Submarino

"Two brothers meet at their mother's funeral, each in his way on a path of self-destruction, both haunted by a tragedy in their youth."

2010 1h 55m DA

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 184

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

As children, Nick and his little brother take care of their baby brother while their mother drinks herself senseless. But the baby dies, and both brothers blame themselves. Many years later, Nick is out of prison after serving time for an assault. He drinks, lives in a shelter and tries to help an old friend. When their mother dies, Nick meets his brother at the funeral. The brother, who remains nameless, is a single father to a young boy, but also supports a drug habit that is spiraling out of control. When an opportunity presents itself, he becomes a drug dealer to secure his son's future. Eventually, the two brothers meet again.

“Two brothers meet at their mother's funeral, each in his way on a path of self-destruction, both haunted by a tragedy in their youth.”

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Cast

Jakob Cedergren
Nick
Peter Plaugborg
Martin's Father
Gustav Fischer Kjærulff
Martin
Morten Rose
Ivan
Henrik Strube
Jimmy Gule
Helene Reingaard Neumann
Mona
Patricia Schumann
Sofie
Dar Salim
Goran

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Writers: Thomas Vinterberg, Tobias Lindholm
Languages: Danish
Countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France

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 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, shot by Charlotte Bruus Christensen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kristian Eidnes Andersen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jakob Cedergren and Peter Plaugborg and Gustav Fischer Kjærulff carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Two brothers meet at their mother's funeral, each in his way on a path of self-destruction, both haunted by a tragedy in their youth.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1322385 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Thomas Vinterberg directs. Charlotte Bruus Christensen behind the camera. Kristian Eidnes Andersen scores. Valdís Óskarsdóttir cuts. Produced in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France. Dialogue in Danish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 16 years ago.
2International production across 4 countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France.
3Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, shot by Charlotte Bruus Christensen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Kristian Eidnes Andersen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Valdís Óskarsdóttir shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jakob Cedergren and Peter Plaugborg and Gustav Fischer Kjærulff carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Two brothers meet at their mother's funeral, each in his way on a path of self-destruction, both haunted by a tragedy in their youth.".
8IMDB entry: tt1322385 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charlotte Bruus Christensen
Original score: Kristian Eidnes Andersen
Editing: Valdís Óskarsdóttir
Production design: Torben Stig Nielsen
Sound: Kristian Eidnes Andersen
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Status: Released
Original language: DA
IMDB: Submarino (2010)

Awards

Nordic Council Film Prize

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Thomas Vinterberg

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-05-22
★ 7/10
Initially I thought that not giving one of these siblings a name might have been more of a gimmick, but as we progress through this distressing story of his life with brother "Nick" (Jakob Cedergren) it becomes quite symbolic of the anonymity of the lives of many in a civilised society that turns it's lights out at eleven pm. Our introduction to them is fairly harrowing. Their mother lives in a permanent alcoholic stupour which leaves them, still in their early teens, to look after their baby brother. Unsurprisingly, that goes wrong resulting in a bedrock of trauma for both as they go their separate but not entirely indistinct ways. We begin with the adventures of the recently incarcerated "Nick". He is rudderless and has a bit of a drink problem, but as he quite literally stumbles over his old friend "Ivan" (Morten Rose) we realise that he isn't an evil man, just one who is emotionally lost. His sibling (Peter Plaugborg) isn't doing that much better. He has a drug habit which despite his adoration for his young son "Martin" (Gustav Fischer Kjærulff), he simply cannot kick. Indeed, when things become really desperate he decides to listen to an old junkie and set up a distribution network of his own. Lucrative? Well it might be for a short while, but there is always someone prepared to do some snitching to the cops. There is something touching about the scenes with Plaugborg and the entirely natural young Kjæerulff and they also illustrate clearly just how addiction can take over a life, even when there are other things - better things - for a man to live for. This isn't a man wanting to deal drugs for the sake of it; he wants to make his lad's life better, but without realising that's at best a short-term and truly hollow solution. Neither character has any real sense of an anchor in their lives, they never have had and that is also well demonstrated by a Cedergren whose place in the film takes up less screen time, but whose activities are no less poignant as we all sense another tragedy for these men can be but a page or scene away. There's some contemplative effort been put into the dialogue and the whole design of the film reflects a degree of urban decay to compliment the psychological elements that dog them throughout. It's not without some joy, and at times there might even be grounds for a little optimism, but somehow I don't think rose tinted glasses are on the cards.

Production companies