The Substitute (2007)

A group of sixth graders are convinced their new substitute teacher is actually a menacing alien.

Director:

Ole Bornedal

Writers:

Ole Bornedal (screenplay), Henrik Prip (screenplay)

Stars:

Paprika Steen, Ulrich Thomsen, Jonas Wandschneider

3 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paprika Steen	...	Ulla Harms
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Jesper Osböll
Jonas Wandschneider	...	Carl
Nikolaj Falkenberg-Klok	...	Phillip
Emma Juel Justesen	...	Rikke
Mollie Maria Gilmartin	...	Lotte
Josephine Gents	...	Camilla (as Josephine Wormslew Gents)
Emma Claudia Søndergaard	...	Laura
Jakob Fals Nygaard	...	Albert
Andreas Gram Nielsen	...	Tobias
Mathias Peter Kjær	...	Malthe
Sonja Richter	...	Maria
Peter Hesse Overgaard	...	Skoleinspektør Maele
Henrik Prip	...	Psykolog Claus
Olivia Stenderup Garre	...	Sofie

Storyline

6th Grade gets a new substitute teacher. She wants to train the class for an international competition in Paris. But something isn't right. How is she able read kids' minds? Why is she so mean? And how does she manage to convince everyone's parents she is so great when the whole class knows she is really an alien?

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Plot Keywords:

substitute teacher | alien | teenager | junior high school | little sister | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Denmark]

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

15 June 2007 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

The Substitute

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company Credits

Production Co:

Obel Film, Thura Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The earth globe seen from space in the beginning and the end of the film is falsely mirrored.

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Connections

Referenced in Troldspejlet: Episode #42.9 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Sov Sødt Barn Lille
Næsby Kirkekor

User Reviews

An excellent twist of thriller and sci-fi

Sometimes,the cultural context of a movie results very interesting and it adds points to the film itself,independently of its intrinsic quality.As examples,I can mention The Art of Devil 2,a very good horror film which does not only work because of its good moments of tension and the fact that it is unpredictable,but also because of the creepy atmosphere of Thai marshes;or These Girls,a cold and mediocre romantic comedy which wins some points for its portrait of the working-class Canadian culture.Now,I can add to that list The Substitute,an excellent combination of horror and sci-fi which is very interesting for many things,specially for portraying a culture with the exact twist of urban sophistication and rural innocence.The modest premise from this film is perfectly well developed by director and co-screenwriter Ole Bornedal,whose previous movie,I Am Dina,had been very bad for its extremely boring screenplay and the pathetic performance from the main actress.Now,Bornedal has enormously redeemed himself on both fields because,as a co-screenwriter,he built an ingenious and dynamic screenplay full of black humor and,as a director,he could get a brilliant performance from the main actress,Paprika Steen,who completely becomes on her character and never seems to be acting.Also,Bornedal drove the film at a perfect rhythm and got some excellent moments of tension,whilethe movie resulted completely unpredictable to me because there were so many ingenious twists that it was impossible to predict what could happen next.Besides,the main concept behind the movie is audacious and provocative.The only fail I found on this movie was that the brief special effects did not fit with the tone and style of the movie.But,that's a minor fail.The Substitute is a brilliant movie which I recommend with a lot of enthusiasm.I clearly took a very nice surprise with this movie.