Tthis coming Wednesday (5th) sees the return of the mighty CPH:DOX festival to our city’s cinemas with a plethora of challenging, controversial and experimental documentary goodness. Many of these international films are unlikely to be distributed theatrically in Denmark, so now may be your only chance to see them. Tickets are in high demand so book early.
Kicking off the opening night is 1989, a historical documentary by Anders Østergaard (Burma VJ, Tintin et moi), which through interviews and reconstruction details the events leading up to the thawing of the Cold War. The film revolves around the tragic shooting of a young Berlin couple at the east-west border that ultimately contributed to the fall of the wall.
With over 200 films screening, choosing one to see can be daunting. My recommendations include The Look Of Silence, Joshua Oppenhiemer’s anticipated follow-up to The Act Of Killing; Måns Månsson’s Stranded In Canton; Austrian provocateur Ulrich Seidl’s latest In The Basement, and The Salt Of The Earth, a new work by filmmaking legend Wim Wenders.
The festival will last until the 16th and we’ll continue to offer recommendations in the form of this column and online articles and reviews. Find the full program at: cphdox.dk/en/season/2014.
Cinemateket’s Danish on a Sunday, its bi-monthly screenings of Danish films with English subs, this weekend presents Applause, which saw Paprika Steen take the best actress Robert for her turn as an alcoholic actress seeking custody of her children. It starts at 14:15 and an extra 40kr will get you coffee and a pastry. See dfi.dk/Filmhuset.
On general release, there’s an electric performance from Jake Gyllenhaal in the satirical thriller Nightcrawler – read our review of what might be a new American classic. There’s also the romcom Love, Rosie; the universally-panned home invasion thriller No Good Deed, and Brit flick The Quiet Ones starring Jared Harris (of Mad Men fame) as a university professor attempting to cure a girl who believes she’s possessed by a doll …
If that doesn’t float your Halloween boat, then for 70kr, Huset (huset-kbh.dk) has Thursday (30th) night covered as they’re screening a special collection of 25 movie murders served with a ghoulish welcome drink.