directed by: Anders Thomas Jensen
starring: Nikolaj Lie Kaas; Mads Mikkelsen; Line Kruse
| Green
Butchers, The (Denmark;
100 min.) directed by: Anders Thomas Jensen starring: Nikolaj Lie Kaas; Mads Mikkelsen; Line Kruse |
|
| Michael says: "This disappointing film had so much
going for it. It was written and
directed by Anders Thomas Jensen, whose writing credits include Susanne
Beir's wonderful films BROTHERS and OPEN HEARTS,
as well as Lone Scherfig's Chlotrudis Awards nominee, WILBUR
WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF. The two lead
actors have also starred in OPEN HEARTS, while Nikolaj Lie Kaas starred
in
BROTHERS as well, and Mads Mikkelsen appeared in WILBUR WANTS TO KILL
HIMSELF. Of course, there was also the synopsis: two Danish social misfits
open a butcher shop. When the electrician accidentally gets locked in the
meat locker and freezes to death, his body ends up used in the specialty
called the 'Chicky Wicky.' Suddenly they find their customers
are lining up
for more, and their supply is dwindling...
"So where did it go wrong? Unfortunately, THE GREEN BUTCHERS tried too
hard to be a little bit of everything. Of the two lead characters, Svend
(Mikkelsen) is played for wacky laughs, while Bjarne (Kaas) is given
a
tragic background and has a much more dramatic story. While trying to
please everyone, it does neither very well. While there are certainly
some
wacky and amusing moments, many seemed forced, or weird for weirdness
sake.
And the tragic story was unfortunately marred by the introduction of
the
brain-damaged twin brother element. Clearly Kaas took the role in order
to "That said, I did find the story to be sweet enough, and entertaining enough to put it slightly on the positive side. There was enough quirkiness to make it worthwhile, but not enough to really recommend it. 3 cats" |