Latest news with #Danish-language
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Your country is sinking. This alarming Danish drama asks what you would do
FAMILIES LIKE OURS ★★★★ Denmark is sinking. That's the alarming – and not entirely implausible – premise of this seven-part, Danish-language drama that imagines a new kind of climate refugee for the privileged First World: families, as the title implies, like ours. Conceived by Thomas Vinterberg, whose 2020 black comedy Another Round earned him the honour of becoming the first Danish director to score an Oscar nomination, Families Like Ours premiered at last year's Venice International Film Festival. It's an absorbing pre-apocalyptic study in how an impending national crisis affects people on a macro level. What happens to the relationships within one extended family placed under this kind of existential panic is at once fascinating and disturbing, prompting self-reflection on the hypothetical limit of one's own loyalties when faced with the imminent prospect of survival. The impending doom is signalled up front, with the opening scene flashing forward six months to the Copenhagen docks, where a sea of mostly flaxen-haired people jostle for position on vessels evacuating their homeland, soon to be underwater due to melting ice caps. Following 'Danish due diligence', it is wryly noted, the nation is taking pre-emptive action following the economic collapse of another low-lying country, the Netherlands. So we know full well what is coming when, transported back to the brink of this catastrophe, the whispers begin. Laura (Amaryllis August) and Elias (Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt) embody the tragedy of such a life interruption on the youth. Part of the last graduating class of Gammel Hellerup High School, they are the innocent victims of circumstances beyond their control, of a war with nature they didn't start that is destroying their hopes and dreams at the very moment the world should be their oyster. Theirs is a different time, and their enemy is environmental forces, but there are echoes of similarly cursed sweethearts throughout literature and history, in their connection and optimism, when circumstances could not be more hopeless. Through Laura's uncle, Nikolaj (Esben Smed), a government official married to Henrik (Magnus Millang), a select few in the family are forewarned. Henrik's odious and homophobic brother represents the worst of panicky desperation, his initial response casting him as an early villain. Laura's architect father, Jacob (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), scrambles to secure work in Paris, becoming one of many respected professional Danes suddenly stripped of credentials and confidence. Loading As the inevitable shutdown of the country nears, life goes on as normally as possible. The final summer in Denmark bathes the characters and their homes in a thin light. A young boy with a talent for soccer sees something more in the puddles on the pavement. In line with Vinterberg's commitment to cinematic realism, surreal sequences are restricted to Laura's dreams in soft focus, of Elias, and of water gently flowing across the carpet.
The Age
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Your country is sinking. This alarming Danish drama asks what you would do
FAMILIES LIKE OURS ★★★★ Denmark is sinking. That's the alarming – and not entirely implausible – premise of this seven-part, Danish-language drama that imagines a new kind of climate refugee for the privileged First World: families, as the title implies, like ours. Conceived by Thomas Vinterberg, whose 2020 black comedy Another Round earned him the honour of becoming the first Danish director to score an Oscar nomination, Families Like Ours premiered at last year's Venice International Film Festival. It's an absorbing pre-apocalyptic study in how an impending national crisis affects people on a macro level. What happens to the relationships within one extended family placed under this kind of existential panic is at once fascinating and disturbing, prompting self-reflection on the hypothetical limit of one's own loyalties when faced with the imminent prospect of survival. The impending doom is signalled up front, with the opening scene flashing forward six months to the Copenhagen docks, where a sea of mostly flaxen-haired people jostle for position on vessels evacuating their homeland, soon to be underwater due to melting ice caps. Following 'Danish due diligence', it is wryly noted, the nation is taking pre-emptive action following the economic collapse of another low-lying country, the Netherlands. So we know full well what is coming when, transported back to the brink of this catastrophe, the whispers begin. Laura (Amaryllis August) and Elias (Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt) embody the tragedy of such a life interruption on the youth. Part of the last graduating class of Gammel Hellerup High School, they are the innocent victims of circumstances beyond their control, of a war with nature they didn't start that is destroying their hopes and dreams at the very moment the world should be their oyster. Theirs is a different time, and their enemy is environmental forces, but there are echoes of similarly cursed sweethearts throughout literature and history, in their connection and optimism, when circumstances could not be more hopeless. Through Laura's uncle, Nikolaj (Esben Smed), a government official married to Henrik (Magnus Millang), a select few in the family are forewarned. Henrik's odious and homophobic brother represents the worst of panicky desperation, his initial response casting him as an early villain. Laura's architect father, Jacob (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), scrambles to secure work in Paris, becoming one of many respected professional Danes suddenly stripped of credentials and confidence. Loading As the inevitable shutdown of the country nears, life goes on as normally as possible. The final summer in Denmark bathes the characters and their homes in a thin light. A young boy with a talent for soccer sees something more in the puddles on the pavement. In line with Vinterberg's commitment to cinematic realism, surreal sequences are restricted to Laura's dreams in soft focus, of Elias, and of water gently flowing across the carpet.
The Star
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Carlsberg reports drop in Coca-Cola sales in Denmark amid U.S. boycott
OSLO, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Danish brewer Carlsberg reported on Tuesday a decline in Coca-Cola sales in Denmark, attributing the trend to a local boycott of U.S. brands driven by political tensions. "Our Coca-Cola volumes are slightly down in Denmark," Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said during an earnings call following the company's first-quarter results. "There is a level of consumer boycott around the U.S. brands, and it's the only market where we see that to a large extent." The boycott stems from growing discontent over U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Since taking office earlier this year, Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to seize control of Greenland. In March, he told Congress that America is "going to get it one way or the other," sparking widespread outrage in Denmark. Membership in the Danish-language Facebook group "Boykot varer fra USA (Boycott goods from U.S.)" surged to 95,000 following Trump's remarks. At the same time, sales of local brand Jolly Cola have soared, as Danish consumers increasingly opt for homegrown alternatives. Supermarket chain Rema 1000 reported that sales of Jolly Cola in March rose 13-fold compared with the same period last year, according to Danish broadcaster DR. Despite the decline in Coca-Cola sales, Aarup-Andersen said the overall impact on Carlsberg's performance was not significant. Carlsberg holds the license to bottle and sell Coca-Cola products in Denmark, including Fanta, Sprite, and Schweppes. The company also distributes Pepsi products in several other European countries, where no similar boycott has been observed.
