SYNOPSIS: Everyone who’s seen the successful movie “Elling” (2000) probably remembers that Elling was a bit… attached to his late mother (to put it mildly). “Mors Elling” is based on one of author Ingvar Ambjørnsen’s books written before “Brødre i blodet” (the basis for “Elling”).

It tells the story of Elling, living with his mom in downtown Oslo. She knows she won’t be around for ever and in an effort to get him out in the world, and help him stand on his own two feet, she buys tickets for them both for a trip to sunny Spain!

What follows is a series of mishaps as we tag along with Elling through situations he’s never been in before. Riding on an airplane, on the beach surrounded with topless women, the Spanish nightlife, befriending the Norwegian woman in the neighbouring hotel-room, etc. It is at times funny but never as light-hearted as the original movie. Here there is more emphasis on the seriousness of Elling’s condition, and we rarely find ourselves laughing like we did with the first movie.

• Actors: Ane Dahl Torp, Christin Borge, Erlend Bakker, Grete Nordrå, Helge Reiss
• Directors: Eva Isaksen
• Format: Import, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Subtitles: English, Swedish, Danish
• Region: Region 2 (NB)

Links to the Elling DVD’s at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon CAN.

©2010 Euro bookblog. All Rights Reserved.

Please note that the movies are in Non-USA format, and that you need a DVD-player that can accommodate the format (or can play the movies from a PC!).

Varg Veum Box 1 – 3-DVD Set (Bitter Flowers/Sleeping Beauty/Yours Until Death)

These movies are based on the books with the original titles Bitre blomster, Tornerose, and Din til døden.

Format: NON-USA, PAL, Region 2.You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada.

LANGUAGES: Norwegian and Danish

Subtitles: English, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish

Format: WIDESCREEN (1.78:1)

Special: 3-DVD Box Set with Interactive Menu and Scene Access.

Actors: Anders Dale, Anders Hove, Bjørn Floberg, Endre Hellestveit, Kathrine Fagerland

Directors: Erik Richter Strand, Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen

Short synopses:

Bitter Flowers (Bitre blomster) is about a man who vanishes without a trace. His lover, a married, successful politician, discreetly contacts PI Varg Veum for assistance. Varg finds her lover murdered, and the politician’s husband is arrested for the murder. However, Varg accuses the police of judicial murder, and gets involved in an international murder case branching out far beyond the Norwegian borders, with characters who would not shy away from any methods.

Yours Until Death (Din til døden): Here Varg Veum finds himself in the midst of a divorce with ramifications outside of the ordinary, ranging from car theft, murder, jealousy and robbery. The film is brilliantly set off, with some very skillful plot twists early on (including a fine scene inside a garage and an excellent segment with Seim, Mestad, Bergmann and Lullau). There is a lot more style and flair in the conduction of Din til døden than in the two prior films, and Richter Strand shows a delicate blend of tones throughout the film’s different parts. Pleasing is also the increasingly tightknit and wonderfully acted relationship between Veum and Hamre. Seim and Floberg are absolutely magnetic together, and the subdued ending does wonders to an otherwise somewhat predictable final clear-up.

Varg Veum Box 2 – 3-DVD Set (Fallen Angels/Kvinnen i kjøleskapet/Begravde Hunder)

All the technical specifications are the same as for box set I.

Actors: Anna Bache-Wiig, Bjørn Floberg, Endre Hellestveit, Fridtjov Såheim, Iram Haq

Directors: Alexander Eik, Morten Tyldum

Short synopses:

Fallen Angels: This is the second cinema film in the series about the private investigator Varg Veum. A chance meeting with an old class mate takes Varg Veum back in time to the popular Bergen rock band Angel Anatomy in the late 1980′s. Then a murder occurs, and Veum starts unraveling a thread leading him all the way back to his own childhood and adolescence.

Kvinnen i kjøleskapet: (The Woman in the Refrigerator) This is well-paced and cleverly constructed installment in the Norwegian detective series about Varg Veum. This time he has to deal with half a woman’s body in a refrigerator and a suspicious disappearance of a brilliant process engineer in the lucrative oil business. Trond Espen Seim propels the plot forward with unassuming relentlessness and Bjørn Floberg provides witty and implicit support by his side. Alexander Eik’s film is notable for a strong and emotive performance from Christian Rubeck and real human destinies in the midst of the traditional crime denouement, but unfortunately there are also the odd overdone plot twists and some overly recognizable narrative development. With that said, there is no doubt that director Eik handles it all elegantly. And he also shoots the most scenic Veum so far.

Links to the Varg Veum collection of DVD’s at amazon US and amazon UK.

©2010 Euro bookblog. All Rights Reserved.