Families Like Ours (2024) | REVIEW

Paprika Steen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas in Thomas Vinterberg’s FAMILIES LIKE OURS — PHOTO: Per Arnesen/TV2.

Series created by Thomas Vinterberg.

Dogme95 co-founder Thomas Vinterberg has had quite the career. He burst onto the scene with his sophomore effort, the Cannes-darling and Danish classic The Celebration, and, though he struggled in the early 2000s overseas, he rebuilt his career on home soil with Submarine and The Hunt, the latter of which was a particular international success critically and with awards bodies. In the mid-to-late 2010s, he took another stab at filmmaking overseas with Far From the Madding Crowd and Kursk (with the Danish drama The Commune sandwiched in between the two). Then, at the very beginning of the 2020s, his binge-drinking dramedy Another Round took him to new heights as he not only accepted an Oscar and a BAFTA for the picture but also became the first-ever Danish filmmaker to be nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards. Now, he has turned to TV, as he has crafted a television series about the calamitous potential of climate change that works as an eye-opener and much more. For me, it’s been one of the most interesting shows of 2024.

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REVIEW: Druk (2020)

Danish Theatrical Release Poster – Nordisk Film

International Title: Another Round.

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt) — Screenplay by Thomas Vinterberg & Tobias Lindholm.

With Thomas Vinterberg’s Druk, or Another Round as it will be known around the world, two of the Danish film industry’s most highly regarded individuals — Vinterberg and Mads Mikkelsen — have re-teamed to tackle mid-life crises. Mads Mikkelsen is the Cannes Film Festival Award-winning actor who has played Hannibal Lecter, a James Bond-villain, a Marvel Cinematic Universe-villain, and a pivotal supporting character in the Star Wars spin-off film Rogue One. But, as Danish audiences know well, Mads Mikkelsen is not just a great supporting actor and villain, he is also one of his generation’s finest actors, and he constantly turns out extraordinary performances. Mikkelsen’s remarkable talent has arguably made him, to quote A. O. Scott, the face of Danish cinema. Continue reading “REVIEW: Druk (2020)”