Director Thomas Anders Jensen’s The Last Viking, which premiered at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, pairs Mads Mikkelsen (Manfred) and Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Anker) as dissimilar brothers who contend with Manfred’s dissociative disorder and an unruly Airbnb couple in Anker’s quest for buried money.
Mikkelsen and Kaas have featured in six of Jensen’s previous films, and their rapport is important in successfully portraying a difficult balance of humor, family trauma, and response to that trauma. Manfred’s dissociation, which causes him to believe he is John Lennon, comedically hinders the final stage of Anker’s audacious plan: commit a heist for which he will serve time, get Manfred to bury the money, and then reunite with Manfred and the money after he is released from prison. Reportedly the film manages to simultaneously treat Manfred’s mental disorder seriously, revealing its roots through flashbacks to the brothers’ childhood and keep the comedic tone.
Jensen develops the absurd plot into a poignant story of sibling connection amidst chaos.
“[E]very movie in Denmark is about families. Why? Because that’s where the drama is. Denmark is so refined. There are no natural disasters, no poverty. Nothing really happens unless you get cancer or die in a car accident. I turn to family, because people are being themselves: you get their best sides and their worst sides,” Jensen told Variety.
Jensen’s ability to use humor, however irreverent, as a vehicle for moving drama has distinguished him in the past with movies such as Riders of Justice (2020), which also features Mikkelsen and Kaas. Despite criticisms, the director is confident in how he handles controversial subject matter.
Jensen explained, “People have been offended ever since I made my first film, but it’s not my problem — it’s theirs. You can’t make art without someone getting mad.”
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