Ernst & the Light

1996 0h 12m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 16

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The businessman Ernst has just landed in the airport and is on his way home to his wife. Its raining heavy outside and therefore he takes a hitchhiker with him. They start a conversation about the value of life and soon it becomes evident to the spectators that the hitchhiker is Jesus Christ, but Ernst is in too much of a rush to go back to his wife to notice.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Jens Jørn Spottag
Ernst
Søren Østergaard
Jesus

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
Writers: Anders Thomas Jensen, Tim Ustrup
Languages: Danish
Countries: Denmark

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 12-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kenneth Kainz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jens Jørn Spottag and Søren Østergaard carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0116214 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 16 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Anders Thomas Jensen directs. Kenneth Kainz cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Denmark. Dialogue in Danish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 12-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Editor Kenneth Kainz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Jens Jørn Spottag and Søren Østergaard carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0116214 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 16 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Editing: Kenneth Kainz
Costume design: Maria Bonfils
Makeup / hair: Maria Bonfils
Runtime: 12 min · 0h 12m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Ernst & the Light (1996)

Also by

Anders Thomas Jensen

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-12-26
★ 7/10
The distinctly earthy “Ernst” (Jens Jørg Spottag) has just landed and called his wife before setting off on the drive home. It’s a pretty miserable evening and so he stops to pick up an hitchhiker en route. This fellow claims to be Jesus. Yes, that Jesus. Of course, “Ernst” is highly dubious but as their trip proceeds he starts to wonder if his passenger really is whom he claims to be - and that’s when the conversation starts to get quite peppery. Many of the questions posed are those you might ask yourself, not least about the role of him and his dad and just how they might be relevant two millennia on when mankind may, indeed, need salvation - though probably not from a man who speaks in the sort of biblical-style riddles that wouldn't engage many modern day sceptics. It’s very quirkiness is what makes it funny. That and the expressions on the face of Spottag as the Kroner gradually drops, and of course it doesn’t shy away from taking aim at man’s new divinity: technology. If everyone had been like "Ernst" at the time, I don’t think Christianity would ever have got off the ground!