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Contemporary Scandinavian Art Cinema and Screen Cultures in Transition
  • ISSN: 2042-7891
  • E-ISSN: 2042-7905

Abstract

Critics tend to consider art cinema a serious and challenging form of cinema. Contemporary Nordic art cinema nevertheless includes many films by internationally recognized art film directors that use (dark) comedy as an expressive mode. The article examines the diverse ways that art cinema can merge with comedy. After outlining the concept of art cinema, emphasizing the films’ challenging style, ambiguity and gravity, I present approaches to humour, demonstrating how art film comedy challenges several premises of comedy. Analyses of three films, Lars von Trier’s (2006), Ruben Östlund’s (2014) and Grímur Hákonarson’s (2015), highlight their comic aspects, but illustrate that they are comic in varying, ambiguous and challenging ways that violate genre expectations.

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2024-02-02
2026-04-14

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