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Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Paprika Steen, Nicolas Bro ... see more see more... , Ole Thestrup , Gyrd Løfqvist , Ali Kazim

An overly-optimistic preacher with a penchant for taking in lost causes to help around his remote church finds his rose-tinted view of the world challenged by a psychotic neo-Nazi he is trying to refo... read more read more...rm in this jet black comedy from Green Butchers screenwriter/director Anders Thomas Jensen. Vicar Ivan (Mads Mikkelsen) prides himself on his efforts to help those in need by offering them a variety of odd jobs around the church and spreading the good word. After "adopting" a violent Saudi immigrant and a drunken tennis pro with a history of sexual assault, Ivan is approached by Adam (Ulrich Thomsen) -- a decidedly non-reformed neo-Nazi planning to lie low in the countryside for a spell before returning to the city to once again wreak havoc. When Ivan inquires as to what his new charge's goal will be during his stay in the countryside, the snide hooligan sarcastically states that he would like to bake a cake -- a response which prompts the gullible Ivan to place him in charge of the church's cherished apple tree. As ravens immediately descend upon the tree, Ivan concludes that Satan is attempting to prevent Adam from realizing his true potential. Meanwhile, Adam takes it upon himself to give the cheery clergyman a crash course in the harsh realities of life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

90% liked it

7,794 ratings

Critics

69% liked it

35 critics

R, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Anders Thomas Jensen

Release Date: March 16, 2007

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DVD Release Date: January 8, 2008

Stats: 684 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (684)

  • lewiskendell
    January 29, 2011
    lewiskendell
    "Let's stop with the accusations. It was an old cat. He just happened to fall down while we were shooting."

    There are dark comedies. There are pitch black comedies. And then, there's Adam's Apples.

    If you want to watch a movie that takes some of the most depressing, horrible th... read moreings you can think of, and makes them absolutely hilarious, this is the movie for you.

    I won't spoil much of the story, as watching what unexpectedly happens throughout is one of the pleasures of the movie. It begins with a priest named Ivan driving an unrepentant neo-Nazi named Adam from prison to the church where he will be performing his community service. Ivan gives Adam the choice of one goal to set for himself to complete, before he leaves. Ivan, completely uncaring, chooses to make an apple pie from the apple tree outside the church, once they are ripe.

    From there, things quickly get out of hand. Let's just say that the sensitive need not apply.

    I recommend Adam's Apples to people with a dark sense of humor, who are fine with laughing at incredibly inappropriate (yet incredibly amusing) things. This movie was made for people like you and me.

    I'm not referring to low-brow humor. This is a different animal. An utterly unique (as far as my experience goes), intelligent comedy that ultimately brings sunshine forth from some of the darkest clouds you've ever seen (both figuratively and literally).
  • flixsterman
    May 10, 2010
    flixsterman
    On the one hand we criticize films for conforming or being unimaginative, but when something totally original comes along we're not quite sure how to take it. Such is the case with Adam's Apples. I had to watch it twice. First to be repulsed by it's violence and cynicis... read morem, then once again to be open to it's dark humor and wonderful bizarreness. Freakishly delightful.
  • ironclad1609
    September 23, 2008
    ironclad1609
    The idea of sending a neo-Nazi into community service with a priest is pretty fantastic stuff for a mix of comedy and drama. And for the first half this Danish film makes good use of a handful of pretty funny situations, thanks to the colliding characters of the ex-con and the ju... read morest as crazy priest and regular signs of a pretty sick sense of humor. Some parts around the middle maybe turned a bit too bizarre, dramatic and unbelievable, but the great actors make up for it and by the time of the solution the film is back on track. Worth seeing.
  • gator681
    April 7, 2009
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Adam's Apples," Adam(Ulrich Thomsen), a neo-Nazi, has just been released from prison into the care of Ivan(Mads Mikkelsen), a reverend who runs a halfway house for released convicts. So good is he at his job that two of his former charges, Gunnar(Nicolas... read more Bro) and Khalid(Ali Kazim), have stuck around long after their terms were over to help out around the church. As far as Adam goes, Ivan asks him what goal he would like to aim for. To which, he replies that he would like to be able to bake an apple pie in a few months. So Ivan puts him in charge of taking care of the apple trees on the property. The local crows of course have different ideas...[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]The bad news about "Adam's Apples" is that five minutes in I knew exactly how the movie was going to end. The good news is that it is so delightfully warped that hardly any other part was predictable at all. In general, the movie fails to keep to any preconceived ideas as to who these characters might be, especially Ivan. In this fable about sanity and faith, what is important for Ivan is the final destination, not necessarily the route taken.[/font]
  • lesleyanorton
    May 8, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    Unexpected, very dark , very funny and very Danish film from Anders Thomas Jensen about the battle between good and evil, starring a newly released neo-Nazi ex-con who's sent to live with a odd set of characters;, Ivan the delusional priest,Gunnar the overweight kleptomaniac drun... read morek ex-tennis player, Khalid the terrorist and Sarah the ambivalent mother-to-be. Excellent film, full of surprises, I loved it.

