Flickering Lights (2000)

A gang of 4 Danish criminals are ordered by Færingen to steal a bag from a safe. When they see DKK4,000,000 in the bag, they keep it for themselves and head for Spain. They end up in a ruin of an old restaurant on Funen and renovate it.

Director:

Anders Thomas Jensen

Writer:

Anders Thomas Jensen (screenplay)

Stars:

Søren Pilmark, Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen

3 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Søren Pilmark	...	Torkild
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Peter
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Arne
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Stefan
Sofie Gråbøl	...	Hanne
Iben Hjejle	...	Therese
Frits Helmuth	...	Carl
Ole Thestrup	...	Alfred Jæger
Peter Andersson	...	Færingen
Niels Anders Thorn	...	William
Henning Jensen	...	Peters Far
Solbjørg Højfeldt	...	Peters Mor
Jesper Asholt	...	Torkilds Far
Helle Dolleris	...	Torkilds Mor
Bent Mejding	...	Farfar

Storyline

Four small-time gangsters from Copenhagen trick a gangster boss: they take over 4,000,000 kroner which they were supposed to bring him. Trying to escape to Barcelona they are forced to stop in the countryside, in an old, wrecked house, hiding there for several weeks. Slowly, one after another, they realize, that they would like to stay there, starting a new life, renovating the house and forming it into a restaurant. But they can't avoid being caught up by their past.

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Plot Keywords:

cigarette smoking | gangster | restaurant | escape | nude outside | 

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Taglines:

De har altid været på flugt - nu løber de for livet.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Denmark Sweden

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

3 November 2000 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Flickering Lights

Filming Locations:

Det Danske Filmstudie, Lyngby, Sjælland, Denmark

Company Credits

Production Co:

M&M Productions, Danmarks Radio (DR), SVT Drama

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title "Blinkende lygter" is from a poem by Danish poet Tove Ditlevsen. The poem is referenced in the movie.

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Goofs

Most of the film takes place in an old inn, which has not been in use for years. Yet electricity is readily available when Torkild brings a TV and a video.

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Quotes

Peter: Arne, for fuck's sake... can't we have something else besides these freezer pizzas? We've been eating the same shit for a week now, man.
Arne: Who fixed the oven? I did, right? You fix your own oven! You cook your own dinner and shut the fuck up!... fucking vegetables and all sorts of goodies on this!
Peter: [Tosses the pizza across the room] Don't wanna fucking eat this shit anymore, man!

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Connections

References Dallas (1978)

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Soundtracks

Nobody
Written and Performed by Henning Stærk

User Reviews

A witty, funny and sporadically warm crime film

If international viewers know something about Danish films, they are usually made by Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg or Ole Bornedal - or have U.S. remakes connected to them. Anders Thomas Jensen is known in Scandinavia, above all; well, he is also an Academy Award winner and multiple nominee, but within a category of short films never obtaining wider audience. The film in question - Flickering Lights - is a pleasant comedy thriller about 4 childhood friends / petty criminals who use the stolen millions for totally unplanned thing. Dialogues are witty (making you often giggle) and all the main actors (Søren Pilmark, Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas) are pleasant to follow; they are famous character actors who have also been used in Dogma-films and by Hollywood. The scenes run smoothly, flashbacks and reasoning provide additional value to the film, the ending is versatile and peculiar.

Highly recommended, but first and foremost to male audience - as women characters spend limited time on screen and they have supporting role. The film was extremely popular in Denmark, but it is also worth larger distribution in Northern-Europe, Canada and other like-minded countries.