It seems the Scandinavians know something we don’t: the Nazis are coming back. There are a slew of delicious looking indie features coming out of Northern Europe, three of which share a common antagonist: Nazis. Why this sudden interest in a decades-old threat? What is it about the present day that makes fascism even scarier than usual?
Iron Sky, a Finnish film about Nazis escaping to the moon at the end of WWII and returning to destroy Earth in 2018, is currently in pre-production. The filmmakers did a terrific job promoting their last film, Star Wreck, online. For Iron Sky, they are involving fans in every step of the process, including funding. They’ve already produced a killer trailer (see above).
The English subtitled version of the trailer for Dead Snow hit the web last week (via Twitch). The film, produced in Norway, follows a group of young people in a secluded cabin, fighting for survival against a horde of zombie Nazis. It looks like classic horror based on a fresh and funny premise.
Spout’s Paul Moore loved Bent Hamer’s newest film O’Horten at the Telluride Film Festival, and I got a chance to sit down with him in Toronto where his film was also playing. Besides having a name made for a heavy metal guitarslinger, Hamer is already a very accomplished director, having previously directed movies like Eggs, Kitchen Stories, and Factotum, and O’Horten is his fifth film to come to play in States.
Besides being a director, Hamer is also a writer, producer, and owner and founder of the BulBul Film Association in his native Norway. Read on to find out what inspired the film and why he feels like he’s still riding along with Odd Horten even today, or you can listen to the audio of the interview right here.
There just aren’t enough movies about old people. O’Horten is a Norwegian film about the title character coming of age, but this coming of age story takes place when he’s 67 years old, on the eve of retiring. Directed by Bent Hamer (Factotum), it’s a revealing movie about the quietly tumultuous transition in life with a soft name: Retirement.
The movie opens with Odd Horten (Bard Owe), a 40 year veteran train engineer, waking up to his morning routine, which is just as mechanical as the train station he reports to each day. Helming the engine, he drives his train in and out of dark mountain passages opening to the stark landscape of Norway in winter.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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