Minor Mishaps (2002)

When a man's wife dies in an accident, his children return home to deal with the tragedy together.

Director:

Annette K. Olesen

Writer:

Kim Fupz Aakeson

Stars:

Jørgen Kiil, Maria Rich, Henrik Prip

1 win & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jørgen Kiil	...	John
Maria Rich	...	Marianne (as Maria Würgler Rich)
Henrik Prip	...	Tom
Jesper Christensen	...	Søren Kreiberg
Jannie Faurschou	...	Eva
Vigga Bro	...	Ulla Olsen, mother
Martin Madsen	...	Politiken colleague
Jesper Hyldegaard	...	Anders, Tom's colleague
Karen-Lise Mynster	...	Hanne
Mads Wille	...	Young man (as Mads Michael Wille)
Pia Rosenbaum	...	Hekla
Oliver Appelt Nielsen	...	Martin Olsen, Tom's son
Gustav Sogaard Jakobsden	...	Hasse Olsen, Tom's son (as Gustav Søgaard Jakobsen)
Julie Wieth	...	Lisbeth
Tina Gylling Mortensen	...	Ellen

Storyline

Minor Mishaps is the story of a family in which family relations are put to the test after the mother dies. It is a collective tale in which we follow the lives of the four leads: 1) John, the father, who has a serious heart condition but risks his life by sticking to his job as a hospital porter; 2) Tom, his son, who is in the process of losing his wife and children because his career as a building contractor overshadows everything else; 3) Eva, the elder daughter, trying to make her way as an artist but "scared shitless" whenever she faces a blank canvas; and 4) Marianne, the younger daughter, who gets a new job running the staff canteen at an accountancy partnership and despite her inexperienced, awkward behavior initiates an affair with a colleague. All four try to find themselves and one another, and all four learn that families aren't something you choose, but something you just have.

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Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | two word title | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Annette K. Olesen [Denmark] EFA [Germany]

Country:

Denmark Sweden

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Små danska olyckor

Filming Locations:

Amager, Denmark

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zentropa Entertainments

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Eva: She's not a lesbian.
Tom: I'm an engineer Eva, I know a dyke when I see one.

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Connections

References Ved Kongelunden... (1953)

User Reviews

Low key observational

A really enjoyable film. It reminded me a little of the recent "Italian For Beginners", in being a low key observational comedy. The director apparently employed the Mike Leigh method of film-making, where the actors are encouraged to develop the storyline through improvisation. Now, I'm not a big fan of what Leigh seems so often to achieve through this method: monstrously distorted characters who I find rather aggravating (though, I must admit that the method did work brilliantly in "Naked" and "Secrets and Lies"). Thankfully, this film doesn't go down that route. Some of the characters are certainly odd, but fit in well with the tone of the film. Worth seeing.