''Winter Brothers'' () is a 2017 Danish- Icelandic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by Hlynur Pálmason, in his feature-length film debut. It stars Elliott Crosset Hove and

Simon Sears Simon Sears (born 25 January 1984) is a Danish actor. Early life and education Sears was born in Roskilde to an Italian father and Danish mother. He was raised in the town of Solrød Strand, and has two older siblings. When he was younger, Sear ...

as a pair of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

worker brothers, whose disparate traits collide as issues of masculinity, isolation, and

brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

ly love are broached. The film won numerous awards, including two

Bodil Awards The Bodil Awards are the major Denmark, Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards ...

and nine

Robert Awards The Robert Award () is a Danish film prize awarded each year by the Danish Film Academy since 1984. Description The Robert-Prisen (Robert Award) is an annual award given by the Danish Film Academy, launched in 1984. It is the Danish equivalent ...

—each of which resulted in victories from their respective ceremonies' highest honor, Best Danish Film.

Cast

Release

''Winter Brothers'' debuted in the Concorso Internazionale section at the 2017

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

on 3 August 2017. It was screened in the Discovery section at the

2017 Toronto International Film Festival The 42nd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2017. There were fourteen programs, with the Vanguard and City to City programs both being retired from previous years, with the total number of films down by ...

. It later premiered in the USA at the 47th annual New Directors/New Films Festival at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, NYC.

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

Jessica Kiang of ''

Variety magazine ''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in ...

'' called the film "an impressively original, auspiciously idiosyncratic debut, one that scratches away at truths about masculinity, lovelessness, and isolation, that are no less true for being all but inexpressible". Film critic Neil Young of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called it "a confidently handled, promisingly edgy feature debut from Copenhagen-based, Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason".

Accolades

''Winter Brothers'' won the 2018

Bodil Award for Best Danish Film The Bodil Award for Best Danish Film () is one of the categories for the Bodil Awards presented annually by the Danish Film Critics Association. It was created in 1948 and is one of the oldest film prizes in Europe. The jury can decide not to give ...

and Best Cinematography (Maria von Hausswolff). Both Elliott Crosset Hove and

received nominations for Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, for portraying the titular brothers. At the 2018

, the film won the

Robert Award for Best Danish Film The Robert Award for Best Danish Film () is presented at an annual Robert Award ceremony by the Danish Film Academy Honorees 1980s * 1984: ''Beauty and the Beast'' (''Skønheden og udyret'') directed by Nils Malmros * 1985: ''The Element of ...

, as well as eight other merit awards: Pàlmason for Best Director, Crosset Hove for Best Lead Actor, Vic Carmen Sonne for Best Supporting Actress, as well as the Roberts for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design, Best Costume Design, and the

Robert Award for Best Makeup The Robert Award for Best Makeup () is an award presented by the Danish Film Academy at the annual Robert Awards ceremony. It has been handed out since 1987, but had no honorees in 1988, 1989, and 1991. Honorees 1980s * 4th Robert Awards, 198 ...

. In addition, both Sears and

Lars Mikkelsen Lars Dittmann Mikkelsen (; born 6 May 1964) is a Danish actor. He is known for his roles as Copenhagen mayoral election candidate Troels Hartmann in the Danish police procedural '' The Killing'', the character Charles Augustus Magnussen in the t ...

earned Best Supporting Actor nominations. The film earned three further nominations in the categories of Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Score.

References

External links

* * {{Robert Award for Best Danish Film 2017 drama films 2017 films Best Danish Film Bodil Award winners Best Danish Film Robert Award winners Danish drama films 2010s Danish-language films Films directed by Hlynur Pálmason