Enterprising young distributor Oscilloscope was obviously hoping for an Oscar nomination when they scheduled a February release for Denmark’s terrific entry, the wickedly off-kilter thriller “Terribly Happy.” It would have been sly timing, if only the Academy’s foreign-language branch hadn’t killed its hopes at the shortlist stage.
No matter. Oscar nod or not, it remains a delight, alternately echoing the Coens, Lynch and Hitchcock while maintain a mordant streak of deadpan Scandinavian humor. (I interviewed director Henrik Ruben Genz — a former Oscar nominee in the short film race — in December.)
The film goes on limited release tomorrow — check it out, and be ahead of the game when the rumored U.S. remake comes along. If you won’t take my word for it, at least take that of Oscilloscope founder and sometime Beastie Boy Adam Yauch:
I love this film. It is just further proof that Danish people are clearly out of their minds.
U.S. trailer after the cut.
Comments
6 responses to “Don’t wait for the remake”
The trailer manages to adeptly convey the daffy humour and dark twisted comedy you were talking about. I’ll be sure to keep this promising-looking film on my radar.
Wow…this looks awesome!!
Looks very interesting. I’ll check it out when it’s out on DVD.
Guy, this is completely off-topic but I’ve been meaning to ask you this for some time:
I’ve been thinking about subscribing to Sight and Sound and I was wondering if you think it’s worth the 80 dollars a year (or 60 pounds in your case)?
Do you think content and writing are as good as they are made out to be?
I’ve been looking for a good film magazine lately, so I’m also open for other suggestions to different magazines (Film Comment, Film Quarterly etc.)
Your thoughts?
Didn’t we see this a couple years ago? In English? Except with more and bigger guns…?
Filmoholic: There’s clearly quite a heavy U.S. markup: my S&S subscription costs me £38 a year. It’s pretty much the best £38 I spend a year, too — for me, the magazine is unrivalled in terms of editorial content and visual appeal. (Plus, I find their thorough review sections very useful for archive purposes.)
In short, the price you mention is pretty steep, but I think it’s worth it. (And at the risk of sounding like an infomercial, that’s not all … you get a free DVD when you subscribe.)
I caught this Danish flick at a nyc advanced screening where the filmmaker was actually present. An enjoyable dark comedy but I never thought it had a serious chance for an Oscar nomination.