Director
Thomas Daneskov
Writer
Thomas Daneskov, Morten Pape
Cast
Rasmus Bjerg, Sofie Gråbøl, Bjørn Sundquist, Zaki Youssef
Producer
Lina Flint
contact
Danish Film Institute
Armed only with a bow and an ensemble of animal skins, Martin sets off into the forest in a misguided attempt to overcome his midlife crisis. A chance meeting with a fugitive named Musa leads to a twisted trip through the fjords with police, drug runners, and Martin’s family not far behind. As an unlikely friendship develops and wacky set-pieces unfold, Martin’s quest for manhood leads to deep and hilariously uncomfortable realizations about the presumed masculine ideal.
Those who have any doubt that the funniest movies being made today come from Denmark need not look any further than Thomas Daneskov’s WILD MEN, playing Fantasia fresh from its recent Tribeca Film Festival launch. Suffering a mental break, Martin (Rasmus Bjerg) goes “back to nature” to live off the land in a semi-Neanderthal existence. We first get a hint of the absurdist humour to come in the film’s opening moments, when Martin frustratingly tries to barter for groceries at an isolated gas station. Later he enters into an Odd Couple relationship with Musa (Zaki Youssef), a wounded drug dealer on the lam. The duo goes from one absurdist, hilarious situation to another. Meanwhile, we feel the human toll of Martin’s split from society: his distraught wife is on his tail, crying children in tow. Further stakes: Musa’s revenge-seeking drug gang and a world-weary sheriff. The crazy circumstances keep piling up (the police dogs have the “day off,” the fugitives encounter a camp of Viking role-players, etc.), and blood will be shed. WILD MEN guarantees a wild night at the movies. – Tony Timpone
Showings
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