Under the Stars

'Under Stjernerne På Himlen' is a Danish biopic directed by Kasper Gaardsøe in his directorial debut. The movie tells the story about Tommy Seebach (played by Anders Matthesen), the Danish pop icon through the 1970s and 80s who got his big break by entering the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 with the song 'Disco Tango'. 11 years later in 1990 he releases a greatest hits album and even though he has great love and affection from his family which includes his wife Karen (played by Neel Rønholt) and their three children Nicolai, Rasmus and Marie, he has become somewhat of a has-been in the eyes of his peers Keld Heick and Ivan Pedersen (played by Casper Philipson and Anders Juul respectively), as well as the head of entertainment at Danmarks Radio (played by Jacob Lohmann) who is responsible for the national Song Contest and wants to focus on the new generation. At the same time, Tommy has over time graduatelly become an alcoholic.

One night while singing a lullaby to his daughter Marie, Tommy gets the inspiration for his next song to the Song Contest and rushes to Keld Heick's in the middle of the night to write the lyrics, while Keld's wife Hilda (played by Vicki Berlin) makes coffee. It takes Tommy additional three years to submit the song, 'Under Stjernerne På Himlen', to the contest, but when he does he wins the contest and is qualified to Eurovision 1993 in Dublin. However, due to Tommy's high ambitions combined with the inner demons of his addiction he starts to face challenges on the home front, to which the big question comes clear: What is most important? The musical career or the family?

In general I was very moved by the movie which tells the story of one man's deroute which has great concequences on his life afterwards. Matthesen and Rønholt especially delivers some of the best acting in their career, and even though Matthesen is mostly known as a comedian in Denmark, he has lots of experience with making radio, music, children's litterature and acting, both in comedic roles as well as serious, dramatic roles. So I knew he was up for the challenge. However, the movie is held back by its own pacing with massive time skips throughout and the details of the intermediate passing time is told through vignettes of tabloid headline, i.e. What the general public knew already. When I go to see a biopic I am kind of expecting to see some sides of the people involved that the public doesn't already know, and we do get that (from time to time), but also a lot of stuff anyone who was there at the time or had read a biography or watched a documentary was already well aware of. But in the end, it is still a movie very much worth watching, especially since the remaining Seebach family has been very much involved in the process from the start, especially the son Rasmus Seebach who himself made a career as a pop singer-songwriter.

8 out of 10.

This powerful Danish biopic dives deep into the life of Eurovision icon and beloved pop musician Tommy Seebach, offering a raw and heartfelt narrative shaped in part by those who knew him best-his family. With his surviving relatives attached as executive producers, the film achieves a rare kind of authenticity that doesn't shy away from the shadows. It's an honest portrayal, full of affection but unflinching in its depiction of struggle.

You can feel the devotion behind every frame. The director approaches Seebach's story not just as a filmmaker, but as someone deeply invested in preserving a legacy. The result is a cinematic love letter-vulnerable, beautiful, and deeply moving. I'd even argue it's one of the strongest films Denmark has put out in recent memory.

Tommy Seebach was a household name in the '80s, his catchy pop songs lighting up Danish airwaves and Eurovision stages. But as the '90s arrived, his star faded. The public began to dismiss him, and the sting of irrelevance hit him hard. Rather than evolving his artistry, Seebach became fixated on reclaiming his former spotlight, a fixation that slowly spiraled into depression and addiction. Alcohol became both his escape and undoing, ultimately costing him his marriage. Yet even in his darkest days, he managed to create one last unforgettable hit-the very song that lends its name to the film.

From its nostalgic recreation of the late 1970s to the superb lead performance by Anders Matthesen-who inhabits Seebach with nuance and soul-the production is top-tier. Visually, it's a joy to watch, and emotionally, it pulls no punches.

If you're the type to scoff at pop music, this movie might challenge you. Seebach's tunes are undeniably catchy, unapologetically pop. But dismissing that as lowbrow would be missing the point. Culture, after all, isn't a ladder-it's a web, and every sound has its place. For those who remember the era, or simply appreciate a deeply human story told with care, this film will resonate.

In the vein of biopics about Mercury, Elvis, and Dylan, this one holds its own-not because Seebach was a global legend, but because the film dares to treat his story with equal reverence. It's not just a movie. It's a legacy made whole. Watch it!

"Under Stjerne på Himlen" is a good movie for what it is. It got to me multiple times and I appreciated it for what it was and what it did. But it is something I have seen over and over again. It feels awfully similar to "Dirch" (2011) a movie I adore and "Så længe jeg lever" (2018) both biopics with comedic leads that shows how and artist struggle with art and real life. And while "Dirch" succeeds at that, the others seem to try to imitate that success more than finding its own identity.

