Flickering Lights

Wohl der erste dänische Film, der mich irgendwie nicht angesprochen hat. Mads Mikkelsen und Nikolaj Lie Kaas in für mich bisher ungewöhnlichen Rollen, umso mehr gefielen sie mir, Ulrich Thomsen zeigte auch Standard, doch die Geschichte, der Plot, der Humor, wenn überhaupt etwas davon drin sein sollte, das war nichts. Vielleicht war ich auch nur nicht recht in Stimmung, denn ich würde mir bei keinem dänischen Film erlauben zu sagen, dass er schlecht ist. (11.09.2011)

The ability to combine various elements together so that they work and at the same time entertain the audience is truly an art! I guess only Anders Thomas Jensen can do that. Even though he has better works in his filmography, I can't go any lower with the rating, as I really enjoyed this gentleman's ride. (30.08.2020)

At first glance, Flickering Lights fall into the category of so-called "Tarantino" films, i.e., films imitating the success of Pulp Fiction and Tarantino's directorial style, which relies on violence presented as entertainment and bizarre underworld characters. All of this can be found in Anders Thomas Jensenn's film, but because he is a European filmmaker, his approach is very different from what we are accustomed to from American productions. Rather than a comedy, it is more of a psychological film with a crime theme and numerous comedic elements, which explores the phenomenon of friendship, specifically male friendship. Even though an experienced viewer will understand the direction the film is heading in and the likely outcome, especially when the quartet of thieves arrives at the dilapidated inn, the way the director works with the characters and how they reach their goals was interesting to me. At the moment when a relaxed scene comes, setting a comedic atmosphere, a divergence occurs, redirecting the plot elsewhere. The entire film revolves around male characters, whether it be the quartet of criminals and their underworld adversaries or the eccentric neighbors. Overall impression: 75%. (30.04.2009)

Either this is a gangster movie disguised as a relaxing to meditative re-modeling of life... or it’s the other way round? For some god-forsaken reason, four detectives from Copenhagen open a village pub. Excellently acted characters with an explanatory flashback into their youth makes a perfect sauce leading to a powerful lesson which, despite being a lie,you really want to believe. Jensen knows how to construct stories in an original, down-to-earth and humorous way. The hunter with the machine gun during the finale rocks. You like staring?... Big, fat cow. (05.04.2021)