The Bench (2000)

Kaj is an alcoholic living on the money the Danish state is providing him. Him and his friends spend their time drinking beer at a public bench. One day Kaj's life turns upside down when a young lady and her child moves in next to him.

Director:

Per Fly

Writers:

Kim Leona (screenplay), Per Fly (screenplay)

Stars:

Jesper Christensen, Marius Sonne Janischefska, Stine Holm Joensen

11 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesper Christensen	...	Kaj
Marius Sonne Janischefska	...	Jonas
Stine Holm Joensen	...	Liv
Nicolaj Kopernikus	...	Stig
Jens Albinus	...	Kim
Sarah Boberg	...	Connie (as Sarah Kjærgaard Boberg)
Benjamin Boe Rasmussen	...	Bo
Lars Brygmann	...	Lars
Lars Ranthe	...	Kaptajnen
Holger Perfort	...	Hr. Nandrup
Britta Lillesøe	...	Lis
John Martinus	...	Toiletpasser
Petrine Agger	...	Sygeplejerske
Ann Kristine Schmidt	...	Receptionist
Anette Støvelbæk	...	Kims Nabo

Storyline

Kaj is an alcoholic living on the money the Danish state is providing him. Him and his friends spend their time drinking beer at a public bench. One day Kaj's life turns upside down when a young lady and her child moves in next to him.

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Plot Keywords:

abusive husband | social realism | copenhagen denmark | estranged daughter | alcoholic | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Per Fly originally came up with the idea of making the film after reading an article by the leader of charity organization Kirkens Korshær about poverty and social problems in Denmark. As part of his later research he intensely followed the work of a social counselor for some time. He based the film's characters on the people he saw and met during that period.

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Goofs

Kaj's name on the letterbox reappears after he has destroyed it.

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Connections

Referenced in Bænken - med virkeligheden som udgangspunkt (2000)

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Soundtracks

Le grand café
Written by Ph. Lommet
Match Music

User Reviews

Fantastic and heartfelt portrayal of the edges of society

I was very skeptical when I first went to see this movie, I have never been a fan of political movies or movies with an overstated "message". This film however, proved to be neither. This is a refreshingly unsentimental portrayal of one of the members of society that we all would prefer to ignore. The main character, Kaj, is a wellfare client with no prospects, he once had a job and was making a life for himself, but now he is a broken down alcoholic with a genuine but thinly-veiled deathwish. He is masterfully portrayed by Jesper Christensen who, deservedly, won both the Bodil and Robert awards for his performance. Enter a woman who says she is his daughter and suddenly his world becomes complicated. What is so great about this film is that it never wallows in pity and heartfelt sympathies for its protagonists and neither does it become a political manifesto about the sufferings of the lower classes. This is ultimately a movie about a man, a man who may have made some wrong decisions in his life but nonetheless a human being like the rest of us. Per Fly spent a lot of time with people whose life resembles that of the characters in order to achieve a high level of authenticity. As a result the setting of the film is thoroughly believable and the characters equally so. This is the first film in Per Fly's trilogy about the classes in Denmark, the second movie about the upper class premiers this week in Denmark and the third, about the middle class will begin preproduction shortly.

Details

Country:

Denmark Sweden

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

27 October 2000 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

A pad

Filming Locations:

Avedøre Stationsby, Avedøre, Sjælland, Denmark

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,190,251

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zentropa Entertainments, Danmarks Radio (DR), Det Danske Filminstitut

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color