Archive of films Jackpot / Arme Riddere

Norway
2011, 90 min

Section: Variety's Ten Euro Directors to Watch
Year: 2012

Tightly scripted by helmer Martens from a Jo Nesbø story, this blackly comic caper about four dodgy types who must share a multimillion kronor jackpot unspools at a rollicking pace. It’s a tale of dishonor among thieves that tips its hat to the Coen brothers’ Fargo and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

Synopsis

Tightly scripted by helmer Magnus Martens from a Jo Nesbø story, this blackly comic caper unspools at a rollicking pace. Opening with a bang and filled with jaw-dropping twists, the story alternates between the investigation of a messy crime scene at stripper bar Pink Heaven and flashbacks showing how witness/suspect Oscar wound up there, bloody and terrified, beneath a fat woman’s corpse. In a small town in Norway, near the Swedish border, Oscar supervises troublesome ex-cons as they produce artificial Christmas trees. When Oscar joins three of his charges in a soccer betting pool, the quartet defies the odds and winds up with a winning ticket. But given the personalities involved, it stands to reason that the multimillion-kronor payout won’t be split four ways, and that the factory’s wood chipper and nail gun will be put to nefarious use.

About the director

Magnus Martens (b. 1973, Stord, Norway) has devoted himself to comedy ever since graduating from the London Film School (1993-96). Beyond a career making commercials (for which he is one of Norway’s best established directors and screenwriters), he also writes and directs for television. Having developed a knack for a variety of comic sensibilities over the years, he has honed a unique, well-defined style. His short films and his feature debut United (2003) have been successful with domestic audiences and at international festivals. The Coen-esque movie Jackpot, based on an original story idea by Martens’s renowned and prolific countryman Jo Nesbø, is his third feature film.

Contacts

Norwegian Film Institute
Box 482 Sentrum, 0105, Oslo
Norway
Tel: +47 224 745 00
Fax: +47 224 745 97
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.nfi.no

TrustNordisk
Filmbyen 22, 2650, Hvidovre
Denmark
Tel: +45 368 687 88
Fax: +45 367 744 48
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.trustnordisk.com

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Variety's Ten Euro Directors to Watch

Director:	Magnus Martens
Screenplay:	Magnus Martens
Dir. of Photography:	Trond Høines
Music:	Magnus Beite
Editor:	Jon Endre Mørk
Producer:	Are Heidenstrøm, Martin Sundland
Production:	Fantefilm
Cast:	Mads Ousdal, Henrik Mestad, Kyrre Hellum, Fridtjov Såheim
Contact:	Norwegian Film Institute , TrustNordisk

Guests

Stine Oppegaard

Film Institution Rep.

Magnus Martens

Film Director

Knut Skinnarmo

Film Institution Rep., Film Institution Rep.

Silje Nikoline Glimsdal

Sales Agent