View source for Adam's Apples

{{Short description|2005 film}}
{{About|the 2005 film||Adam's apple (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Adam's Apples
| image          = Adam's Apples.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical poster
| director       = [[Anders Thomas Jensen]]
| producer       = Mie Andreasen<br>Tivi Magnusson
| writer         = Anders Thomas Jensen
| starring       = [[Ulrich Thomsen]]<br>[[Mads Mikkelsen]]<br>[[Paprika Steen]]<br>[[Ole Thestrup]]<br>{{ill|Ali Kazim|af||da}}<br>[[Nicolas Bro]]
| music          = {{ill|Jeppe Kaas|af||da||de||pl}}
| editing        = Anders Villadsen
| studio         = M&M Productions<br>August Film & TV GmbH<br>[[DR (broadcaster)|DR]]
| distributor    = [[Nordisk Film]] (Denmark)<br>Delphi Filmverleih Produktion (Germany)
| released       = {{Film date|2005|4|15|Denmark|2006|08|31|Germany|df=y}}
| runtime        = 94 minutes
| country        = Denmark<br>Germany
| language       = Danish
| gross          = $2.4 million<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1933608449/weekend/|title=Adam's Apples|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|publisher=[[IMDb]]|accessdate=22 July 2021}}</ref>
}}

'''''Adam's Apples''''' ({{langx|da|'''Adams Æbler'''}}) is a 2005 Danish-language [[black comedy]]-[[Drama (film and television)|drama]] film directed and written by [[Anders Thomas Jensen]]. The film revolves around the theme of the [[Book of Job]]. The main roles are played by [[Ulrich Thomsen]] and [[Mads Mikkelsen]].

==Plot==
[[Neo-Nazism|Neo-Nazi]] gang leader Adam is granted parole from prison for participating in a rehabilitation program, where he joins the aggressive Saudi gas station robber Khalid and the kleptomaniac rapist Gunnar. The community is headed by the priest Ivan, who believes firmly and blindly in the goodness of man, and is seemingly oblivious to the ongoing misconduct and aggression of his charges.

Ivan tells Adam to choose a goal for himself to complete his rehabilitation. Trying to mock the priest, Adam chooses the goal of baking an apple pie. Ivan accepts, but stipulates that making the pie includes grooming and harvesting the churchyard apple tree. Adam is loath to complete his task, especially because at first crows attack the apples, and later most of those that remain are eaten by worms. The misanthropic Nazi is especially irritated by Ivan's joyful manner, excessive optimism and extreme forgiveness, and he sets it as his personal goal to break the priest's spirit and crush his faith.

Adam discovers that Ivan's life has been very difficult. Growing up as a victim of child abuse, he has terminal [[brain cancer]], and is the widowed father of a severely disabled child. The cynical village doctor theorizes that Ivan discounts reality and sees all problems as tests from the devil, because his real life would be otherwise nearly impossible to bear. Adam psychologically attacks the priest by quoting the [[Book of Job]], reasoning that it is God who hates the priest, not the devil. Ivan finally breaks down and renounces his faith.

Adam is gleeful at first, but soon realizes that without Ivan's influence, Khalid and Gunnar revert quickly to their criminal habits, and starts realizing the positive impact the priest had made. When several members of Adam's neo-Nazi gang visit the church and confront Khalid for earlier having shot two of their members, Ivan comes out of the church and demands to be allowed to die in peace. A scuffle ensues and the leader of the neo-Nazis accidentally shoots the priest in the eye.

At the hospital, the doctor predicts Ivan will be dead by morning. Suddenly guilt-stricken, Adam stays up all night baking a tiny, one-apple pie for Ivan, using the single apple surviving the sequential mishaps that happened to the apple-tree throughout the film.
When he arrives at the hospital, he finds that Ivan's bed is empty. He goes to find Ivan's doctor, who tells him that the priest is in the garden – the bullet that hit him has neatly removed the tumour that plagued him.

In an epilogue, Adam remains at the church as an assistant to Ivan, and Ivan and Adam welcome two similarly troubled men recently released from prison.

==Cast==
*[[Ulrich Thomsen]] as Adam Pedersen
*[[Mads Mikkelsen]] as Ivan Fjeldsted
*[[Nicolas Bro]] as Gunnar
*[[Paprika Steen]] as Sarah Svendsen
*{{ill|Ali Kazim|da|Ali Kazim}} as Khalid
*[[Ole Thestrup]] as Dr. Kolberg
*[[Nikolaj Lie Kaas]] as Holger
*[[Gyrd Løfquist]] as Poul Nordkap
*[[Lars Ranthe]] as Esben
*[[Peter Reichhardt]] as Nalle
*[[Tomas Villum Jensen]] as Arne
*Peter Lambert as Jørgen

==Reception==
The film holds a score of 70% positive reviews on a review aggregator site [[Rotten Tomatoes]] with the average score of 6.3/10, based on 37 reviews, with critical consensus being: "Good and evil collide with interesting results in ''Adam's Apples'', a dark Biblical allegory that's alternately funny and shocking."<ref>{{cite web|title=Adams Æbler on Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/adams_apples/|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|accessdate=22 July 2021}}</ref> On another review aggregator site [[Metacritic]], the film scored 51 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/adams-apples|title=Adams Æbler Review|website=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|accessdate=22 July 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0418455}}

{{Anders Thomas Jensen}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for ''Adam's Apples''
| list = 
{{Danish submission for Academy Awards}}
{{Méliès d'Or}}
{{Robert Award for Best Danish Film}}
{{Warsaw Film Festival Audience Award}}
}}
{{Book of Job|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:2000s gang films]]
[[Category:2005 black comedy films]]
[[Category:2005 films]]
[[Category:2005 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:2005 independent films]]
[[Category:Best Danish Film Robert Award winners]]
[[Category:Book of Job]]
[[Category:Danish black comedy films]]
[[Category:Danish comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Danish independent films]]
[[Category:German black comedy films]]
[[Category:German comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:German independent films]]
[[Category:2000s Danish-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Anders Thomas Jensen]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Anders Thomas Jensen]]
[[Category:Skinhead films]]