When a man dressed like a travelling salesman arrives at a manor house he introduces himself as "Per" (Per Goldschmidt) to the unsuspecting housekeeper "Naja" (Lykke Nielsen) and then promptly reels off some bona fides to convince her that he is a legitimate friend of the owners. She makes a call and seemingly all is well. Then, though, some of his pals start to arrive. They help themselves to food, to drink, and even bring their musical instruments to make themselves very much at home. Then "Erik" (Ulrich Pilgaard) and his wife "Edith" (Lotte Tarp) show up and it soon becomes clear that maybe things are not so friendly as their visitor would have liked. It starts of quite curiously, almost Chaplin-esque, but quickly fizzles out as the character of "Per" becomes less and less likeable and the scenario drifts from mildly amusing to preposterous. On the plus side, there is a fine jazz score to underpin the story and a song about sharing your bed with an horse - only not in "Godfather" style is quite cheerful, too.

Danish cinema is renowned for its intimate focus on character and moral complexity, often framed with naturalistic performances and understated visual style. It has balanced art-house innovation, such as the Dogme 95 movement, with popular storytelling that explores family, community, and ethical dilemmas. Danish filmmakers often examine how personal choices collide with collective responsibility, giving even small-scale stories a sense of moral weight and cultural reflection.

Per is an outsider and a charming provocateur who intrudes on former friends, a younger couple in a bourgeois environment on the northern outskirts of Copenhagen. Desperately, and in vain, Per tries to re-establish contact with his old friends through this unconventional, but at the same time frozen and past life form.

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Per Goldschmidt in Eftermiddagsgæsten (1968)

Ulf Pilgaard, Peter Refn, and Lotte Tarp in Eftermiddagsgæsten (1968)

Lykke Nielsen and Peter Refn in Eftermiddagsgæsten (1968)

Eftermiddagsgæsten

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