Danish producer Kim Magnuson has been Oscar nominated four times for helping to create inventive live action shorts for grownups. In the most recently Oscar nominated work (2007)from director Soren Pilmark, a dysfunctional family is reunited under rather unorthodox and impromptu circumstances. As the film opens, we meet overstressed businessman Jess (Steen Stig Lommer) who arrives at his father’s retirement home, after being told that his father is “missing,” only to discover minutes later that the elder man (Helmer played by Per Palleson) has locked himself into the large wardrobe closet of his room and refuses to exit. Meanwhile, the son whose cell phone keeps ringing throughout the comedic ordeal tries to play double duty conducting both the family business he’s inherited from Helmer as his dad yells out his two cents along with tending to the unusual family business at hand when his free spirited sister (Ditte Hansen) and her daughter arrive. Funny and relatable to boomer audiences with aging parents, although as one critic noted that it does feel a bit like the start of a feature length work and we do wish we had more back-story. However, it’s amusing and filled with a surprising twist turning the situation from depressing to downright comical once the wardrobe doors are opened. Imported from Denmark, Helmer and Son is available for downloadable viewing on iTunes.
Helmer and Son
