Gamle mænd i nye biler

Comedy at it's best! The humour in this picture varies from lighter more jackass'isch to dark satirical aspects and sometimes borderline evil. The plot is probably totally impossible to explain for someone that hasn't seen it, with twists far beyond comprehension; the turns are as many as they are crazy. The characters are twisted and shows both the best and the worst sides of humanity(or lack thereof). The only thing one could complain about is the music -you could wish for a bit more, but that's just a minor thing.

There are several, independent, movies with the same characters which I highly recommend(all danish).

"Gamle maend in nye biler - Alte Männer in neuen Autos`, the prequel to "I kina spiser de hunde". Part-time-chef and gangster Harald is here again, together with his subordinates, including Vuk and his Serbian body-guard. New among them is a Swedish psychopath, specialized in killing every woman he meets. But not in Denmark. There he meets the love of his life. Like in "I kina..." the cold-storage room becomes the mortuary, cooking becomes side-line. Though Harald's subordinates would rather take part in a pastry competition instead of supporting his criminal machinations.

Lasse Spang Olsen made a solid gangster flick but does not come up to "I Kina spiser de honde". Too much action too long, too much violence (esp. against Vuk), that does not result from comic accidents. Therefore, this "prequel" lacks the anarchic sense of humor, one would have expected. Solid, but not as good as "I kina.."

The 1999 Danish black comedy In China They Eat Dogs brought an enjoyable gust of fresh air to the often overly serious Nordic cinema. The prequel Old Men in New Cars casts light on the characters' earlier life: Harald (Kim Bodnia) has just been released from prison and owes a large sum of money to a gangster named Ratko (Slavko Labovic) but doesn't let the debt bother him very much. After his dying father figure Munken (Jens Okking) asks Harald to locate his estranged son Ludvig (Torkel Petersson), Harald and his cook friends Martin and Peter (Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Tomas Villum Jensen) and their new inept assistant Vuk (Brian Patterson) come up with a plan to get Ludvig, a multiple murderer with a sensitive side, out of a Swedish prison. While robbing a bank, they also they also become attached to a suicidal woman Mille (Iben Hjejle) who tags along and evokes new kinds of feelings in Ludvig. Next it is time for an elaborate airplane hijacking...

The main difference to the first movie is the absence of the mild-mannered Arvid, arguably the protagonist of In China They Eat Dogs. Instead, the prequel focuses on Harald and his ever-calm attitude to whatever obstacles life drops in front of him. The semi-reluctant Martin and Peter are the same as before, providing a lot of comedy with their awkward insecurity when things get rough and bodies start piling up, not to mention the always hapless Vuk who keeps getting seriously injured as a running gag in both movies. The main charm of the humour still lies in the deadpan delivery of the gang's outrageously implausible schemes, be it a prison break by bungee cord or an airplane robbery with an ambulance.

The action scenes, while not as numerous as in Hollywood blockbusters, are well designed and both entertaining and exciting. Especially the car chase after the bank robbery deserves a special mention, rarely do we get to see such wreckage in any normal Nordic thriller. The actors also do a good job; especially Kaas and Jensen are great as the manipulatable henchmen of the menacing Kim Bodnia, but Iben Hjejle is a joy to watch as well. Even though the absence of Arvid seems disappointing at first, it soon becomes obvious that Torkel Petersson's Ludvig is more than enough to replace him – Ludvig's homicidal tendencies mix with his caring side rather hilariously.

The familiar absurd undercurrent is still strong and the humour and action are in good balance, so those who enjoyed In China They Eat Dogs have no reason to miss out Old Men in New Cars. In the first movie there was a serious theme under the surface, namely a mild-mannered man's desire to be true to himself, and while the prequel feels a bit more straightforward, it also presents a dramatic story about familial love. In any case, both films belong among the best Danish films I have seen in a good while.

A prequel to "I Kina Spiser de Hunde" (In China they Eat Dogs) from 1999 with same writer/dírector/cast (save Dejan Cukic and a few others). This time, we follow Harald (Kim Bodnia) as he is released from jail, only to get involved in a plot to get Swedish serial killer Ludvig (Torkel Petterson) out of prison, so he can meet his estranged father, The Monk (Jens Okking). Once again, peppered with funny dialogue, not as inspired as the original, but with one hilarious scene in which the cooks and Harald futilely tries to speak English to a Swedish hotel receptionist. The car stunts are still clumsy, a notch above the sloppy action sequences from the first film, and the film is loaded with a high mortality rate, but it's uneven and substitutes black humor with a mean spirit, and even asks us to care about these characters, after putting them through numerous outlandish situations and hurling credibility out the window. Kim Bodnia plays it straight, but his tough guy act is getting a little tired by now, but Tomas Villum Jensen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas still make a great comic duo as the put-upon sidekicks. Iben Hjejle is lovely as Ludvig's love-interest, but her role is badly written (even though she gets to punch Bodnia in the face). Jacob Haugaard gets some laughs, too, as a seedy doctor. Note to writer Anders Thomas Jensen: A couple of anachronistic goofs. The film is supposed to take place before the first film, which was released in 1999. If this film is set before that, they couldn't have crossed the bridge between Denmark and Sweden, as it wasn't built at that time, and the national football league wasn't sponsored by SAS then, either.

The supernatural elements of the first film are totally ignored this time around. Okay entertainment, but doesn't hold up to close scrutiny. **½

Blame me for watching it before the first part but still when I analyze it now I have to say this one was a vast improvement from the first one. It has a concrete storyline throughout the film and does not stray much into the subplots unlike the first one. I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of story which looked more plausible thanks to the crisp editing and intelligent direction which doesn't give you much time to ponder around. All in all, a highly superior sequel to follow up the brilliant "In China they eat dogs". Yes, I wouldn't mind at all if the director comes up with some wacky storyline and decides to complete the trilogy with the third one and I'm sure there will be lots of others who'll agree with me!!