In some places, it looks like the house and the outbuildings have been standing in the forest – in Tollered just outside Gothenburg – for at least 100 years.
It's only when you get much closer that you realize it's about well-built sets that will be torn down as soon as the filming is finished.
The house is one of the central locations in "The Last Viking", Anders Thomas Jensen's latest feature film.
As usual in the acclaimed Dane's films, Mads Mikkelsen has one of the leading roles.
There's a sense of security in it. Sometimes we might go in a direction that you wouldn't want to do with all people, says Mads Mikkelsen.
But with these people, you want to. There's something beautiful in it.
Forgotten Heist
But what is "The Last Viking" about? Anders Thomas Jensen, known for his slightly twisted action films, doesn't quite know what he's allowed to reveal.
It's a story about two brothers and about discovering who you are, he says first, but then tells a bit about the plot anyway.
Anker (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) has just been released from prison after 14 years and now wants the money from the heist he was convicted for.
The problem is that his brother Manfred (Mads Mikkelsen) has been afflicted with a mental illness and forgotten where the loot is.
"A Little Twisted"
The search leads them, among other things, to their childhood home – which in Anders Thomas Jensen's version of Denmark is surrounded by forest.
It's a privilege to work with Anders Thomas, because his universe is so special, says Nikolaj Lie Kaas, who like Mikkelsen has been in all of Jensen's films so far.
Everything is a little twisted. It makes you happy as an actor.
Sofie Gråbøl, who was in Jensen's "Flickering Lights" (2000), agrees.
It's like Nikolaj says, that what he does, no one else does, she says.
Anders Thomas Jensen's latest film, "Riders of Justice" (2020), was seen by over 600,000 cinema-goers in Denmark. But it won't be a guaranteed success just because you bring in the same actors, he emphasizes.
We actually start from the premise that this will ruin all our careers, he jokes.
No, but it's such a long process to both write and direct a film. Then I want to work with people who are both nice and talented.
Anders Thomas Jensen, born 1972, is a Danish screenwriter and director. He has, among other things, been awarded an Oscar, for Best Short Film in 1999.
Anders Thomas Jensen has, in addition to his own feature films, written screenplays for a long list of films, including the successful film "In China They Eat Dogs" (1999).
He has previously directed his own screenplays in "Flickering Lights" (2000), "The Green Butchers" (2003), "Adam's Apples" (2005), "Men & Chicken" (2015), and "Riders of Justice" (2020).
"The Last Viking" is scheduled to have its Danish cinema premiere next autumn.
