Flickering Lights (2000)
Four small gangsters from Copenhagen trick a gangster boss: they take over 4,000,000 kroner which they were supposed to bring him. Trying to escape to Barcelona they are forced to stop in the countryside, in an old, wrecked house, hiding there for several weeks. Slowly, one after another, they realize, that they would like to stay there, start a new life.
- Anders Thomas Jensen
- Anders Thomas Jensen
Rating: 7.2/10 by 199 users
Alternative Title:
Blinkende Lichter - DE
Country:
Denmark
Sweden
Language:
Dansk
Runtime: 01 hour 49 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: denmark, gangster, drug addiction, restaurant, male friendship, black humor, childhood trauma, friendship bracelet, burglary, doctor, childhood friends
Almost unsure as to what I think about 'Flickering Lights'. The film, to me anyway, has such an odd feel to it throughout, there's a weird mix of story elements and I'm not convinced it all works - and yet, I actually really like it... I think. In parts, though, if I closed my eyes it would sound like one sorta movie and if I covered my ears it would look like a different one. What I mean is, the music doesn't quite match the onscreen events. Is the music good? Sure, but the more dramatic pieces don't fit with the rough and tumble nature of the plot. With that said, I do really love how the film begins/ends and how it all comes full circle - coolly done. The flick utilises flashbacks excellently, also. Cast-wise, it's absolutely solid. Søren Pilmark is an able lead, while Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas, among a few others, are good behind Pilmark. I will say that the latter's part of the storyline with Sofie Gråbøl was off, it wraps up disappointingly... especially given *that* moment with Pilmark's Torkild, which should've sealed the opposite outcome. Interesting that Thomsen, Mikkelsen and director Anders Thomas Jensen would go on to make 'Adam's Apple' together five years after this. One of the flashbacks in this actually features heavy similarities to that 2005 film, which was presumably inspired by the short story used here. All in all, a very good release from 2000; even if it does leave a little bit of a strange aftertaste for me personally.
