Gamle mænd i nye biler (2002)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Lasse Spang Olsen

Writer:

Anders Thomas Jensen (writer)

Release Date:

12 July 2002 (Denmark)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Plot:

The last wish of the dying "Monk" is for his foster child, Harald, to find his real son, Ludvig. But the latter is currently in a Swedish prison cell...

Plot Keywords:

Airport | Cooking | Thief | Prequel | Robbery

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kim Bodnia	...	Harald
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Martin
Tomas Villum Jensen	...	Peter
Brian Patterson	...	Vuk
Torkel Petersson	...	Ludvig
Iben Hjejle	...	Mille
Jens Okking	...	Munken
Jacob Haugaard	...	Erling
Slavko Labovic	...	Ratko
Thomas Rode Andersen	...	Dan Hansen
Dorte Daugberg	...	Sygeplejerske (as Dorte Daugbjerg)
Anna-Britt Mathiasen	...	Bank assistenter (as Anna Britt Mathiasen)
Jacob Michelsen	...	Bank assistenter
Kristian Wasshede	...	Hotelportier (as Kistian Wasshede)
Josefine Bergsøe	...	Charterstewardesse (as Josephine Bergsøe)

Also Known As:

I kina spiser de hunde 2 (Denmark)
Old Men in New Cars (Europe: English title)
Old Men in New Cars: In China They Eat Dogs II (International: English title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish | Swedish | Serbian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | Denmark:11 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Flyvestation Værløse, Værløse, Sjælland, Denmark

Company:

Thura Film

Goofs:

Continuity: In car chase after the bank robbery, the police cars chasing are Ford Mondeo, but the police cars smashed are older Ford Escorts and Opel Asconas (Vauxhall)

Quotes:

Ludvig: Well, I lived with my mother till I was twelve.
Mille: I thought you said she died when you were nine.
Ludvig: Yes, she did.
[pause]
Mille: Oh you're so sweet...

Movie Connections:

References Olsen-banden (1968)

The cooks are back in town.

A prequel to "I Kina Spiser de Hunde" (In China they Eat Dogs) from 1999 with same writer/dírector/cast (save Dejan Cukic and a few others). This time, we follow Harald (Kim Bodnia) as he is released from jail, only to get involved in a plot to get Swedish serial killer Ludvig (Torkel Petterson) out of prison, so he can meet his estranged father, The Monk (Jens Okking). Once again, peppered with funny dialogue, not as inspired as the original, but with one hilarious scene in which the cooks and Harald futilely tries to speak English to a Swedish hotel receptionist. The car stunts are still clumsy, a notch above the sloppy action sequences from the first film, and the film is loaded with a high mortality rate, but it's uneven and substitutes black humor with a mean spirit, and even asks us to care about these characters, after putting them through numerous outlandish situations and hurling credibility out the window. Kim Bodnia plays it straight, but his tough guy act is getting a little tired by now, but Tomas Villum Jensen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas still make a great comic duo as the put-upon sidekicks. Iben Hjejle is lovely as Ludvig's love-interest, but her role is badly written (even though she gets to punch Bodnia in the face). Jacob Haugaard gets some laughs, too, as a seedy doctor. Note to writer Anders Thomas Jensen: A couple of anachronistic goofs. The film is supposed to take place before the first film, which was released in 1999. If this film is set before that, they couldn't have crossed the bridge between Denmark and Sweden, as it wasn't built at that time, and the national football league wasn't sponsored by SAS then, either.

The supernatural elements of the first film are totally ignored this time around. Okay entertainment, but doesn't hold up to close scrutiny. **½