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Denmark / All works

Cinema

Fish Out of Water

De frigjorte

Erik Clausen · 1993

Synopsis

Viggo, in his fifties, a blacksmith for twenty-five years at the same company, is proud of his trade and sure of his ideas. At home, he looks after his fish and bickers with Oda, his wife, who is passionate about the family tree and about magazines. One day, the factory closes and everyone finds themselves “released for other work”, that is, unemployed; at the same moment, Viggo discovers that his son may be homosexual, and Karen, a warm-hearted woman, invites him to Majorca.

Context

The director himself plays the part of Viggo, opposite Helle Ryslinge as Oda; Anne Marie Helger, in the role of Karen, received a Robert Prize for it. The screenplay is loosely inspired by a novel by John Nehm; the film, produced by Henrik Møller-Sørensen, was shot in simple Copenhagen settings. Released on 26 February 1993 and distributed by Nordisk Film, it drew more than two hundred and fifty thousand viewers.

Who it is for

One hour thirty-seven minutes, in Danish, with the accent of the working-class districts of Copenhagen. A biting comedy that turns into drama.

Prizes and reception

Bodil for best Danish film; second most-watched Danish film of 1993, with 257,345 admissions.

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