Men & Chicken

OK. Admittedly, I'm biased. I'm an enormous fan of Anders Thomas Jensen's movies and pretty much adore everything he's ever made or been even tangentially involved in, but up until now I was very firmly of the belief that 'Blinkende Lygter' was and would always remain my favourite of ATJ's movies. That was until I saw 'Mænd & Høns' and fell completely and traitorously in love.

A perfect balance of black (oh god so so black) humour and pathos, this movie is a testament to ATJ's wonderfully deft touch with both. The characters, surreal and ridiculous as they are, are played with such humanity and conviction, that one cannot help but love them all, every last weird, disgusting one of them. As dual-lead, David Dencik is both loathsome and pathetically lovable as Gabriel. Nicolas Bro is a delight as always as the loquacious over-sharing Joseph, as is an almost unrecognisable Søren Malling as Franz. However, whereas it's normally Nicolaj Lie Haas that takes the comedic football and runs uncontested for the touchline, 'Mænd & Høns' is (definitely) Mads Mikkelsen's movie. As the compulsively masturbating, bombastic Elias, Mikkelsen reaps the lion's share of the comedic lines, delivering them with such incredible timing and bravado you can't help but think he missed his vocation when he opted for a career as leading-man heart-throb over bumbling idiotic funnyman.

I can't say enough good about this film. Watch it as soon as a UK release is available. Talk about it until there is. Petition your local cinemas. Buy 'Mænd & høns' t-shirts and bore your friends. I know I will.

Mads Mikkelsen has had quite an interesting career so far. What? You don't know who he is? That must mean that you're not up to date on your Danish cinema, or you don't like James Bond, or don't watch much TV… or all three. Mikkelsen is a Danish actor who is probably best known in the U.S. for playing the title character in NBC's "Hannibal" – and as the villain Le Chiffre in the 2006 Daniel Craig-led Bond reboot "Casino Royale". But, like most successful actors, Mikkelsen had to work his way up to such notable parts. As a young man, he spent ten years as a ballet dancer. In the mid-1990s, he began acting in high-profile films and TV shows in his native Denmark. The New York Times calls him "a face of the resurgent Danish cinema". Public opinion polls often crown him the sexiest man in Denmark, while his acting talent has earned him numerous Best Actor awards at film festivals around the world. More recently, in 2014, Mikkelsen played a Danish immigrant in the American West in the excellent, but underseen "The Salvation", and in 2015, he appeared in one of Rhianna's music videos. 2016 has him in Marvel's "Doctor Strange" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". Very interesting indeed. "Interesting" is an appropriate but more loaded term when us to describe Mikkelsen's film "Men & Chicken" (NR, 1:44).

Mikkelsen stars as Elias who, along with his half-brother, Gabriel (David Dencik), seems a little short-changed in the brains department – and NO-changed when it comes to looks and social skills. When their father dies, they learn that they were both adopted and that their biological father lives on the tiny (fictional) Danish island of Ork. When Elias and Gabriel go to Ork in search of their father, they come across three more half-brothers, Gregor (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), Franz (Søren Malling) and Josef (Nicolas Bro), who live together in a dilapidated former sanitarium which is overrun by barn animals. And it seems that Gregor, Franz and Joseph have the same "challenges" as Elias and Gabriel, if not more so.

When Elias and Gabriel show up at the home of their other three brothers and announce who they are, Gregor, Franz and Josef beat Elias and Gabriel. After regrouping at the home of the town's mayor (Ole Thestrup) and his unmarried daughter (Kirsten Lehfeldt), Elias and Gabriel return to their brothers' home the next day to try again to get Gregor, Franz and Josef to talk to them. Another beating ensues, but Elias and Gabriel turn the tables, leading Gregor, Franz and Josef to grudgingly welcome their long-lost brothers into their home. But getting to meet their father is harder than Elias and Gabriel expected.

Getting to know their newfound brothers is no picnic either. Besides letting barn animals roam freely throughout their home, Gregor, Franz and Josef interact with each other very strangely. They fight over who eats off of which plate at dinner, they cuddle together for a bedtime story each night, and if any of the brothers breaks a family rule, he has to sit in a metal cage outside. Oh, and sometimes the brothers change into tennis whites and play badminton on a makeshift indoor court. Gregor, Franz and Josef also have an especially unusual relationship with the larger animals that live outside the house. After being stymied in their efforts to meet their father, Elias and Gabriel notice some… unique-looking chickens roaming about, which makes them wonder even more about who their father is and what he's into.

"Men & Chicken" is… interesting (in an odd way) and can be entertaining… depending on your taste in movies. RogerEbert.com summarizes this film as "a hybrid of 'The Three Stooges' comedy and the lunacy of 'The Island of Dr. Moreau'". It's an apt characterization for what is a tough film to describe. It includes comic violence, bizarre situations, gross-out humor, very dark comedy and even some sweetness. It's fun to see Mikkelsen play so well against type, while the physical appearance of all five brothers is both repulsive and magnetic. As individuals, each character is a rail car which has gone off the tracks. As a whole, this group of people is a train wreck, but it's nearly impossible to look away. Like that proverbial human train wreck, you may find yourself wanting to keep watching out of a morbid sense of curiosity. Many will find this movie too "weird", but some will find it irresistible. "B"

Humorous, a bit dark and dramatic. It has a quiet relaxing atmosphere with kind of increasing tension among the characters throughout the film.

In recent decades, in the West, it has been difficult to create a production where "variously challenged" persons are subject to irony, mockery, with characteristic violence and non-piety. The US is probably out of the question already, only Brits and Scandinavians have still dared to create something different within the subject mentioned. Mænd & høns is another fine example of them, with excellent script and direction (Anders Thomas Jensen) and strong ensemble cast (virtually all performers belong to the finest contemporary Danish film actors) have provided a meaty and distinct result.

True, not all characters are at the same level, e.g. Søren Malling and Nicolas Bro could not reveal their talent in full, but David Dencik, Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas were brilliant again - and in such different roles! No villains, no clerks, no policemen... Those not acquainted with those names should definitely see other films with their presence - to realise how versatile actors they are.

It is evident that some social strata may feel themselves affected and somewhat resentful, but the film should not be taken too seriously. However, it contains multiple warnings and attitudes that can/should be avoided.

All in all, another good Danish film, recommended to them fond of twisted humour connected with society-related stuff to be pondered on and over.

Gabriel and Elias are brothers, but they look nothing like each other save for a hair lip. Gabriel is a down at heart professor and Elias is a man who has a way with the ladies – the wrong one that is and a need for a lot of 'tension relief'. They are both a bit odd – to say the least.

Then their father 'pops his clogs' (well the film is Danish) and leaves the 'boys' a VHS message. In it they discover that he is not their biological father and that their real daddy lives on some remote island and is a bit of a scientist or something. Anyway with no time left to lose the lads decide they have to trace their real family – and so the fun begins.

Now this has some belly laugh moments and Mads Mikkelsen seems to relish the role. Then so does everyone else too and it must have been great fun to make. It is a pretty dark comedy in places but it also has a fair smattering of slapstick too. There is also a great story with lots of fun, truisms and heart. Written by Anders Thomas Jensen who brought us 'Green Butchers' and many more – this is one of those films that you will tell your friends is a must see.