Although a small nation with a small language and so scant prospects of producing TV concepts with international appeal, Denmark has none the less managed to create something new and powerful with Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC) - something to capture the audience unlike the vast array of shows featuring forgettable people in pointless situations. The idea of televising a song contest with children first began in 2000 as a spin-off from a children's show on DR TV, but already the next year it was launched on Danish TV as an independent show called "mgp 2001" - and became an instant success! It was only natural that the show would spawn, first, a Nordic version in 2002 and then, in 2003, the international version. This was not just a European "box" placed on top of the Danish show; all 16 entrants to the JESC 2003 had organized their own national contests thereby establishing a new TV tradition which hopefully will continue and develop in the future. An international children's song contest is about showing that children are competent, possessed of sufficient energy, willpower and skills to lift a show on this scale. Bear in mind that the youngest entrant was only eight years old, and by no means the worst. Unlike the ESC for grown-ups, where entrants may deliver songs written by just about anyone else than themselves, entrants to the JESC have to perform songs which are clearly their own. This JESC rule has added new zest to an institution lately considered somewhat sclerotic, and in a few years the Junior ESC may conceivably have supplanted the grown-up version as the preferred song contest.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Junior Eurovision Song Contest
(2003 TV Special)
The best TV concept ever developed in Denmark!
21 December 2003
Strike Commando
(1987)
A Vietnam-War film that doesn't take itself to serious.
29 September 1999
This film has about all of what one would expect from a film about "a lone hero in the Vietnam-War", but where many of the other films in this genre is so damned serious, this film is somewhat refreshing by being a little less serious in its approach, without falling for the temptation of being a complete parody or even a comedy.
As one could expect there are a lot of shootings and explosions, stabbings, (no throat-cuttings), classic ambush-scenes borrowed from other films, Russian villains (of both sexes), a treacherous American Officer - courageous villagers, cute children and a Frenchman (that later on are brutally massacred by the Vietcon's) - torture of American POW's and the hero escaping from a Vietnamese POW-camp. And as it is said at the end of the film:
"Any similarity between persons living and dead .... especialy dead .... is purely accidental .... yeah, very accidental, like one in a million - maybe".
Perhaps this film isn't remarkable in an artistic sense, but personally, I would rather see this film 4 times, than I would see "Rambo" twice.
As one could expect there are a lot of shootings and explosions, stabbings, (no throat-cuttings), classic ambush-scenes borrowed from other films, Russian villains (of both sexes), a treacherous American Officer - courageous villagers, cute children and a Frenchman (that later on are brutally massacred by the Vietcon's) - torture of American POW's and the hero escaping from a Vietnamese POW-camp. And as it is said at the end of the film:
"Any similarity between persons living and dead .... especialy dead .... is purely accidental .... yeah, very accidental, like one in a million - maybe".
Perhaps this film isn't remarkable in an artistic sense, but personally, I would rather see this film 4 times, than I would see "Rambo" twice.
Beware: Children at Play
(1989)
The best child slasher movie ever made!
31 August 1999
Warning: Spoilers
FORGET! Medea (1970), El Topo (1971), Non si sevizia un paperino (1972), A Quiet Day in Belfast (1974), Quién puede matar a un niño? (1975), The Godsend (1980), Dead Kids (1981), Sleepaway Camp (1983), Children of the Corn (1984), Witness in the War Zone (1987), Henry V (1989), La corsa dell'innoncente (1992), Screamers (1996), La classe de neige (1998) - and many others. THIS!!! film qualify for the title as the ultimate child-slasher movie (or child-kill film) (have you ever heard this expression before?) ever made. At least I will place it as no. 1 in this "genre". The only other film, I can think of, that can match "Beware: Children at Play" in terms of bloodshed, is probably Paul Morrissey's: Mixed Blood (1985).
Throughout much of the film we are actually more like witnesses to a criminal investigation in child (and adult) disappearances, than we are spectators to a horror movie, but gradually the horror becomes more evident and the total bodycount in the film is something like 27, whereof 2/3 is children - and there are lot of ingenuity in the killings , it's NOT only guns that are used (and furthermore do most of the killings take place in broad daylight. It's not a guess-what-happens-in-the-dark film).
The story is full of biblical references and allusions (we are in the "New Jersey Biblebelt"), but it also centers round the old Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf (or Bjowulf) from which the children apparently have got the ideas for their cultish ceremonys and doings (the probably best descriptions of Grendel, and his doings, is given in line 102-114 & 730-757 in the poem). It's funny to think of, that the only (to my knowledge) surviving Anglo-Saxon poem, that has its story from the time BEFORE the Anglo-Saxon settlements in Britain, actually isn't a story about the Anglo-Saxon peoples but instead a story about the Danes, the Geats and the Frisians - I myself have this poem in all the 3 major Danish translations from this century, but it's the first time I see a film, that refers to Beowulf.
WARNING - DO NOT READ THIS NEXT PARAGRAF, IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE ABOUT REVEALING PLOT POINTS. From the title of the film and from the introduction on the videocover we are to believe, that the children are the villains - and they are - but the prime villain is actually the Bible-crazy character played by the director of the film, and what more is, the guy, we all throughout the film thought to be the "hero", is killed at the end by the director himself - now ain't that funny?!
