WKNDwatchlist: The Last Viking, Porcelain War and My Father’s Shadow

This week, we take an eclectic cinematic journey – from the pitch-black, absurdist crime capers of Denmark and the defiant, art-fueled resilience of frontline Ukraine, to a nostalgic day trip through 1990s Lagos in Fierce Wonder.

The Last Viking is an entertaining, darkly comical Danish crime caper. Nikolaj Lie Kaas plays an ex-con hunting a missing fortune, opposite a wonderfully offbeat Mads Mikkelsen as his unhinged brother convinced he’s John Lennon. Channeling the Coen brothers, this unpredictable hybrid delivers pitch-black humor with pure panache and winking charm.

Porcelain War is a deeply moving Ukrainian war documentary uncovering astonishing beauty inside combat chaos. Tracking two porcelain artists who stayed behind to take up arms, intimate boots-on-the-ground footage captures their fight. A visceral, poetic testament to life’s fragility and the defiant power of art, it is quietly devastating.

My Father’s Shadow turns a simple 1993 Lagos day trip into a poignant coming-of-age journey. Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù shines with quiet dignity and immense heart as a devoted father amid simmering political unrest. Echoing the tactile visual poetry of Moonlight, it filters looming civil strife through the wide-eyed innocence of childhood.

What are you watching this weekend? Let us know! For more reviews, head over to splingmovies.com. And remember: Don’t WING it, SPL!NG it!

You can catch these films at the European Film Festival in South Africa.