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 | dark humor | pubic hair | male pubic hair | brief male frontal nudity | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stefan (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) is seen eating in almost all of his scenes.

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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: I need some medical attention! Look, the shit is pissing out of me, man!
Arne: It's a flesh wound! I bleed more when I jerk off, for fuck's sake!

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Connections

References Matador (1978)

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Soundtracks

21st Century High
Music by Tim Christensen
Lyrics by Tim Christensen and Marcus Winther-John
Performed by Tim Christensen

User Reviews

Subtitles

I love this film, but I agree that the American subtitles are dreadful. I can understand a bit of Danish and I was watching it with a Danish speaker, so that helped, but actually the timing of the subtitles ruined half the jokes entirely. And if you're not American or Danish then the cultural references in the subtitles are completely baffling.

For reference: -"Disney Land" is used to translate "Tivoli", a very old and beautiful theme park in central Copenhagen. -"Six flags" is used to translate "Bakken", another old, but more down market theme park just outside Copenhagen. -"Canucks" is apparently a derogatory term for Canadians. It is used here to translate "Svenskere" (Swedes). -"Newport", apparently a port town in Rhode Island, is used to translate "Fredericia", another port town, but in eastern Jylland (Jutland).

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

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,760,077

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