Darkly humorous and absurd, the latest from Andres Thomas Jensen and his ensemble also has a human side. The Last Viking plays at Manchester Film Festival 2026.
From the same gang who gave us the darkly silly yet touchingly human Men and Chicken and Riders of Justice comes The Last Viking, and it is very much in the same vein as its predecessors.
Director Anders Thomas Jensen has once again rounded up his friends – Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro and Lars Brygmann – for an absurd (and at times violent) tale of missing loot, mental health, absent fathers and personal secrets.
Taking the same tone as Jensen’s previous films, The Last Viking often provokes the audience into laughing out loud at things which probably shouldn’t be funny, but in context actually are. Most of the individuals are horrible to each other, people throw themselves out of moving cars and open windows, and the sound of bone-crushing blows is unavoidable.
But amid the mayhem and ridiculousness, the origins of some of the personal issues gradually come to light, and the film becomes remarkably and surprisingly touching.
Most of why it all works is in the strength of the cast. Not only are Lie Kass, Mikkelsen, Bro and Brygmann accomplished actors, they also clearly draw on their experience working together in various Danish film and television productions over the years, and interact so well. And this time around, it’s Mikkelsen’s turn to sport the obligatory terrible wig.
The Last Viking champions being different, and being tolerant of other’s differences, and is quite happy with accepting that people can be more than one person at a time in a variety of ways.
There are scenes which are not for the faint of heart, but if you enjoyed Jensen’s previous two films with his ensemble, it’s highly likely that this will also be a winner.
The Last Viking plays at Manchester Film Festival (19th – 29th March 2026).
Darkly humorous and absurd, the latest from Andres Thomas Jensen and his ensemble also has a human side. The Last Viking plays at Manchester Film Festival 2026.
From the same gang who gave us the darkly silly yet touchingly human Men and Chicken and Riders of Justice comes The Last Viking, and it is very much in the same vein as its predecessors.
Director Anders Thomas Jensen has once again rounded up his friends – Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro and Lars Brygmann – for an absurd (and at times violent) tale of missing loot, mental health, absent fathers and personal secrets.
Taking the same tone as Jensen’s previous films, The Last Viking often provokes the audience into laughing out loud at things which probably shouldn’t be funny, but in context actually are. Most of the individuals are horrible to each other, people throw themselves out of moving cars and open windows, and the sound of bone-crushing blows is unavoidable.
But amid the mayhem and ridiculousness, the origins of some of the personal issues gradually come to light, and the film becomes remarkably and surprisingly touching.
Most of why it all works is in the strength of the cast. Not only are Lie Kass, Mikkelsen, Bro and Brygmann accomplished actors, they also clearly draw on their experience working together in various Danish film and television productions over the years, and interact so well. And this time around, it’s Mikkelsen’s turn to sport the obligatory terrible wig.
The Last Viking champions being different, and being tolerant of other’s differences, and is quite happy with accepting that people can be more than one person at a time in a variety of ways.
There are scenes which are not for the faint of heart, but if you enjoyed Jensen’s previous two films with his ensemble, it’s highly likely that this will also be a winner.
The Last Viking plays at Manchester Film Festival (19th – 29th March 2026).
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