The Saint Bernard Syndicate | Mads Brügger | Tribeca 2018
In Mads Brügger’s St. Bernard Syndicate, two friends head to China in hopes of launching a new business selling Saint Bernard Dogs. What is already a questionable business model is further complicated by the loveable yet problematic duo behind this business plan.
Frederik (Frederik Cilius Jørgensen) and Rasmus (Rasmus Bruun) genuinely have their sights set towards making the business work but haven’t got a clue how to pull it off. Frederik is more serious about it than the goofy Rasmus (Bruun, doing a serious Stephen Merchant impression), who is trying to blow off some steam after finding out that he is severely ill, a fact that he hides from his dear friend.
The screenplay from writer Lærke Sanderhoff juggles a dry sense of humor with the oddball comedic relationship between these two men. Brügger frames it all in a documentary-like fashion, no surprise with his previous work mainly coming through that medium. This does work alongside the drier sense of humor that it’s going for but that also leaves you feeling somewhat detached to it as it goes along.
There’s enough humor here to keep you engaged, and both Jørgensen and Bruun are great together. Seeing them interact in a foreign setting provides plenty of charming fun. It seems to run out of steam as it heads towards the finish line, but there’s enough quirky hijinx there to keep you mostly entertained.
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