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The Green Butchers (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:17
Rotten:9
Average Rating:6.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: A bitingly clever script elevates this tale of two affable butchers whose tasty recipe for human flesh makes them the hit of their small Danish town. Ambitious Sven (Mads Mikkelsen) and apathetic... A bitingly clever script elevates this tale of two affable butchers whose tasty recipe for human flesh makes them the hit of their small Danish town. Ambitious Sven (Mads Mikkelsen) and apathetic Bjarne (Nikola lie Kaas) open a butcher shop in their small Danish town. As they are affable losers--Bjarne is a pothead, and Svend is an anxiety-ridden mess--they need a miracle to make it big, which comes in the form of a hapless electrician winding up dead in their meat freezer. Soon, the village is abuzz with excitement over the great new meat dish being served, and Svend has the success he's always dreamed of. Alas, with the demand comes the need to keep up the supply, and that means more visitors to the meat freezer. But while Svend perfects his marinade recipe, Bjarne weakens under the strain of the grisly matters at hand, especially when he falls in love with the undertaker's daughter (Line Kruse) and his mentally handicapped twin brother (also played by Kaas) suddenly wakens from a coma. Surprisingly, sweet-natured character development and positive messages abound in this dark cannibalistic comedy, with gore kept to a minimum. Dogme 95 co-founder Anders Thomas Jensen wrote and directed, so there's plenty of scathing social commentary, though he escapes the drab realism of that movement in favor of quirky, surreal touches. [More]
Starring: Line Kruse, Nicolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro
Starring: Line Kruse, Nicolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro, Bodil Jorgensen, Aksel Erhardtsen
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
Screenwriter: Anders Thomas Jensen
Producer: Kim Magnusson, Tivi Magnusson
Composer: Jeppe Kaas
Studio: Newmarket Films
Reviews for The Green Butchers
absurdity and deadpan humor culled from the comic ingredients of cannibalism and retardation
You might not want to dine with this group, especially if they brought the meat. But it's OK to play with the knives a little.
For a comedy, that most culturally-specific of genres, the Danish production travels remarkably well
A dark comedy whose story is propelled by shock but sustained by issues of love and forgiveness.
A sort of reverse Dogme movie, set in a slightly surreal world where everyone and everything is just a bit off-kilter.
Nither high flying enough for the art house nor low down enough for the cult-video shelf.
While the acting is top-notch, the real star of the film is the script.
Neither funny nor outrageous nor horrifying nor conventionally affecting.
While it's got a refreshingly dry, nasty tone, the film is never quite as funny as it needs to be.
Mines the deep vein of flat-out weirdness that runs through an apparently sleepy, picturesque Danish community.
...considering the premise, this is a remarkably accessible little film.
Jensen's tone is admirably dry, and the film offers its pleasures through small, writerly details.
The two leads do emerge as kind of likable, in part thanks to Jensen's knack for balancing comedy and the macabre without ever stepping over the line.
Butchers has little appetite for the darkest questions at the heart of its conceit.
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