Blinkende lygter

I love this film, but I agree that the American subtitles are dreadful. I can understand a bit of Danish and I was watching it with a Danish speaker, so that helped, but actually the timing of the subtitles ruined half the jokes entirely. And if you're not American or Danish then the cultural references in the subtitles are completely baffling.

For reference: -"Disney Land" is used to translate "Tivoli", a very old and beautiful theme park in central Copenhagen. -"Six flags" is used to translate "Bakken", another old, but more down market theme park just outside Copenhagen. -"Canucks" is apparently a derogatory term for Canadians. It is used here to translate "Svenskere" (Swedes). -"Newport", apparently a port town in Rhode Island, is used to translate "Fredericia", another port town, but in eastern Jylland (Jutland).

"Blinkende Lygter" ('blinking lights') is extremely original in its odyssey through several genres; starting off as a gangster movie, passing close by a road movie (until the car breaks down), and then completely shifting pace and content in a very surprising and humorous way. Although criticized for its violent scenes, BL is actually a highly philosophical study of the various faces of violence, from the off-hand unnecessary (although not gratuitous) violence, to acts of violence accepted by society. First of all, the dialogue is so funny that the movie has to be seen at least twice if one is to catch the very serious message that lies beyond. One of the best Danish films ever. Anders Thomas Jensen is definitely a filmmaker to look out for.

From the first few minutes, up until the end of the film, I was laughing... hard. The characters are definitely amusing (though a bit off), and all of the hang-ups they face along the way just add to the humour. Yes, there are parts of the film which can be quite sad, especially if one can relate in any way to them, but by and large, this is a very funny film that is definitely worth the DVD rental. The violence is comical, the struggles are comical, even the arguments are comical. They really did a good job with the casting and the writer did an excellent job with the script. I am usually not a fan of Danish films (even though I live in Denmark), but this film is the exception. It's a definite must see, no matter where in the world one happens to live.

A lot of the humour in this extremely funny movie cannot be translated into English. One example: At one point Stefan is caught crying while reading a poem from the book that lends it title to the entire film. This causes some scepticism among his friends, who asks him exactly what he is reading. He then says that the book is written by one "Ove Ditlevsen". To a danish audience it is obvious, that the book actually is by the famous danish (female) author "Tove Ditlevsen", but none of our heroes seems to know her. The sensitive Stefan is backed up by Thorkil who insists that "Actually Ove Ditlevsen is one of this country's finest authors".

I purchased this film on DVD, with little knowledge of what it was about, because of a liking for the actors Søren Pilmark and Mads Mikkelsen. I'd seen Pilmark in "Riget" and Mikkelsen in "King Arthur", so I thought this would be worth buying.

The only complaint I have about the North American DVD version is that the subtitles are not always very good. I appreciate that the translator was likely trying to make some references so the non-Danish audience could understand it, but please do not reference Six Flags, Disneyland or "too many Canucks" when neither are mentioned. (Unfortunately I don't know enough Danish to figure out what they're really saying, but I certainly didn't hear Disneyland, Six Flags, or Canucks in that!) I found the story engaging, and not at all slow. It seemed to start off as a gangster film, and while I like some gangster films, I was glad that this one took a different twist.

I am impressed with the director/writer, and all the actors. This film was excellent, and I'd highly recommend it to all!