The bench

The most stunishing thing about this movie is the acting of the drunk guy. Several times during the movie I pondered whether they had brought in a real drunk, or if it really was an actor? All his moves, the way i talked etc. were so real.

The story as far as I recall it, is about a drunk guy on dole, with no future. Suddenly he meets a person which makes his internal flame of live rise and burst.

We as spectators get a view of how it is having no future, no family and nothing to do. Its a story without any special effects or explosions (not even a telly which is thrown out of the window from the second floor explode upon impact with the sidewalk!) But still, the story is so much better than of most multi-billion dollar movies from Hollywood.

I have recently watched this excellent Dannish movie on satellite channel.Regrettably I was deprived of the opportunity to understand dialogs as there was neither English translation nor subtitles. Nevetheless, that language barrier had not prevented me from understanding the essence of the movie and conversely watching this movie in Dannish emphasized scenes regarding alcoholics, contradictions and attitude towards lonely poverty-stricken generally in Europe and particularly in Denmark. The problem of solitude is pivotal in this movie. Loneliness kills us faster that whatever disease. The movie is full of sadness and sympathy. I recommend everybody to watch it.

This movie is about forgiving, decay, hope, love and death. The main character is played to perfection by Jesper Christensen, one of the best performances i've ever seen in any movie. I was 100% convinced that he was a deathdrunk alcoholic, what a masterpiece of acting!!! 10 stars on his acting alone.

The story is beautiful, sad but very very true. Many of us close our eyes to these kind of people and tend to forget that behind the sad drunken facades are real people with real stories and emotions. This movie smacks these people right in your face. Some people find it disgusting, but the rest of us find that this is a masterpiece of a movie. Its in my top 3 of all time favourite movies.

This Danish masterpiece revels the story of a drunk alcoholic living in the suburbs of Copenhagen. The film represents the underclass of the Danish welfare society and is the 1st of Per Fly praised trilogy.

Kaj is an alcoholic living on the money the Danish state is providing him. Him and his friends spend their time drinking beer at a public bench. One day Kaj's life turns upside down when a young lady and her child moves in next to him.

The movie shows the life of a person fighting with depression and addiction. Subjects as social inheritance, compassion, honor and shame play a significant role in the movie.

The acting of Kaj is done by Jesper Christensen and it's remarkable trustworthy. One of the best performances I've ever seen. The story of Kaj is interesting and sad. It revels the story of a man who lost his track in life and how this affects others around him. It gives perspective on how people differently are dealing with shame, honor and love. It shows a person who have lost his purpose with life and how drinking became his only solution to deal with it. However behind the trashy clothes and smell lies a great person with honor, love and passion.

The movie is worth watching due to the acting of Jesper Christensen, who was rewarded greatly afterwards for his performance. Also smaller parts by Jens Albinus and Lars Brygmann are worth noticing.

The film lacks the simple ingredient: coherence, which is partially down to the terrible acting by Stine Holm Joensen (the daughter). And due her importance to the story this ruins a lot, especially the credibility of her character.

She also coincidentally moves in right next to her alcoholic father whom she hasn't seen for 19 years which doesn't exactly give the start of the film nor the storyline a lot of credibility either.

The development of the alcoholic Kaj might seem realistic from an objective point of view but because the actions preceding this development are non effectual you lose faith in the story. It is the sudden reoccurring of his daughter that ruins his daily routines and makes him act out of nature. Everything that happens to him throughout the movie is down to his daughter and grandson, the transition between father and daughter is therefore very important but unfortunately Stine Holm Joensen isn't convincing. The story has potential and could have been very great, especially considering the simplicity and originality of the film. BUT as successful an approach this might seem it also harms the film because it adds pressure and emphasis on the storyline and the acting, which the film simply isn't strong enough to carry. I actually laughed more than I was moved (mostly down to some really funny and clever lines) but I wasn't moved at times when I was supposed to. I didn't like the music of the film either. The red thread of it was confusing; Should one; cry, laugh, be excited? The film is recommendable of course - Not everyone would share my critical views, and the amazing acting, after all, from Jesper Christensen is worth watching. Too many mistakes though (acting, story/plot)in important scenes and sequences is enough to ruin it, for me at least. 5 1/2 out of 10