    From REBEL22's favourites list.
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  • mvieaddict
    April 25, 2009
    mvieaddict
    This movie had so many deep meaning and points of interests, it is a simple tale of hope, meaning of life and personalities, I liked Mads Mikkelsen's acting, it blew me away, and the plot, if you aren't too sensitive to black humor, I recommend you to watch Adam's Apples. I'd lik... read moree to say that I was not used to Danish humor, and sometimes I did not understood some scenes, and that made me feel bad. Concept of the movie revolves around themes like religion, mental dis-behavior and good vs. evil.
    Summary, it was just perfect!
  • alienmindtrick
    April 10, 2010
    alienmindtrick
    This movie is so fucking bizarre that I'm almost at a loss of words to describe it. It's half 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', half 'The Shining', and half (?) Hanna-Barbera cartoon. But in reality, it's none of those things at all. It's D-A-N-I-S-H. (Did you see me n... read moreod and wink when I said that?) Yep, it's Danish. This movie was made by the same people who terrified England a thousand years ago, whose language morphed over time into what we now know as English, and who we named that silly pastry after. Say it with me "Day'-nish". Right. The story goes like this: A neo-Nazi skinhead gets out of prison and is put in the care of a man who MAY, or may NOT, be a priest, but who is certifiably nuts, and has a brain tumor the size of a volleyball. Said priest also tends to an Arab terrorist, a former tennis star, and his son, who's confined to a wheelchair and never once speaks or moves during the entire film. Then, much silliness happens followed by more, and so forth, until God gets angry, blows up the cooker (stove), causes lightning to strike the plot-device-apple-tree, forces the former tennis star to rape a drunk woman whose role in the film serves no purpose, and makes the skinhead's other skinhead buddies shoot the priest in the head (but who later wakes up and walks out of the hospital having only the aforementioned brain tumor shot out of his skull). AND, the only song other than a hymn in the ENTIRE film is....a BeeGees song. And THAT'S the weird part. Follow me? 'Cause if you did, you'll get this movie just fine. I liked it!
  • jpnittolo415
    January 29, 2010
    jpnittolo415
    This film is also extremely funny but also dark its definetly got its serious sequences aswell which is why i love the director Anders just cause hes got so many genre elements that always work together. Smoke a blunt and get readyy to laugh
  • alexb1789
    February 11, 2008
    alexb1789
    Darkly humorous story with a conclusion that is a bit more idealistic than realistic. Fun watch with good characters none the less.

View All Adam's Apples (Adams æbler) Reviews

Critic Reviews

G. Allen Johnson
May 11, 2007
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

This oddball story is more than a one-joke concept. Its characters are sometimes cruel, sometimes sweet, but always recognizably human. Full Review

Wesley Morris
April 13, 2007
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Jensen is an accomplished screenwriter with a knack for developing people amid comic nonsense. Full Review

Sam Adams
April 12, 2007
Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times

The movie is all surface, loudly clamoring for attention and then losing its voice. Full Review

Frank Scheck
April 10, 2007
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

Its screenplay attempts to blend outrageous black humor with biblical allegory in an ultimately unsuccessful fashion.

Matt Zoller Seitz
March 16, 2007
Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times

Smart-aleck comedy and spirituality aren't incompatible, but in Adam's Apples they cancel each other out.

V.A. Musetto
March 16, 2007
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

I'm sure there's a decent black comedy in the material, but Adam's Apples, by Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen, isn't it. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
March 16, 2007
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

Designed to elicit as many gasps as laughs, Anders Thomas Jensen's pitch-black comedy offers an audaciously skewed take on good vs. evil. Full Review

Jan Stuart
March 15, 2007
Jan Stuart, Newsday

For all its roughhouse antics, Adam's Apples is almost improbably sweet: a rude comedy that the devout and heathen alike can hold to their breasts. Full Review

Ed Gonzalez
March 13, 2007
Ed Gonzalez, Village Voice

A noxious, flippant mix of snark and biblical allegory. Full Review

Urban Cinefile Critics
June 18, 2008
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile

Winner of 14 different awards, it comes from the gifted Anders Thomas Jensen, who excels in black comedy Full Review

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