En soap (2006)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Pernille Fischer Christensen

Writers:

Kim Fupz Aakeson (writer)
Pernille Fischer Christensen (writer)

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A tragicomedy focused on the relationship between the owner of a beauty clinic and a transsexual. |

Plot Keywords:

Transexual | Gay Interest

Awards:

11 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Trine Dyrholm	...	Charlotte
David Dencik	...	Veronica
Frank Thiel	...	Kristian
Elsebeth Steentoft	...	Veronica's Mother
Christian Tafdrup	...	Costumer
Pauli Ryberg	...	Costumer
Jakob Ulrik Lohmann	...	One-Night Stand
Claes Bang	...	One-Night Stand
Christian Mosbæk	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joan Bentsen	...	Soap actress one (voice)
Tom Hale	...	Soap actor (voice)
Camilla Søeberg	...	Soap Actress three (voice)
Laura Kamis Wrang	...	Soap actress two (voice)

Also Known As:

A Soap (USA) (festival title)
En såpa (Sweden)

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

Sweden | Denmark

Language:

English | Danish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Netherlands:6 | Sweden:7 | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/16

Company:

Garage Film AB

Trivia:

Veronicas first costumer is played by Christian Tafdrup, who played a male prostitute himself in his movie-debut Smukke dreng (1993). He asks Veronica to call him "lille soldat" (danish for "little soldier") which is also the title of Lille soldat (2008), another danish move dealing with prostitution and starring Trine Dyrholm

Soundtrack:

Take My Breath Away

convincing towards the end

The film starts with Carolina, hectic owner of a beauty parlor having just moved out from boyfriend Kristian, into the apartment over Veronika. Veronika drags along watching soaps, occasionally fulfilling wishes of sex clients, and desperately awaiting her operation transforming her into the woman she wants to be. After yet another confrontation with her well meaning mother Veronika attempts suicide. Carolina above wakes up, finds her, gets her to hospital and takes Veronika's dog, miss Daisy into her care. After Veronika returns, the neighbours find an interest for each other, in the turmoil of their search for affection with others. During a wild party à deux they even come to feel more, for which however there seems to be no room.

At the beginning the film made me fear I'd come to watch a trendy and fatiguing freak show frenzy, but hanging on it got me more and more interested in the slowly developing strand of tenderness in the middle of these rather chaotic scenes.

With the pink borders of kitsch the film owns to its title (the cliffhanger like voice-over asking the viewer what may come next, the zooming in on the blossoms outside the apartment block where it all takes place) the film convinced me eventually with its moving depiction of the ensuing blossoming of feelings between the main characters. All of this filmed with Dogma-inspired directness, closeness en nervousness, which I don't mind at all.