Mifune's Last Song
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''Mifune'' (, "Mifune's Last Song") is a 1999
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film, starring
Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (born 22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film ''High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far f ...
and Anders W. Berthelsen. Directed by
Søren Kragh-Jacobsen Søren Kragh-Jacobsen (; born 2 March 1947, in Copenhagen) is a Danish film director, musician, and songwriter. He was one of the founders and practitioners of the Dogme95 project, for creating films without artificial technology or techniques. ...
, it was the third film made according to the
Dogme 95 Dogme 95 (; Danish for "Dogma 95") was a Danish avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" (). These were rules to create films based on the t ...
group rules. The film was a great success in Denmark and an international blockbuster, ranked among the ten best-selling Danish films worldwide. It was produced by
Nimbus Film Nimbus Film is Denmark's third largest film production company. Nimbus Film has to date produced more than 30 feature films and many shorts and documentaries. Of their more known feature films are the Dogme 95 movies ''The Celebration'' (1998, ...
. At the
49th Berlin International Film Festival The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with '' Aimée & Jaguar'' by Max Färberböck. The Golden Bear was awarded to '' The Thin Red Line'' directed by Terrence Malick. Th ...
, the film won the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize and
Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (born 22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film ''High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far f ...
won an Honourable Mention. It was the Danish submission for Best Foreign Language Film for the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
, but was not nominated among the finalists.


Plot

Kresten had moved from his parents' farm on
Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...
, an out-of-the-way small Danish island, to
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
to pursue his career. When his father dies, he has to move back to the farm where not much has happened since he left. He places an ad in the local newspaper to get help running the farm. He has to support his brother, Rud, who needs special care. Kresten has entertained Rud by imitating the noted late Japanese actor,
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...
, featured as a samurai. The prostitute Liva, who is running away from harassing telephone calls, answers the ad.


Cast

*
Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (born 22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film ''High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far f ...
as Liva * Anders W. Berthelsen as Kresten *
Jesper Asholt Jesper Asholt (born 11 May 1960 in Silkeborg) is a Danish actor. He has performed in more than fifty films since 1992. Selected filmography Awards * 2000: Bodil Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role The Bodil Award for Best Actor in ...
* Emil Tarding * Anders Hove *
Sofie Gråbøl Sofie Gråbøl (; born 30 July 1968) is a Danish actress. She has starred in a number of films, with her breakthrough role in the 1986 Danish film '' Early Spring'', directed by Astrid Henning-Jensen, playing the lead role in the film version of ...
*
Paprika Steen Kirstine "Paprika" Steen (born 3 November 1964) is a Danish actress and director best known for her performances in Dogme 95 films '' Festen'', '' The Idiots'', Mifune, and '' Open Hearts''. Steen was the first Danish actress since Karin Nell ...
* *
Ellen Hillingsø Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø (born 9 March 1967) is a Danish actress who is known primarily for her work in films. She is also a voice actress, narrating audio books. Early life Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø was born on 9 March 1967 in Copenhagen to Kje ...
*
Sidse Babett Knudsen Sidse Babett Knudsen (; born 22 November 1968) is a Danish actress who works in theatre, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy '' Let's Get Lost'', for which she received both the Robert and Bodil ...
* *
Søren Malling Søren Dyrberg Malling (; born 3 February 1964) is a Danish actor. Career Raised in Kjellerup, Malling trained at Skuespillerskolen at Odense Teater in 1992. He is best known for his role as Inspector Jan Meyer in the Danish TV crime thriller ...
* * * *
Klaus Bondam Klaus Bondam (born 19 November 1963, in Aakirkeby) is a Danish actor and politician. Acting career Bondam has been the manager of two theatres, (1996–2003) and Folketeatret (2003–2005), and has been administrative manager of Mungo Par ...
*
Sofie Stougaard Sofie Stougaard (born 5 November 1966 in Svaneke) is a Danish actress who has had roles in, among other movies, ''Mifune's Last Song'', and the Danish sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas''. She has also participated in the Danish version of Dancing wit ...


Title

The title of the film is a reference to the late
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...
(1920–1997), a prolific Japanese film actor whose roles included that of Kikuchiyo, one of
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
's ''
Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...
''. It also refers to
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...
's poem ''Sidste Sang'' (1870, Last Song).Partial English translation of Bjørnson's poem
/ref>


Reception and awards

The romantic comedy was immensely popular, ranked as the seventh-highest grossing film of the year in Denmark, with admissions of 351,000. It was screened at the
49th Berlin International Film Festival The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with '' Aimée & Jaguar'' by Max Färberböck. The Golden Bear was awarded to '' The Thin Red Line'' directed by Terrence Malick. Th ...
, where the film won the Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize and
Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (born 22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film ''High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far f ...
won an Honourable Mention. Denmark selected this film as its submission for Best Foreign Language Film for the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
, but it did not make the final list of nominees.


Confession

The
Dogme 95 Dogme 95 (; Danish for "Dogma 95") was a Danish avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" (). These were rules to create films based on the t ...
group established rigid rules to govern their 'chastity' in filmmaking.
Thomas Vinterberg Thomas Vinterberg (; born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films '' The Cele ...
, in the first Dogme 95 film, went further: make a confession if elements of the film do not comply with the Dogme-rules. The confession is written from the director's point of view. Kragh-Jacobsen published his confession about ''Mifune'':
As one of the DOGME 95 brethren and co-signatory of the Vow of Chastity I feel moved to confess to the following transgressions of the aforesaid Vow during the production of Dogme 3 – Mifune. Please note that the film has been approved as a Dogme work, as only one genuine breach of the rules has actually taken place. The rest may be regarded as moral breaches. * I confess to having made one take with a black drape covering a window. This is not only the addition of a property, but must also be regarded as a kind of lighting arrangement. * I confess to moving furniture and fittings around the house. * I confess to having taken with me a number of albums of my favourite comic book series as a youth, ''Linda & Valentin'' (''
Valérian and Laureline ''Valérian and Laureline'' (), originally titled ''Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent'' () and also commonly known as ''Valérian'', is a French science fiction comics series, created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières. I ...
''). * I confess to helping to chase the neighbour's free-range hens across our location and including them in the film. * I confess that I brought a photographic image from an old lady from the area and hung it in a prominent position in one scene: not as part of the plot, but more as a selfish, spontaneous, pleasureable whim. * I confess to borrowing a hydraulic platform from a painter, which we used for the only two bird's-eye overview shots in the film. * I do solemnly declare that in my presence the remainder of Dogme 3 – Mifune was produced in accordance with the vow of chastity. * I also point out that the film has been approved by DOGME 95 as a Dogme film, as in real terms no more than a single breach of the rules has been committed. The rest may be regarded as moral transgressions.


See also

*
List of submissions to the 72nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of submissions to the 72nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was created in 1956 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honour non- English-speaking films ...
*
List of Danish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, bu ...


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 1999 films 1999 independent films Danish romantic comedy films 1990s Danish-language films Dogme 95 films Films directed by Søren Kragh-Jacobsen Films with screenplays by Anders Thomas Jensen Nimbus Film films Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winners Danish independent films Sony Pictures Classics films