The Ambulance (2005)

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Nice effects though.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This film is made on a concept that it's done after certain set of rules, just like the dogma rules was back in the nineties. The rules of the ride has been described as: The entire film must take place in only one location; an ambulance, the story has to be shot in real time and there should be only 4 persons we get to know.If this is right, then there is a couple of minor breaches of the rules, but never mind. This is a psychological thriller about two brothers which robs a bank to be able to get their mother to alternative cancer treatment. The older is a criminal, but still doesn't want the younger to become one. Things go wrong, and on the flight from the bank they have to steal a car, which happens to be an ambulance on mission.The idea is good, the effects are excellent, the filming is both and asa whole the film is interesting, yet I must say I wasn't really fond of any of the persons. That's a main rule when it comes to a thriller like this. The actors are good, and if we got to like the two main persons, the brothers, it would be a whole different story. The problem is that they are too unlikeable. When the film tries to establish this, it's too late. I'm also not too sure if I like the concept of going inside the body of the hear patient. I'm not sure if I get the effect of this, and that it helps the film's dramatization.If you're able to get past this, it's an OK film to watch.

I saw this Danish Feature Film at The Umeå Film festival and found it very special. The whole film takes place in a car (an ambulance) and it all takes place in real time. These two elements themselves give the film a very special atmosphere. Maybe the experiment doesn't work all the way trough the film, but at least it's very original. And the story about the two brothers actually touched me.I will recommend you to see the film if you meet it at a festival. At least you'll get to see something you haven't seen before. ANd the Danish actor Thomas Bo Larsen (who was also in the film Festen) is brilliant as the big brother. I didn't know the other two actors, but they were also giving good performances.

I think this is a different kind of action film, actually more a drama than a comedy. I was very fascinated by the shots inside the body with the heart and the blood veins. And the idea about the story taking place in real time also gives quite a special feeling to the film. Maybe it's not that original to cast Thomas Bo Larsen as the criminal, but it's nice to see the other two new faces in Danish cinema; Paw Heniksen and Helle Fagralid. I think they all do it very well in this intense and original little road movie.It reminded me about Phone Booth with only one location and real time. You don't really need anymore to make a good drama.

A quite uninteresting movie.Two criminals uses a ambulance as their escape vehicle. Of course this ambulance keeps an important role throughout the movie.This movie reminds a lot of the whole bunch of action comedies, that Denmark has produced in the last six-seven years. There is almost nothing new in this one. Just the fact that Thomas Bo Larsen once again plays a bad criminal says a lot about the lack of originality in this movie.The movie is actually quite short. Aprox. 1 hour and 15 minutes. But since the movie was very uninteresting, I was quite pleased that it was not any longer.I give it four out of ten.