Actually I'm convinced that everyone, including the children, had a good time making this film, and for most of the 20 children it has so far been an one time experience in movie making to participate in Beware: Children at Play. At least it seems, that only 1 of the children have been involved in movie making since.
But! - Is there anything anoying by this this film? Well some might say, that the religous references is a little to much, others might find the violence and the killings offensive, but the violence in this film is so improbable and unrealistic that you should only be able to see it from a humoristic point of view (but many people unfortunately lack this sense of humor). In comparison, some of the violence in a film like "La classe de neige" is much more disturbing (and for many viewers almost unbearable to watch) because its premisses is, that it could be true - and in some sadly cases is true. In "Funny Games" (1997) the violence is even more brutal, and the message of this film is, that the audience in a sense is responsible for the violence in films, simply because they watch these kind of films. A third kind of violence is, when the violence should be perceived as either a social critic or as some kind of artistic expression, and this type of violence is probably what you experience in a film like "El Topo". Well, if I should point 3 "bad" things about this film out, it would be: 1) the amateurish and annoying background music. 2) The very visible wires at the end of the film. 3) The difficulty of having children to play dead without breathe or swallow. - but this is only minor flaws, and I won't hesitate to give the film a vote of 10 out of 10. And by the way. One child DO survive the atrocities, so a sequel is possible - if anyone dares!!!
Throughout much of the film we are actually more like witnesses to a criminal investigation in child (and adult) disappearances, than we are spectators to a horror movie, but gradually the horror becomes more evident and the total bodycount in the film is something like 27, whereof 2/3 is children - and there are lot of ingenuity in the killings , it's NOT only guns that are used (and furthermore do most of the killings take place in broad daylight. It's not a guess-what-happens-in-the-dark film).
The story is full of biblical references and allusions (we are in the "New Jersey Biblebelt"), but it also centers round the old Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf (or Bjowulf) from which the children apparently have got the ideas for their cultish ceremonys and doings (the probably best descriptions of Grendel, and his doings, is given in line 102-114 & 730-757 in the poem). It's funny to think of, that the only (to my knowledge) surviving Anglo-Saxon poem, that has its story from the time BEFORE the Anglo-Saxon settlements in Britain, actually isn't a story about the Anglo-Saxon peoples but instead a story about the Danes, the Geats and the Frisians - I myself have this poem in all the 3 major Danish translations from this century, but it's the first time I see a film, that refers to Beowulf.
WARNING - DO NOT READ THIS NEXT PARAGRAF, IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE ABOUT REVEALING PLOT POINTS. From the title of the film and from the introduction on the videocover we are to believe, that the children are the villains - and they are - but the prime villain is actually the Bible-crazy character played by the director of the film, and what more is, the guy, we all throughout the film thought to be the "hero", is killed at the end by the director himself - now ain't that funny?!
Actually I'm convinced that everyone, including the children, had a good time making this film, and for most of the 20 children it has so far been an one time experience in movie making to participate in Beware: Children at Play. At least it seems, that only 1 of the children have been involved in movie making since.
But! - Is there anything anoying by this this film? Well some might say, that the religous references is a little to much, others might find the violence and the killings offensive, but the violence in this film is so improbable and unrealistic that you should only be able to see it from a humoristic point of view (but many people unfortunately lack this sense of humor). In comparison, some of the violence in a film like "La classe de neige" is much more disturbing (and for many viewers almost unbearable to watch) because its premisses is, that it could be true - and in some sadly cases is true. In "Funny Games" (1997) the violence is even more brutal, and the message of this film is, that the audience in a sense is responsible for the violence in films, simply because they watch these kind of films. A third kind of violence is, when the violence should be perceived as either a social critic or as some kind of artistic expression, and this type of violence is probably what you experience in a film like "El Topo". Well, if I should point 3 "bad" things about this film out, it would be: 1) the amateurish and annoying background music. 2) The very visible wires at the end of the film. 3) The difficulty of having children to play dead without breathe or swallow. - but this is only minor flaws, and I won't hesitate to give the film a vote of 10 out of 10. And by the way. One child DO survive the atrocities, so a sequel is possible - if anyone dares!!!
The plot could be interesting - but this thai production isn't!
22 July 1999
A story about the last mercenaries' last mission in the war in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon could be an intriguing plot, but this film is definitely NOT an international "5 star rated movie" as the video-cover "promise".
A group of thai-mercenaries, in the service for the americans, is signed to a mission of rescuing a south-vietnamese general held captured by the victorious vietcon-forces. But why on earth do they, after the escape from the vietnamese mainland, have to land on an island inhabited by lepers? After this, the rest of the film is a mindless bodycount show.
By the way. How did such a ridiculous (almost whimpering) person ever become a general?
And finally. This is definitely not a film about the americans in Vietnam. Their presence in the film is actually minimal, and when they do occur, they are NOT shown from their best sides.
A group of thai-mercenaries, in the service for the americans, is signed to a mission of rescuing a south-vietnamese general held captured by the victorious vietcon-forces. But why on earth do they, after the escape from the vietnamese mainland, have to land on an island inhabited by lepers? After this, the rest of the film is a mindless bodycount show.
By the way. How did such a ridiculous (almost whimpering) person ever become a general?
And finally. This is definitely not a film about the americans in Vietnam. Their presence in the film is actually minimal, and when they do occur, they are NOT shown from their best sides.
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