It's Simon's 29th birthday, and the celebration is just about to start, when his father Mogens, who has not been part of his and his older brother Jens' lives for many years, suddenly turns up. He declares that he wants to give Simon as special gift, a two seater Triumph sports car. Quite soon after arriving, Mogens act violently when the brother aren't ready to go fetch the car right away. It turns out that Mogens is mentally ill and has been in and out of hospital for years, and as he becomes more and more agitated and violent, Jens has to take him back to the hospital. Back at the mental hospital Mogens manages to talk Jens into helping him go find the sports car. But where is it parked? That's the start of a long day.
This is one of those films which strangely enough immediately drag you in. I really can't explain why, but it's simply so well acted that you can't help it. Something I find very typical for many Scandinavian movies lately. Well made, well acted and with hard hitting believable stories. And so also with this Danish film, made by Niels Gråbøl, as his second feature film for cinema after directing several TV-series.
The film is a drama, with blends of both tragedy and comedy, turning out a heart warming human interest story. An interesting script and solid acting turning out what is a little gem of a film. Henning Jensen is spot on as the mentally ill father, some times strong and clear, only to be uncertain in the next minute. Dealing with it all is Jakob Cedergren is just as good as his son Jens. In this film the city of Copenhagen is really the third main actor.
This film is worth viewing, not only due to this being a charming story, but mainly because of the precise and well mastered acting. Recommended!