We follow musician Tommy Seebach the king of the international music grand prix. After the industry deems him done he fights to join the Grand Prix one last time with the song "Under stjernene på himlen". This challenges himself and his family to their extreme.

First of all my cinema experience. I was asked by the lady at the checking if I wanted to buy an extra soda for the movie, don't know why. The movie started on a stuck screen about pre-premier for a good while. Mid movie it crashed with picture then sound and people around me started to complain. What an experience. Anyways to the actual review.

The acting is really good here. I was surprised since there are some risky castings, but they worked great. Anders Matthesen plays so well as Tommy and delivers a very underplayed performance that works great for the movie. He can play charming and friendly but also as emotional disconnected as Tommy was from his family. Not all drunk acting works here and that is a huge part of the movie, but overall the performance is good. Same with Capser Phillipson as Keld Heick. A great nice performance that shows a very tolerable man.

That is a problem with the movie though. It falls into the classic biopic tropes and while I think Denmark is good at showing flawed humans, it still has its issues showing a totally wrong person. Tommy is a bad father and a terrible friend, and artist before anything else with a huge ego. But at the same time we have to throw in that he is not so bad, look he is nice to the kids, look how good his friends and family is to support him and really tolerate him. It´s hard because you want to show a holistic person, but at the same time, you want to tell a legacy. It is always a hard balance to have and the movie doesn't quite sussed at that. But it is nice to have a biopic not afraid to show that not everything was great and that this is not a perfect story with someone who was always right. A thing Denmark is good at with its biopics I think.

The story and themes are about art vs family, ego vs surroundings and the movie handles them well. To the point it got me emotional twice. I cared for this sad story and the people within it and it is a struggle to balance once legacy with just being alive. The whole problem Tommy clearly had through his life. The movie shows a fun balance between old vs new. A balance it ridicules both ways. While it makes fun of new rap music coming up in the 90s it says that Tommy hated being the old people musician he became and that is fun with you sit in a cinema surrounded by elderly people. It knows the sad truth that Tommy never really accepted about himself. He was going to pass and he was going to be muzak at some point.

The sound design is very good in the movie. The way it cuts out and in of music being played and worked on is great. Showing themes of heart vs job and connect/disconnect for the music, it´s very well made.

The movie attempts some higher art moments like "Dirch" but fails miserably at them. They should have stuck to a more grounded story instead of having the ending and the light moments and the lonely moments. They were too artsy for this movie and what it already established.

Sadly it feels like I have already seen this movie thrice before and that no doubt affects my overall enjoyment of the movie. It removes some originality to it in the worst ways possible.

While I sat close to the end and thought about what I just witnessed. Out comes Rasmus Seebach and signs "Under stjernene på himlen" to an audience saying "sing so my dad can hear it" and then the credits are again Rasmus singing the song about how his dysfunctional family made him. That took me out of the movie way fast and what a terrible way to end a movie about a pop icon with his new pop icon son taking over. The movie also has this angel with Rasmus really winking to the audience that it´s him, and that happens a lot in these biopics about stars and also in this one. Hints at something you know if you know and that can be rather tiresome since it has nothing to do with the movie but the audience of the movie, breaking some level of emersion.

I enjoyed my time with this movie, even though it is rather by the books. It had a good emotional core that got to me but needed some better set up like the alcoholism to really hammer everything home to its fullest. It is a movie that just works, but nothing much more than that.

This Danish biopic about Eurovision hit-maker and pop singer Tommy Seebach (who died in 2003) was executive produced by his entire surviving family, and is therefore an intensely intimate and truthful portrait, while also being a "warts and all" exposé. Good movies are made with obvious passion, and this one definitely is. From the perspective of the director, it is also a labor of love. It's an emotional rollercoaster which I will go so far as to call the best Danish film in years.

Seebach had several successes during the 1980s, but by 1990 many considered him to be washed up; over and done with. An opinion he himself intensely resented. From this point on, however, he seemed mainly driven by borderline depression, always trying to get back on the Eurovision wagon, rather than exploring new avenues in the music field. His ultimate response was alcoholism, and it ruined his marriage - although he still had one big success left in him; the song that the movie's title is named after.

The movie is well-produced, gorgeous-looking from the beginning in its recreation of the late 1970s, and Anders Matthesen is extremely well-cast as Seebach. I can't think of anyone better suited.

Now, Seebach's music is melodic pop; if you're a cultural snob it won't be much to your liking. However, snobbery is dumb, and there is no true distinction between alleged "high" and "low" culture. If you lived through the 1980s in Denmark, listening to and still remembering this music, I think you will love this movie. Its emotional impact is as just great as the recent movies about Freddie Mercury, Elvis and Bob Dylan. It's great because it is intimate, true and, above all, respectful. When many would (wrongly) think that it doesn't really need to be. Check it out.