starring Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
directed by Anders Thomas Jensen
116 minutes
in Danish with English subtitles
Anker (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) gets out of prison after 15 years desperate to find the stolen loot that got him sent to prison. He left the loot with his brother Manfred (Mads Mikkelsen) who insists that everyone call him John because he believes he is John Lennon. Anker told Manfred to bury the money near the home where they grew up so that's where they head.
They are joined by Lothar, a doctor who encourages Anker to humor Manfred by calling him John. Lothar brings with him two musicians one of whom thinks he is Ringo Starr and another who sometimes thinks he is Paul McCartney and sometimes thinks he is George Harrison. The attempt to "reunite" the Beatles is somewhat successful but Anker still needs to find the money in part because another criminal is threatening to kill him if he doesn't hand it over.
This is the second of two movies that I saw as part of the 2025 European Cinema Showcase at the AFI Silver Theater. The other film I saw at this year's EU Showcase was Dossier 137 (2025).
The movie begins and ends with beautifully illustrated animated sequences that have more to do with the title of the movie than they do with the story that takes place in between them.
This movie is more complicated than my description implies. There are at least three key characters whom I did not mention in my summary. The movie contains a good mix of drama and humor. It becomes clear, as the movie progresses that Manfred isn't the only one who has trouble remembering things.
I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Hopefully it will show on Kanopy or one of the other services through which I regularly watch movies.
No comments:
Post a Comment