August's moving film features a remarkable performance... Read more
Babette's Feast (1987)
7.8/10
Director: Gabriel Axel
Starring: Stephane Audran, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Jarl Kulle
Awarded the Best Foreign Language film of 1987 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Stephane Audran is Babette, an exiled French cook-... Read more
Epidemic (1987)
6.1/10
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Udo Kier, Lars Von Trier, Niels Vorsel
Controversial director Lars von Trier also co-wrote and stars in this bizarre story of a director and a writer (Udo Kier) who create a script about a... Read more
The Sacrifice (1986)
8.1/10
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring: Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Valerie Mairesse
Andrei Tarkovsky's epitaph, a dark and complex film about redemption and nuclear holocaust, filmed inexile from his native Russia in Sweden, and starr... Read more
My Life As A Dog (1985)
7.6/10
Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Starring: Anton Glanzelius, Tomas Von Bromssen, Anki Liden
A completely enchanting and bittersweet film in which a young boy is shipped off to spend the summer with his uncle after his mother falls ill. A touc... Read more