At Cinemas: Finally Ghandi gets the body he’s been dreaming of

German film the pick of this week’s crop

Tarsem Singh is one of cinema’s most exciting yet frustrating visual artists. With his first film, The Cell (2000), he created a unique, fever-dream spectacle. His second film, The Fall, was a triumph, succeeding where The Cell had failed (namely in its muddled narrative and weak performances).

And this week he returns with Self/Less, in which a dying Ben Kingsley moves his mind into Ryan Reynolds’ body. But sadly, trailers show little evidence of the ocular delights for which the director is renowned and advance word is poor.

Also returning to cinemas this week is the horror hit Sinister. Sinister 2 picks up in the aftermath of the first film with a mother and her twins fleeing to a new house in a rural setting. One would imagine that a demon or two are in tow …

Providing you understand German, or are able read Danish subs (both English and German are spoken), seek out Phoenix – a Hitchcockian thriller set in Berlin following WWII – the reviews have been outstanding. The film concerns a disfigured concentration-camp survivor (Nina Hoss), who is unrecognisable after facial reconstruction surgery searches the post-war ruins for a husband who might have betrayed her to the Nazis.

Southpaw is the latest offering from Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. It follows the exploits of champion boxer Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) who loses everything in the wake of personal tragedy. It is reviewed this week.

Elsewhere, Cinemateket is hosting a slew of recent films from celebrated Filipino filmmakers, such as Brillante Mendoza, Raya Martin and Lav Diaz, who in the last decade have helped to create a golden age of cinema in the Philippines. P-Noise runs from August 25-30. For a full program and Cinemateket’s other screenings, see dfi.dk/Filmhuset.

Also keep an eye out in the coming months for Grazie Gloria – a rare monthly opportunity to see recent Italian cinema at Gloria Bio with English subtitles. The next screening is Italy in a Day by Gabriele Salvatores – an Italian version of Ridley Scott’s Life In a Day. It screens on September 16. See the full program at gloria.dk.




  • Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    A Wall Street Journal article describes that the US will now begin spying in Greenland. This worries the Danish foreign minister, who wants an explanation from the US’s leading diplomat. Greenlandic politicians think that Trump’s actions increase the sense of insecurity

  • Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    What do King Frederik X, Queen Mary, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Jaime Lannister have in common? No, this isn’t the start of a very specific Shakespeare-meets-HBO fanfiction — it was just Wednesday night in Denmark

  • Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    For many years, most young people in Denmark have preferred upper secondary school (Gymnasium). Approximately 20 percent of a year group chooses a vocational education. Four out of 10 young people drop out of a vocational education. A bunch of millions aims to change that

  • Beloved culture house saved from closure

    Beloved culture house saved from closure

    At the beginning of April, it was reported that Kapelvej 44, a popular community house situated in Nørrebro, was at risk of closing due to a loss of municipality funding

  • Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    With reforms to tighten the rules for foreigners in Denmark without legal residency, and the approval of a reception package for internationals working in the care sector, internationals have been under the spotlight this week. Mette Frederiksen spoke about both reforms yesterday.

  • Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Currently, around 170 people live on “tolerated stay” in Denmark, a status for people who cannot be deported but are denied residency and basic rights. As SOS Racisme draws a concerning picture of their living conditions in departure centers, such as Kærshovedgård, they also suggest it might be time for Denmark to reinvent its policies on deportation

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.