Adams Äpfel - Gott ist auf meiner Seite (Adam's Apples, Adams Æbler)
Germany/Denmark 2005

Opening 31 Aug 2006

Directed by: Anders Thomas Jensen
Writing credits: Anders Thomas Jensen
Principal actors: Nicolas Bro, Tomas Villum Jensen, Ali Kazim, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Gyrd Løfqvist

A neo-Nazi named Adam (Ulrich Thomsen) must fulfill his community service duty at the parish of Pastor Ivan (Mads Mikkelsen). On Adam’s first day of service, Pastor Ivan gives Adam the task of caring for the famous old apple tree that shades part of the church grounds. Pastor Ivan is thrilled to find out that one of Adam’s skills was baking, so he suggests to Adam that he bake a cake from the next apple harvest. A series of horrific events plague the tree under Adam’s care and cause him to blame God for the tragedy. Pastor Ivan, on the other hand, blames the Devil. The collision of these two beliefs will take us on a roller coaster of a story that brings about an amazing surprise discovery.

This film by Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen was inspired by the book of Job in the Bible. Jensen’s hilarious accounting of such a tragic, real-life story was brilliantly written and performed. It’s total comic relief with class! This is a must-see film that you will never forget nor tire of viewing because of its creative style and integrity. It is not a surprise that the TV Movie Audience Award endowed EUR 5,000 to Jensen for his work on Adam’s Apples. This was my favorite film pick of the 2005 Filmfest Hamburg. (Karen Pecota)