For a real dose of Scandinavian culture, there’s no need to visit IKEA yet again. The Scandinavian Film Festival makes its inaugural visit to Melbourne, bringing a dose of cool Scandi culture to Melbourne’s winter.
image courtesy Asha Holmes Publicity
The Plus One’s Top 5 Picks
With films spanning all of Scandinavia, The Plus Ones have picked a standout film from each of the five countries:
- Sweden: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climed Out the Window and Disappeared/Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann – Ruki & I got to see this at the gala opening, and what a delightful film it was. Sort of the Forrest Gump of Sweden, it’s about a — yup — 100-year-old-man who goes on adventures. The entire audience laughed their way through the entire movie.
- Iceland: Spooks & Spirits/Ófeigur gengur aftur – An Icelandic comedy that was a hit in the tiny island nation, this is the tale of an actress daughter whose father’s spirit doesn’t want her to sell his house (and does everything he can to prevent it)
- Denmark: The Keeper of Lost Causes/Kvinden i buret – It wouldn’t be a proper Scandinavian film festival without a crime-thriller-drama. Yup, this one’s written by the screenwriter for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and is based on an international best-seller. ‘Nuff said
- Norway: Ballet Boys/Ballettguttene – Any documentary starring someone named ‘Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød’ sounds like something I should watch, least of all when it’s about the rarefied world of male ballerinas (or, as I like to erroneously call them, ‘ballerinos’)
- Finland: 21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage/21 tapaa pilata avioliitto – Finland’s most popular film (and most successful by a female director), this comedy won the 2013 People’s Choice awards at the Finnish version of the Oscars. At the film fest’s opening, the Finnish Consul General said he was definitely going to see it (and see if he’s in the double digits in his own marriage).
Waltz for Monica – image courtesy Asha Holmes Publicity
Just like with the other film festivals we’ve covered, I recommend hitting up one of the special events. Thursday 17th and Sunday 20th, movie-goers are encouraged to dress up in 1960s costumes for the special event “60s Sweden Jazzed Up”. The event pairs the film Waltz for Monica with live jazz, wine, and Nordic cheeses. I already have an outfit planned — let’s see if I can get a Beehive hairdo goin’ on.
The Scandinavian Film Festival runs 10-27 July at Palace Cinema Como and Palace Brighton Bay. Check the schedule for session times and to buy tickets. There are over 20 films on the festival’s lineup — dive in and see something new.
-Theresa
