Zappa (1983)

Denmark, 1961. Bjørn, a middle-class boy in his early teens, wants to be accepted by Steen, a bullying peer of his with wealthy but freezingly cold parents. Bjørn's other good friend is ... See full summary »

Director:

Bille August

Writers:

Bille August, Bjarne Reuter (book)

Stars:

Adam Tønsberg, Morten Hoff, Peter Reichhardt

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Tønsberg	...	Bjørn
Morten Hoff	...	Mulle
Peter Reichhardt	...	Steen
Lone Lindorff	...	Bjørn's mother
Arne Hansen	...	Bjørn's father
Thomas Nielsen	...	Henning
Solbjørg Højfeldt	...	Steen's mother
Bent Raahauge Jørgensen	...	Steen's father (as Bent Raahauge)
Inga Bjerre Bloch	...	Mulle's mother
Jens Okking	...	Mulle's father
Elga Olga Svendsen	...	Bjørn's grandmother
Willy Jacobsen	...	Bjørn's Grandfather
Ulrikke Bondo	...	Kirsten
Søren Frølund	...	Teacher 'Kaalormen'
Michael Shomacker	...	Asger

Storyline

Denmark, 1961. Bjørn, a middle-class boy in his early teens, wants to be accepted by Steen, a bullying peer of his with wealthy but freezingly cold parents. Bjørn's other good friend is Mulle, a cheerful and more childish working-class boy. All three seem friends at first, but gradually Steen starts pushing Mulle away while pulling the impressionable Bjørn with him towards more and more tragic violent behavior, fueled by frustration over his loveless home life.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | friend | teen | denmark | learning to drive | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

4 March 1983 (Denmark)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Det Danske Filminstitut

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Quotes

Waiter on ferry: You haven't even got hair on your dick.
Steen: No, but I have hair in my ass.

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Connections

Followed by Tro, håb og kærlighed (1984)

User Reviews

August´s best.

Years before Bille August made a habit of turning classic novels into mediocre films, he made this compelling coming-of-age drama set in the suburbs of Copenhagen in the late fifties. The story focuses on three teens from different backgrounds, the manipulative upperclass rich kid Steen (Peter Reichhardt), clean-cut middleclass boy Bjørn (Adam Tønsberg) and the lowerclass overweight prankster Mulle (Morten Hoff). The boys´ confrontations with love, crime and violence is beautifully but unflinchingly portrayed by director August, who never hits a false note in characterization or period detail. Alternately funny and disturbingly violent, but always entertaining, this is one of the truly great Danish films ever made, but has sadly never found an audience outside Scandinavia, unlike its decent sequel "Tro, håb & Kærlighed" (Twist and Shout), which was released in America. Many classic scenes (including the grossest way to eat snails you´ll ever see!)