Enigmatic NUUK

Posted on October 7, 2019

Alice Dixson (Elaisa Svendsen) and Aga Muhlach (Mark Alvarez). Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

Written by

Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista

From the very beginning Mark Alvarez (Aga Muhlach) did everything the right way. He was able to cook for Elaisa Svendsen (Alice Dixson). He even fixed up her broken window. All that he said was right and perfect for the situation. He was so faultless that he seemed too good to be true. She even met him just at the time when her life seemed to fall apart.

So the mystery becomes is he even real? This world is already so dominated by social media. If someone isn’t in the photo, or doesn’t have photos of himself, doesn’t have an instagram or fb account, does that person really exist? For any Filipino who lives abroad, you cannot get more isolated and cold than Nuuk, a city in Greenland. Even for the Danish, it’s a remote place. Why wouldn’t your mind create the perfect person, who fulfills all your needs, just to survive?

NUUK is a very rare psychological thriller starring Aga Muhlach and Alice Dixson. It’s the first Filipino film set in Greenland. Yes, that Greenland President Trump offered to buy from Denmark. NUUK goes against the recent tide of romcoms and sticks out intelligently by dealing with very relevant issues of depression, mental disease, alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide. One might argue it’s actually about the negative effects of the OFW phenomenon.

Aga Muhlach (Mark Alvarez). Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

Viewers will be talking about the story, the details long after they’ve left the theater. There’s a strong whodunit element where you have to figure things out. It’s a well devised and thrilling story weaved by writer director Veronica Velasco not to forget screenwriters: Ailleen Kessop and Jinky Laurel with Emmanuel dela Cruz as story consultant.

2nd from left: Danish Amb Grete Sillasen, with from left: Shang Plaza GM & EVP Lala Fojas, Alice Dixson, Director Veronika Velasco. Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019. Photo by Jude Bautista

NUUK is the daring brainchild of producer Erwin Blanco. Daring is the word to describe their having overcome the incredible logistical challenges of shooting in an extremely cold (minus-40 degrees Celsius) and remote place. IF it weren’t for the support of kababayans such as Mercedita Ligara-Uypala, this masterpiece would not have been produced.

You can watch NUUK and many other titles for free in the 5^th Danish Film Festival running from October 9-13, 2019 at RED CARPET Cinemas in Shang Rila Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong. The fest is organized by the Embassy of Denmark in partnership with Shang Rila Plaza Mall and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

from left: Danish Amb Grete Sillasen, NUUK Producer Erwin Blanco and Shang Plaza GM & EVP Lala Fojas. Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.Photo by Jude Bautista

Danish Cinema

Denmark is a powerhouse in cinema having world-renowned directors and actors. Namely Lars Von Trier who started the cinema verite movement eschewing grand productions, sets in favor of a more ‘truthful’ approach to film making. Our very own Brillante Mendoza’s style is classified as an example of cinemaverite.

NUUK is a city with stunning vistas and is also a territory of Denmark. Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

Danish actors like Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Coster Waldau have long established themselves in Hollywood. Waldau played Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones. Mads Mikkelsen is the villain in Bond film CASINO ROYALE and is the lead in TV series HANNIBAL.

Mikkelsen played Dr. Johann Friedrich Struensee in the Danish epic A ROYAL AFFAIRwith (a young) Alicia Vikander that was also screened in Shang Plaza Mall in 2013 via Cine Europa. Vikander soon had breakout roles after that with, ANNA KARENINA, DANISH GIRL, which she won an Oscar for, the heart-rending THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS (with Michael Fassbender) and TOMB RAIDER.

Watch A FORTUNATE MAN and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

ORDET, CIRCLEEN COCO AND THE WILD RHINOCEROS

There are no less than 10 films from Denmark you can watch for free including the very intriguing ORDET. Shot in black and white, a son of a farmer believes he is the living manifestation of Jesus Christ. ORDET won Best Foreign language film from the Golden Globes. Other titles include coming of age action adventure I AM WILLIAM, animated feature CIRCLEEN COCO AND THE WILD RHINOCEROS and many more. For full list of movies, schedules and other inquiries call 8-370-2500 Loc. 597 or visit www.facebook.com/shangrilaplazaofficialfanpage

Follow the Shang on Instagram @shangrilaplazaofficial @shangredcarpet

Watch CIRCLEEN COCO AND THE WILD RHINOCEROS and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019. (10)

Aga, THE Face of his generation

For Pinoys there has never been amore cherubic face than Aga Muhlach. He was a teen idol and evolved into a true thespian. So who else could play the mythical, perfect and faultless ideal of a man than Aga? The nurturing side has also been helped by his recent endorsements for Selecta Ice Cream and Jollibee. Through years of TV commercials he’s always seen feeding his now grown up kids who have entered showbiz as well.

