Adam's Apples

Having seen all these actors in earlier flicks I thought I knew what I had in store. I was wrong. I laughed like silly where one shouldn't laugh and enjoyed the movie immensely. It is set in a typical Danish village but there is nothing typical about the inhabitants. The priest has a way with people which even the Bee Gees can't dilute. The doctor has this wonderful Danish dialect which all you non-Danish speaking people will miss out on, but still he will be very funny to you all. It's hard to compare this film to any other, but maybe it owes something to "They Eat Dogs in China". And who would have thought that "A Half Kennedy" is a medical term? If you are only going to see one Nordic movie this decade, don't miss out on this one!

I love Danish films and this is a wonderful movie with magnificent acting. Its so funny and sad at times. The triumph of good on evil.

I watched this film now several times: the dark humor, brilliant acting, good story arc, consistent character development and well done (visual) narration is beautiful to watch - everytime.

If you are not afraid of grotesque situations, some blood, dark jokes and creepy characters - this is your choice tonight.

This was a wonderful surprise at the (Cleveland) CIFF, a well-made dark comedy.

Adam is a neo-Nazi on a sort of Danish "probation for reprobates", where society's sinners are given a gradual re-introduction to public life under the guidance of Ivan, a parish minister. Adam needs to negotiate a "program" for his several weeks stay; despite his efforts at being arch and cynical Ivan takes him totally in seriousness, setting "baking an apple pie" as Adam's goal. A battle of wills ensues between Adam and Ivan, with wonderful comedic support from Gunnar (Nicolas Bro in another wonderful role) the ex-tennis player and Khalid (Ali Kazim) as a not-yet-reformed terrorist.

Everyone is coping here, but the central character is clearly Ivan (perhaps the funniest I've seen Mads Mikkelsen!). He comes across as "Pangloss" with a twist: "everything is for the best" in this world only in that the devil conspires to make everything a test of man's faith. He is completely deluded yet completely steadfast. This rational irrationality is perhaps the greatest challenge to Adam; no matter what he does Ivan retains his faith…to a point where the comedy simply takes another course.

Not to give away the delight of this comedy's surprises, the characters cope with life, each other, are exasperated and exasperating, consistently inconsistent…the trials of Job are well played out in this barely disguised absurdist romp.

"Let's stop with the accusations. It was an old cat. He just happened to fall down while we were shooting."

There are dark comedies. There are pitch black comedies. And then, there's Adam's Apples.

If you want to watch a movie that takes some of the most depressing, horrible things you can think of, and makes them absolutely hilarious, this is the movie for you.

I won't spoil much of the story, as watching what unexpectedly happens throughout is one of the pleasures of the movie. It begins with a priest named Ivan driving an unrepentant neo-Nazi named Adam from prison to the church where he will be performing his community service. Ivan gives Adam the choice of one goal to set for himself to complete, before he leaves. Ivan, completely uncaring, chooses to make an apple pie from the apple tree outside the church, once they are ripe.

From there, things quickly get out of hand. Let's just say that the sensitive need not apply. 

I recommend Adam's Apples to people with a dark sense of humor, who are fine with laughing at incredibly inappropriate (yet incredibly amusing) things. This movie was made for people like you and me. 

I'm not referring to low-brow humor. This is a different animal. An utterly unique (as far as my experience goes), intelligent comedy that ultimately brings sunshine forth from some of the darkest clouds you've ever seen (both figuratively and literally).