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      Villa Paranoia

      Released Mar 12, 2004 1h 50m Drama List
      Reviews 86% Audience Score 250+ Ratings Anna (Sonja Richter), a young and aspiring actress who has not had much success, offers to care for the father of Jorgen (Erik Clausen), who has been burdened with the responsibility. The father, Walentin (Frits Helmuth), is in a mostly comatose state, which makes him the perfect audience for Anna, who begins acting out her scenes in front of him. Gradually, Walentin shows signs of recovery -- but is this due to Anna's kindness, or is it possible that the old man is a pretty good actor himself? Read More Read Less

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      Audience Member Hvilken fremragende mÃ¥de for Frits Helmuth at slutte en fantastisk karriere. PÃ¥ vanlig Erik Clauden stil sjov, rørende og sørgelig. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Yet another solid Dutch flick. I'm not sure I've ever seen a bad one. It's pretty damn depressing though. All these weird and pathetic characters and a little mean stuff to animals. In a nutshell: a failing actress becomes caretaker for a presumed invalid. Invalid was a jerk in his younger years, and he had a son. Son grew up to become a pathetic man who owns a large chicken farm. As a child, the son had to watch while his father killed his pet chickens, then eat them. Wow. That's fucked up and terribly sad. Later, the son is trying to be successful with a woman. He gives her daughter a chick then proceeds to basically rape the mother. The daughter finds out and throws the chick against the wall. Wow. That's fucked up and terribly sad. In the end, the failed actress gets the invalid to come out of his shell in a reenactment he might have had with his suicidal wife and the real father of his son. This is like a Dutch indie flick. From the start, I thought I might not be able to finish it. But as per usual, pretty solid storytelling and great acting, even in something like this. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member Jorgen is burdened by his father, Valentin, an old man who neither talks nor moves and is leading something hard to be called a life at his villa. The nurses come and go as Valentin sits in his chair, never moving, never reacting. When Anna (Sonja Richter), a young unemployed actress, is hired to care for Walentin (Frits Helmuth), a speechless and motionless invalid, she finally has the audience she's been craving. But as Anna's care (and long-winded monologues) begin reviving the old man, he reveals a far less feeble mind than he's been pretending to have -- and Anna will have to stop Walentin's son (writer-director Erik Clausen) from doing something drastic. Jorgen is burdened by his father, Valentin, an old man who neither talks nor moves and is leading something hard to be called a life at his villa. The nurses come and go as Valentin sits in his chair, never moving, never reacting. Anna is a 24-year-old unemployed actress who, to get a paycheck, participates in a ridiculous commercial, where she meets Jørgen, who offers her a room at his father's villa to look after Valentin. She takes the job and turns out to be the only person able to deal with this old, miserable man. Valentin's mental faculties are not always on an even keel, yet he serves as an audience for the roles Anna didn't get at auditions, and step-by-step, she starts to bring him back to life. But it turns out that Valentin isn't quite as feeble as he has led everyone to believe, and Anna must call upon her acting skills to find out what he is hiding before Jørgen takes more drastic measures. A satire, psychological drama and comedy rolled into one, director Erik Clausen's Villa Paranoia adeptly draws upon rich characters, who demonstrate the values and strength of the human heart, to create a portrait of Denmark today. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member plucky and nuanced. a fantastic movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a magnificent view on the human nature and on the meaning of life. It talks about death, lies, being old, being alone and many other things. Sonja Richter is a great actress and I think she gave a wonderful performance in Villa paranoia. It's a must see. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Subtle and engaging family drama that involves a dying father, his thespian caretaker, and his intimacy-challenged, chicken-raising son. The storyline seems uniquely Danish, but its brilliant, Moliere-quoting denouement has rings of Hamlet to it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Villa Paranoia

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Anna (Sonja Richter), a young and aspiring actress who has not had much success, offers to care for the father of Jorgen (Erik Clausen), who has been burdened with the responsibility. The father, Walentin (Frits Helmuth), is in a mostly comatose state, which makes him the perfect audience for Anna, who begins acting out her scenes in front of him. Gradually, Walentin shows signs of recovery -- but is this due to Anna's kindness, or is it possible that the old man is a pretty good actor himself?
      Director
      Erik Clausen
      Producer
      Peter Ingemann
      Screenwriter
      Erik Clausen
      Production Co
      Clausen Film Aps
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Danish
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Mar 12, 2004, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jun 18, 2016
      Runtime
      1h 50m
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