If you’ve watched a standout Danish film over the past two decades, chances are Anders Thomas Jensen had a hand in it. The prolific screenwriter and director is back in the spotlight at the 2025 Venice Film Festival with The Last Viking, his latest genre-blending dramedy that brings together Mads Mikkelsen, Norse mythology, Beatles vs. ABBA, and a sharp critique of modern identity politics.
Jensen’s creative legacy is hard to miss. From co-writing Oscar-winning dramas with Susanne Bier — like In a Better World (2010), Brothers (2004), and After the Wedding (2006) — to penning scripts for Nicolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land and Kristian Levring’s The King is Alive, Jensen’s fingerprint is on some of Denmark’s most acclaimed cinema.
As a director, he’s known for offbeat dark comedies. His debut Flickering Lights (2000) follows bumbling criminals who stumble into running a country inn. In The Green Butchers (2003), Jensen dives into macabre hilarity, with Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas turning human meat into a culinary sensation. Adam’s Apples (2005) turns theological debate into absurd comedy with a neo-Nazi, a priest, and divine fruit. Then came Men & Chicken (2015), where five dysfunctional brothers uncover their father’s twisted scientific past. Riders of Justice (2020) brought everything full circle — a philosophical revenge thriller with Mikkelsen as a soldier unraveling the randomness of fate through violence and probability theory.
Now, The Last Viking pushes boundaries once again. Though plot details remain under wraps, Jensen promises a wild mix of ancient Viking tropes with modern social commentary. “It’s about how we construct our identities today — what’s real and what’s just roleplay,” Jensen teases. The film also finds humor in musical allegiances, as characters clash over cultural icons like the Beatles and ABBA.
Mikkelsen, Jensen’s longtime collaborator, returns in the lead, anchoring the absurdity with emotional gravitas. Their creative synergy continues to generate stories that are both hilariously surreal and deeply human.
And where does Jensen land on the Beatles vs. ABBA debate? “ABBA, no contest,” he laughs. “They’re pure drama disguised as pop.”
With The Last Viking, Jensen reaffirms his position as Denmark’s master of mixing the profound with the absurd — and proves once again that cinema can be both funny and fearless.
