Adam's Apples (2005)

A neo-nazi sentenced to community service at a church clashes with the blindly devotional priest.

Director:

Anders Thomas Jensen

Writer:

Anders Thomas Jensen

Stars:

Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro

20 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Adam Pedersen
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Ivan
Nicolas Bro	...	Gunnar
Paprika Steen	...	Sarah Svendsen
Ali Kazim	...	Khalid
Ole Thestrup	...	Dr. Kolberg
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Holger
Gyrd Løfquist	...	Poul Nordkap
Lars Ranthe	...	Esben
Peter Reichhardt	...	Nalle
Tomas Villum Jensen	...	Arne
Peter Lambert	...	Jørgen
Solvej K. Christensen	...	Pige på tankstation
Rasmus Rise	...	Ung fyr på tankstation #1 (as Rasmus Rise Michaelsen)
Jacob-Ole Remming	...	Ung fyr på tankstation #2 (as Jacob Ole Remming)

Storyline

Ivan is a priest in a rural church known for the apples that grow on a large tree in front. He's odd: seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, in denial about personal facts, and convinced he's at war with Satan. The rectory is a half-way house for recently paroled convicts. Adam arrives for 12 weeks, a large, tough neo-Nazi, first baffled by Ivan's thick-headed optimism, then angry. He vows to break Ivan's faith. Meanwhile, in exasperation at Ivan's insistence, Adam sets a personal goal: to bake an apple pie. All goes awry for the tree: crows, worms, lightening. The Book of Job gives Adam perverse insight, and his hooligan mates provide the resolution's spring.

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Plot Keywords:

priest | neo nazi | church | rectory | faith | 

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Taglines:

Én ulykke kommer sjældent alene [Scandinavian saying equivalent of: When it rains, it pours]

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

Denmark Germany

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

15 April 2005 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Adam's Apples

Filming Locations:

Fåborg, Fyn, Denmark

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,305, 18 March 2007

Gross USA:

$1,305

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,421,577

Company Credits

Production Co:

M&M Productions, August Film & TV GmbH, Danmarks Radio (DR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the making of-featurette on the DVD, the scene with the crows eating apples was planned to be computer-generated, until a few Czechs showed up with four boxes of real life trained crows, and in the end everything worked out fine for a minimum of cost.

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Quotes

Khalid: [a lightning goes down in the church, and burns the new oven] God damnit! It was all fresh!

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Connections

Referenced in Offscreen (2006)

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Soundtracks

DU VED DET NOK, MIT HJERTE
by Susanne Hauge Sorensen
Al Tid/Refleks Musik

User Reviews

You want a dark comedy? You've found it!

"Let's stop with the accusations. It was an old cat. He just happened to fall down while we were shooting."

There are dark comedies. There are pitch black comedies. And then, there's Adam's Apples.

If you want to watch a movie that takes some of the most depressing, horrible things you can think of, and makes them absolutely hilarious, this is the movie for you.

I won't spoil much of the story, as watching what unexpectedly happens throughout is one of the pleasures of the movie. It begins with a priest named Ivan driving an unrepentant neo-Nazi named Adam from prison to the church where he will be performing his community service. Ivan gives Adam the choice of one goal to set for himself to complete, before he leaves. Ivan, completely uncaring, chooses to make an apple pie from the apple tree outside the church, once they are ripe.

From there, things quickly get out of hand. Let's just say that the sensitive need not apply. 

I recommend Adam's Apples to people with a dark sense of humor, who are fine with laughing at incredibly inappropriate (yet incredibly amusing) things. This movie was made for people like you and me. 

I'm not referring to low-brow humor. This is a different animal. An utterly unique (as far as my experience goes), intelligent comedy that ultimately brings sunshine forth from some of the darkest clouds you've ever seen (both figuratively and literally).