Aga rolled the dice with this project by also being executive producer. The risk has paid off quite well in spite of the challenges. As said earlier the story is able to give him a more complex character to play. If he didn’t deliberately bank roll a project like this, he may not be able to find a role that would allow him to exhibit all his skills as an actor.

Aga Muhlach (Mark Alvarez). Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

Romantic comedies, dramas are the usual fare for the bigger outfits and networks. Who would risk making a psychological thriller set in the bleak, backdrop of Greenland? Making audiences think and figure out, what really happened and what’s real, isn’t a recipe for a blockbuster hit. Critics and award giving bodies would most probably appreciate the many subtleties of his and Alice Dixson’s performance here.

Alice Dixson (Elaisa Svendsen); Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

Alice Dixson’s Renaissance

This is the second pairing for Aga Muhlach and Alice Dixson. They were also cast as lovers in 1992: SINUNGALING MONG PUSO. While Aga’s character Mark seems to have it together, Alice’s role in Elaisa Svendsson can be seen as tragic. She’s having a hard time with the loss of her husband and has turned to alcohol and drugs more and more. Each character in this film is struggling with some darkness in their nature. That’s the ingenuity in the writing, we find out what motivates each character as viewers little by little.

Alice recently had resurgence in her career after showing off her curves in FHM she was then picked up by TV5 as one of their stars. Pinoy viewers, this year had just seen her in ANG PROBINSYANO. NUUK was a rare opportunity to showcase her acting mettle. The believability of her conflict with her onscreen son Karl played by Uljameq Fleischer was critical to the success of the film.

Uljameq Fleischer (Karl); Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

Uljameq Fleischer

Director Ronnie Velasco discovered this young talent as a theater actor in Nuuk. Ronnie was very impressed by the wealth of creativity in the city. There were many wall-sized murals, art centers. There’s a strong and conscious effort in keeping the indigenous cultures and traditions alive. In spite of this there’s no doubt that modern society is changing how people live in Nuuk.

Uljameq Fleischer (Karl); Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

Fleischer’s character in Karl is representative of the native population struggling to cope. There’s a rise in the suicide rates among the youth, according to the film the highest in the world. (There’s also an alarming rise in suicides for that age group here, Japan and HK etc) Although Karl does not want to take his own life, he was very much affected by the suicide of a close friend.

This story proves we’re only human to fall into alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide. The real challenge is how we cope with it and how our loved ones help us out of them.

from left: Uljameq Fleischer (Karl),Aga Muhlach (Mark Alvarez) and Alice Dixson (Elaisa Svendsen). Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019. (17)

center: Danish Amb Grete Sillasen with from left Alice Dixson and TV5 reporter MJ Marfori. Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.Photo by Jude Bautista

Watch TEAM HURRICANE and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

SCREENING SCHEDULE

Date	Time	Film
9 October Wednesday	7:30 pm	Nuuk
10 October Thursday	2:30 pm	I Am William
	4:30 pm	Darling
	6:40 pm	The Day Will Come
	9:00 pm	A Fortunate Man
11 October Friday	2:40 pm	Team Hurricane
	4:50 pm	The Charmer
	7:00pm	Across the Waters
	9:00 pm	A Fortunate Man
12 October Saturday	2:00 pm	Ordet
	4:30 pm	Nuuk
	7:00 pm	Darling
	9:00 pm	I Am William
13 October Sunday	2:45 pm	Circleen, Coco and the Wild Rhinoceros
	4:20 pm	Team Hurricane
	6:30 pm	Nuuk
	9:00 pm	Across the Waters

Watch I AM WILLIAM and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019. (20)

WordPress:

http://judebsports.wordpress.com/ , http://judebfood.wordpress.com/ , http://judebphoto.wordpress.com/ , http://judebgallery.wordpress.com/ , /

Elaine Yu (Tessa); Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

tumblr:

http://judebautista.tumblr.com/

Amisuna Berthelsen (Andy); Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019. (24)

flickr:

Aga Muhlach (Mark Alvarez); Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

http://judebautista.tumblr.com/

Aga Muhlach (Mark Alvarez); Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

WordPress:

http://judebsports.wordpress.com/ , http://judebfood.wordpress.com/ , http://judebphoto.wordpress.com/ , http://judebgallery.wordpress.com/ , /

Watch DARLING and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

WordPress:

http://judebsports.wordpress.com/ , http://judebfood.wordpress.com/ , http://judebphoto.wordpress.com/ , http://judebgallery.wordpress.com/ , /

Aga Muhlach (Mark Alvarez); Watch NUUK and many other titles for free at the 5th Danish Film Festival, RED CARPET Cinemas, Shang Rila Plaza Mall from October 9-13, 2019.

WordPress:

http://judebsports.wordpress.com/ , http://judebfood.wordpress.com/ , http://judebphoto.wordpress.com/ , http://judebgallery.wordpress.com/ , /