| Ulrich
Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Kaas, Paprika Steen, Nicolas Bro,
Ali Kazim , Gyrd Løfqvist, Ole Thestrup .
An overly-optimistic preacher with
a penchant for taking in lost causes to help around his remote church
finds his rose-tinted view of the world challenged by a psychotic
neo-Nazi he is trying to reform in this jet black comedy from Green
Butchers screenwriter/director Anders Thomas Jensen. Vicar Ivan
(Mads Mikkelsen) prides himself on his efforts to help those in
need by offering them a variety of odd jobs around the church and
spreading the good word. After "adopting" a violent Saudi
immigrant and a drunken tennis pro with a history of sexual assault,
Ivan is approached by Adam (Ulrich Thomsen) -- a decidedly non-reformed
neo-Nazi planning to lie low in the countryside for a spell before
returning to the city to once again wreak havoc. When Ivan inquires
as to what his new charge's goal will be during his stay in the
countryside, the snide hooligan sarcastically states that he would
like to bake a cake -- a response which prompts the gullible Ivan
to place him in charge of the church's cherished apple tree. As
ravens immediately descend upon the tree, Ivan concludes that Satan
is attempting to prevent Adam from realizing his true potential.
Meanwhile, Adam takes it upon himself to give the cheery clergyman
a crash course in the harsh realities of life. |