maitrequa ROUEN PRIZES AND THE TRIUMPH OF "VILLA PARANOIA" The favorite film of the general public, actually more important than the jury prize, was Erik Clausen's brilliant bittersweet dramatic comedy, "Villa Paranoia", which was also selected by the European Youth Jury indicative of its appeal to cinephiles of all ages. The following day director-actor Clausen traveled to the remote Town of MAMERS, Pays de Loire, for a provincial festival of new European cinema, where "Villa Paranoia" picked up three more prizes -- Best film, Professional Jury; Best Film, Audience prize; and Best film of another youth jury composed of "lycéens", French high school students. Five prizes in a single weekend -- not a bad scoop for a film from a small country with unknown actors. In addition, "Villa" was awarded the Grand Prix, the MAVERICK SPIRIT AWARD, at San Jose, California, just a week ago, by distinguished British actor Sir Ben Kingsley ("Ghandi"), making for a grand total of six prizes in a single week. If Lars van Trier has put Denmark on the offbeat-oddball Dogma Cinematic map in recent years, there is now a good chance that Veteran Maverick Erik Clausen (62) and his capable crew of actors will soon show the world that Denmark has more to offer than dogmatic drivel, which is to say, a mass audience pleaser for young and old alike. Moreover, the female lead of his film, Sonja Richter, has such a magical screen presence that, with a little more exposure, she stands a good chance of becoming the next international Scandinavian Diva. For the record, "Villa Paranoia" is a fiction film, written, directed and acted in by Mr. Clausen, and employing certain motifs from Moliere's "The Imaginary Invalid". Anna (Richter), an ambitious young actress, has lost a deeply coveted role in the Moliere play and, reduced to making an utterly stupid TV chicken commercial, is on the verge of suicide. However, Jorgen (Clausen) who runs a massive chicken farm sponsoring the spot, offers her a job with room and board taking care of his cantankerous, senile, wheel-chair ridden father, Walentin, who has not spoken a word since his wife Stella committed suicide years before. Anna is the only one who eventually finds a way of communicating with the hostile silent old grouch -- and moreover, discovers that he has been faking deafness and immobility all these years -- a living "Malade Imaginaire". This will lead to her playing the greatest role of her own life in order to uncover the dark secret which led to Walentin's total withdrawal from life and reality. Villa "Paradise-Paranoia", true to the Moliere tradition from which it is partially derived, is a heartwarming, multi-layered, serial-comic psycho-drama that literally has something for everybody and only needs proper placement to attain the kind of general international outreach it richly deserves. Alex Deleon, Paris / 21 MARCH, 2005

se7en47 It seems as if filmmakers in Denmark can only one type of film over and over. Isn't this obvious to anyone else? And another thing - if you're going to tell a story like Villa Paranoia, which has been told time and time again, you had better make sure you do it in an original way. Unfortunately it is not. I had to fight to keep my eyes open. Luckily the guy next to me was snoring, so that helped.There isn't even any payoff after sitting through this overlong piece of fiction. The characters are written as boring clichés with minimal and/or predictable arch (if any) and never once do they do or say anything original. The best actor in the film doesn't even speak until 3/4 of the way through. And I can't understand why Eric Clausen would ever choose Søren from Big Brother to play one the main characters. That's right, I said Big Brother, like in the TV show. I mean, come on, aren't there hundreds of educated actors in Denmark who are starving for work? Well, at least it wasn't shot on DV like most Danish films (It was shot on the new Sony IMX). So if nothing else, the picture quality was good and the cinematography was well done. But this was a "wait for video" film for sure. I guess I should have figured that much out when I walked into the theater and immediately noticed I was the only one in there under 60.

Jon Lange Well, for starters, this actually was THE most elegant Clausen film to this date.The man's always got a sense for characters with a slice of humor to them, but I think that he in this movie adds a dimension unparrallel to anything he's made earlier. His work has - in very black n' white words - been accepted by the broad but not that critical audience, and we've always appreciated his sense of humor and his ability to mix it with human problems and a distinct way of letting the audience know what he needs to say.In "Villa Paranoia, however, for the first time, he surprises with an unseen wisdom and a respect for the minorities. Not only the ethnic but also the normal people you tend to forget. Set in Jutland - in 'the country' - it deals with the everlasting issue of lack of love, but in a close and at times brutal way that keeps you looking and keeps you focused. And on top of that, he himself manages to play a b******d! A true b*****d, who wants the right thing but has no clue how to get there, and people therefore suffer. Bitterly. I'd have to say it's one of the best movies I've seen this year and I'm greatly anticipating his next.

Splitten A typical Clausen film, but then again not typical. Clausen writes, directs and play one of the leading roles. This is really a great film about normal people living normal lives trying to make the best of it. The 4 primary actors were fantastic.Fritz Helmut was convincing. You believe that he really is sick.Sonja Richter plays a nurse that really is an actor, but it turns out that she is the best nurse to take care of the old man.Everybody has problems and those who nobody believes in ends up being happy. But nothing good comes easy, they have to fight to win their life and love.