Wildland

Danish films have a long tradition of telling powerful stories about dysfunctional families that have the ability to surprise. Wildland is no exception and got a solid reception when it premieres at the Berlinale earlier this year.

The main character Ida loses her mother in a dramatic car accident and moves in with her aunt Bodil (Sidse Babett Knudsen). Bodil is the epitome of a matriarch and runs a seedy nightclub. She also rules over her sons Mads, David and Jonas with a hard hand, who in turn more or less voluntary let themselves be dominated. It doesn’t take long before Ida realizes that the family business is just a cover for their illegal business as loan sharks, and before she knows it, Ida gets entangled in Bodil’s cold blooded dynasty.

Jeanette Nordahl’s feature film debut is a bold story playing with the much-used idiom “blood is thicker than water”. A well-written screenplay lets the actors create nuances in what could easily have become one-dimensional characters. The newcomer Sandra Guldberg Kampp plays radiantly as Ida, never giving the audience enough to really know with whom her loyalty lies. It is also a delight to see Sidse Babett Knudsen, known from the Danish tv-series Borgen, in the role as a dangerous mother who will do anything to protect her own flesh and blood.

Director’s bio:

Jeanette Nordahl (b. 1985) is educated from the Danish alternative film school Super16, and her graduating short film Waiting for Phil (2012) was nominated for a Robert Award in 2013. Nordahl has also directed the short film Nylon (2015) and has worked as assistant director on tv-series like Borgen (2011) and Bedrag (2016). Wildland is her feature film debut and premiered at the Berlinale earlier this year.