Jackpot
Over the last couple of years we have seen a meteoric rise of Scandinavian cinema as well as TV - with quite a few projects being adapted into English speaking movies.
This week sees Magnus Martens back in the director's chair with his new movie Jackpot, which has been playing well throughout Europe.
So to celebrate the release of Jackpot we take a look at some of the most high profile Scandinavian movies that have hit the big screen over the last couple of years.
- Let The Right One In
We may have been drowning in vampire movies in the last few years but the stand out film in this genre came in 2008 and Let The Right One In.
Directed by Tomas Alfredson the movie was a big screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
If you are expecting a throat ripping vampire fest in the style of Blade then this really isn't the movie for you as Let The Right On In is an intelligent movie that looks into friendship, love and loneliness.
This is a touching drama from start to finish that delivers two stunning central performances. Let Me In was the U.S. adaptation that hit the big screen a couple of years later.
- Valhalla Rising
Nicolas Winding Refn is one hell of an exciting director and Valhalla Rising saw him team up with Mads Mikkelsen back in 2009.
For years, One-Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the chieftain Barde.
Aided by a boy, Are, he kills his captor and together they escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness.
Refn is a very visual filmmaker and Valhalla Rising has sweeping cinematography of otherworldly landscapes that are bleak and harsh.
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy of novels is one of the most popular series of crime books and so there was a huge amount of excitement surrounding the movie adaptation.
It was back in 2010 when Niels Arden Oplev's adaptation of the novel was released into cinemas and it took the cinemas by storm.
Not only was it a huge critical success but it propelled Noomi Rapace to stardom as she took on the role of iconic character Lisbeth Salander.
This is a stunning thriller that grabs you attention from the opening scenes to the closing credits - not to mention there are some fantastic performances from the cast.
The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest quickly followed and it wasn't long before Hollywood developed their own movies.
- Headhunters
The big Scandinavian movie of 2012 so far has come in the form of Headhunters - which was based on the novel Hodejegerne by Jo Nesbo.
Directed by Morten Tyldum the movie is dark and exhilarating thriller of a movie that had critics raving from the moment that it hit the big screen.
Aksel Hennie and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau are just two of the actors on the cast list and the pair deliver fantastic performances from the off.
Headhunters has been one of the best foreign language films of 2012 so far and continued Scandinavian film's continuing success at the box office.
- King Of Devil's Island
Another of the stand out movies was King of Devil's Island as Stellan Skarsgård leaves the big budget blockbuster behind for this smaller project.
Based on a true story King of Devil’s Island tells the unsettling tale of a group of young delinquents banished to the remote prison of Bastøy.
King of Devil's Island is a somber tale of suffering but also about an uprising from a group of boys who say 'enough is enough'.
There are some great performances throughout the film and Holst has delivered a movie that will leaves audiences with a lot to ponder.
Jackpot is released 10th August
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo