Dear friends,
Here are three movies from Europe that I’ve come across the past few weeks and which have completely blown me away in their own specific ways. The first one is a big-budget movie that was a hit in Norway, while the last two are small productions with mostly amateur actors.
I wish you a happy Sunday and I hope one of these will make for a good movie night if you’re planning one tonight.
3 movies, all on Amazon Prime and on Tubi (available to stream for free without a subscription but with ads).
King of Devil’s Island
On Amazon Prime and free on Tubi here. 🍅 rating: 94%. In Norwegian.
This gorgeous Scandinavian movie is based on a true story and stars the ever-reliable Stellan Skarsgard.
He plays the governor of a strict youth correctional facility in Norway in 1915. The arrival of a feared kid kickstarts events that are very famous in Norway but little-known elsewhere: an uprising within the facility that will eventually require the army to get involved. A strong movie with stellar (Stellan) performances.
Teddy Bear
On Amazon Prime and free on Tubi here. 🍅 rating: 94%. In Danish.
This Danish movie is about a failed 38-year-old bodybuilder who lives with his mom and has never left Denmark. In an expected move, and while telling his mom he’s going to Germany, he travels to Thailand in hopes of finding love.
It might at first seem like a disastrous storyline (of sex tourism), but that part of the movie is almost accidental. Teddy Bear is actually a sweet and likable story of a man who wants to break away from his domineering mother, and a journey of someone who starts growing up later in life.
Somers Town
On Amazon Prime and free on Tubi here. 🍅 rating: 96%.
In this sweet-natured British comedy filmed mostly in black and white, Marek is a Polish boy who lives with his alcoholic father in London. He meets Tomo, a kid from the British Midlands who escaped his family and came to London alone.
They form a friendship that this movie follows for a few days. With nowhere to stay, Tomo moves in with Marek without Marek’s father noticing. The two end-up plotting a scheme that turns things around both for them and for the styling of the movie.
That’s it for today, I hope one of these is for you.
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Thank you! Saw the first one, added the next 2 to my list 👍🏽