PLOT: This black comedy focuses on a pair of struggling butchers who have just opened shop in Denmark. But they stumble upon a prime cut that everyone goes wild over: That's right, human flesh. Something's 'brauten in the state of Denmark ...
The Green Butchers gives new meaning to the phrase "eating Danish."
This blackest of black comedies features the heartwarming tale of a pair of struggling butchers who stumble upon a new cut of meat that the hungry citizens of their Danish town go crazy over: Human flesh. Served in a delicious marinade, of course.
Much of the film is told in a completely deadpan manner as our two heroes -- uptight, insecure Svend (Mads Mikkelsen) and brooding, troubled Bjarne (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) -- grapple not only with the horror of their situation, but also their lousy personal lives. Their first victim, an electrician, accidentally froze to death inside their meat locker, and the only reason he was served up as "chicky wickies" was because Svend wanted to take revenge on his odious former boss, who'd stopped by to pick up some meat for a party.
But word of the new meat spreads fast and soon people are lining up at Svend's butcher shop to sample the chicky wickies. Svend -- who looks like a ghoul with his gaunt face and sunken eyes -- gets caught up in the glow of being loved for the first time in his life, and soon he's happily locking people up in his freezer so that he'll have a fresh supply of mystery meat.
Meanwhile, Bjarne finds himself drawn into Svend's web: He can't deny that the success of the butcher shop has helped him finally meet a girl he likes -- she works at a funeral parlour -- after the death of his wife seven years ago in a tragic car accident. So he finds himself grudgingly butchering up the bodies Svend collects, although he knows it's crazy.
Still, his life is thrown for a further loop when his stuffed-giraffe-toting, mentally challenged twin brother Eigil (also played by Kaas) -- whom he hates -- awakens from a coma.
Does all of this sound weird? That's the beauty of The Green Butchers: It is such a strange movie, and the characters are all very peculiar -- Svend is a sweaty mass of neuroses, Bjarne tends to kick people he dislikes and collects animal skeletons -- but such is the strength of the very funny screenplay and acting that you end up caring about people who are essentially behaving like psychopaths. That's because the movie isn't just about the cannibalism -- above all, it's about the characters and how they sort out their lives. The cannibalism is, shall we say, a garnish to the main course.
The Green Butchers isn't for all tastes, but it's well worth digging into -- if you've got the stomach for it.
(This film is rated 14-A)
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