Nordic fantasy films that gets a sequel is a rare event, but the Danish Shamer’s Daughter franchise has achieved that with the first sequel now playing in Danish cinemas, and opening in Norway today.
Following the success of the original film in 2015 (it sold 225.000 tickets in Denmark alone and was compared to Harry Potter and Game of thrones for its high fantasy concept, after having been in development since 2004), The Shamer’s Daughter 2: The Serpent Gift opened theatrically in Denmark on January 24th this year. The film returns to Dina, a young woman who unwillingly inherited her mother’s ability to compel people to admit their most secret shame. She is leading a nomadic life in a Medieval world, and arrives to the Highlands with her family to escape the evil Drakan, who has taken reigns of Dunark. One day Dina meets a mysterious man who claims to be her father, and he his not just any man; he’s the Blackmaster Sezuan, who has the ability to make people see and feel things that are not really happening. Dina is warned about following him, but she cannot resist. When Dina’s brother Davin and a friend, Nico, is captured and held behind bars, Dina joins her father, who helps her find further supernatural abilities.
Teaser:
Jakob Oftebro, the Norwegian actor who speaks fluent Danish and is one of the main stars in the film, said to NTB: -The universe [in this film] has a fantastic story and lots of magic, set in a Nordic context. There have been many successful fantasy films lately, but few from the Nordic area. It’s a story about relations and identity that I think a lot of viewers will be able to identify with, [a story about] themes such as doing something reat, the right to be different and the importance of having someone to trust.
The film is still showing in some Danish cinemas, in spite of being met with mostly poor to mixed reviews in newspapers and in film & culture blogs when it launched in Denmark two months ago. JyllandsPosten and Politiken gave the film 2 of 6 stars, Filmpuls 2.5, while Filmskribenten, Nosferadio, Film & Tro, Scope, Playup, Kulturbunkeren, Ekstra Bladet and BT awarded the film 3 of 6 stars. Quite a few medias went the middle road; Ordet, Kinosaur, Kulturkupeen, Moovy, Nova, Cinemaonline, Soundvenue and Ekko reviewed the film to 4 of 6, but only Berlingske and the niche online paper Avisen.dk thought the film deserved 5 of 6 stars/points. Based on these reviews, The Shamer’s Daughter 2 enjoys an average rating of 3,6 of 6, or a 60% score among Danish critics. In Norway, Dagbladet and Barnevakten landed on 4 of 6, while P3 Filmpolitiet was more lukewarm with 3 of 6. User reviews average 4,5 of 6 by 858 users of distributor Nordisk Film, and a 6,8 score at IMDB, based on 52 votes.
The film will be released on DVD and BluRay in Germany on April 29th and in Denmark on June 6th.
Complete scene (in Danish):
https://www.facebook.com/SkammerensDatter/videos/743447156033134/
Film facts:
- Filmed in the Check Republic
- Featuring 200 extras
- Estimated budget of 36 million DKK
- Based on the 3rd instalment of Lene Kaaberbøl’s bestselling fantasy book series
Written by Gunnar Järvstad, Philip LaZebnik, Søren Frellesen and Astrid Øye, the 103 minute Danish-Norwegian coproduction (also with money coming from Sweden, Iceland and Nordic broadcasters) stars Jakob Oftebro, Rebekka E. Sattrup, Agnes Kittelsen, Dejan Cukic, Allan Hyde, Stina Ekblad, Mikkel Arndt, Søren Malling, Nicolas Bro. At the helm is Ask Hasselbalch, who previously directed the three Danish Antboy superhero films for children.
Complete scene (in Danish):
https://www.facebook.com/SkammerensDatter/videos/1777473352356973/
Behind the scenes (in Danish):
Danish trailer:
Trailer dubbed in German:
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