After the Wedding

This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long while. I am lucky that I was able to see it at a screening, and I will certainly look out for other movies from the director and writer.

It starts off low key and you're not sure where it is going to go. Then things get very intense dramatically. In a lesser movie this would be near the end, but in this movie it is just the beginning. At times it gets emotional with very excellent acting. The plot keeps changing in unpredictable ways, and who the plot is revolving around keeps changing also. Really well designed story and well directed production.

Apparently it is on the verge of release in the US. The version I saw in a US screening was subtitled (one of the forum posters asked if it would be dubbed).

I knew nothing about this film before going to see it except that it was Oscar nominated and starred Bond's 'Casino Royale' foe Mads Mikkelsen. But I'd heard good things and despite it being a day so sunny in April that you should really spend it in the park I ventured into the dark cinema. All I can say is that I am so, so glad I did as this has to be one of the best films I have seen this year. Jacob (Mikkelsen) runs an orphanage/school in India that due to funding will have to close if they don't do something quickly, cue a phone call from Denmark where a millionaire is looking to invest some money in a good cause and Jacob has no choice but to go home and try to win over the mystery funder. Cut to Copenhagen and the very rich living of Jorgen and his family, a self-made millionaire Jorgen is preparing for the Wedding of his daughter and as his family gather round the mansion we see that he has a pretty good life. Cut back to Jacob who after living in squalid conditions in India for so long is struggling to understand the swish hotel he's been booked in for his visit. When the two meet to discuss the investment Jacob is over enthusiastic but Jorgen is nonchalant and pre-occupied with the weekends approaching festivities, so much so he decides to conclude the deal on Monday and seeing as Jacob is here on his invitation with nothing to do all weekend he decides to ask him to attend the wedding. So far so seemingly normal. It is at this point that the film takes some dramatic turns and through a series of unexpected events, a few skeletons in closets, the past and emotive performances, becomes a really deep and moving piece of cinema. I don't want to spoil it by saying anymore about it except it's nothing short of brilliant. I haven't seen a film for ages that deals with such negative and positive issues with such compassion and integrity without being hammy or over the top. The direction is flawless, the music is fitting and the cinematography is almost dogma in style but with a certain crispness to it. The performances are outstanding and it's not hard to see why it was Oscar nominated and won countless awards. The way the script is superbly written it reminded of 'Secrets and Lies' by Mike Leigh in the way it captures humans acting realistically in real situations. By the time the film starts to conclude the tissues were coming out to wipe away the tears of sadness and joy, which is a very powerful position to be in for any film, and the audience left the auditorium into bright sunshine glad like me that they'd had chance to see this amazing piece of cinema.

You've probably read the glowing remarks about this film, so I won't be too repetitious. The film moves slowly along and where the story is going to take us isn't revealed for a while. It's like peeling the onion but with rewards in each layer. I was thinking about differentiating here but, as does the onion, this film also brings tears.

I liked the way we find out that our protagonist is from Denmark and has a past that drove him away and into a new life. He is certainly more of a giving human being that when he left the country. The story then follows a course that to a large degree his former life created.

One of the aspects I especially enjoyed in the film is the use of some Dogme 95 rules. It's not a Dogme film but the director makes good use of many parts of that approach. The camera is hand held and it's use here made me feel more involved with the characters. The use of available light made the film much more beautiful and warm. One of the good results of the Dogme use here is that the director has made a film that, even for its' slow pace, dispenses with non-important fluff that would most certainly have been added if it had been made in the USA. There was a reason for every scene.

So be prepared for a slow paced film loaded with beauty and revelation. You'll be rewarded with a wonderful film experience. Prior to seeing it I had thought Pan's Labyrinth would win an Oscar, but not anymore. Then I saw The Lives of Others and moved both of the films down a notch. They were my top three films of 2006, in fact none of my top three were American made. What a year for imports!

Sometimes some films go unnoticed. Either because they come from countries we don't exactly positioned on the world map, or because those gems are directed by none mainstream directors, or maybe because those films don't have a wide distribution and sometimes because the title or the story's pitch is not that engaging… "After the Wedding" might has gone unnoticed for all these bad reasons so let's first clear them up.

Denmark is in northern Europe, capital Copenhagen. This country gave us the 1987 Oscar winning "Babette's Feast" by Gabriel Axel and the 1988 Oscar winner, "Pelle the Conqueror" by Bille August. As per Susanne Bier who directed "After the Wedding" if she is not a mainstream director she also is not exactly a junior director. In fact she already directed a dozen of films, all emotionally engaging like Brødre (2004) aka Brothers or Sekten (1997) aka Credo.

In the city I was leaving in at that time only 2 or 3 cinemas were showing "After the Wedding". And quite frankly when I first red the synopsis I thought the movie would likely be a bore fest: a manager of an orphanage (Mikkelsen) in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark in order to discuss sponsoring with a billionaire (Lassgård) but what he discovers is a life-altering family secret. Fortunately my better half convinced me to go see this complete cinematic experience in which the depth of the characters, the originality of the scenario, and the outstanding acting concur to make this film one of the greatest films of 2006/07 and a true emotional experience.

The strength of "After the Wedding" resides in its dynamic based on our faculty to extrapolate and judge promptly. Indeed the film first 20 minutes builds stereotypes only for us to pull them down in the last hour and a half…terrific…

Do you know what realistic acting is? Well after witnessing Mads Mikkelsen and Rolf Lassgård answering, analyzing each other you'll understand what true acting is. The kind that feels so real you think you are witnessing stolen slice of life on screen. If those two actors really epitomized great performance, Sidse Babett Knudsen as Helene and Stine Fischer Christensen as Anna deserve a mention.

But a well directed well played film does not necessary triggers emotions. "After the Wedding" does. The film moves you in a way few films do. We don't identify but we relate and as the gap between the protagonists shrinks, the distance between the audience and the characters fades away. Profoundly "humanist" the film proposes another definition for the word "Gift"…The gift of oneself, the ultimate Love. Susanne Bier succeeds in triggering this Generosity not only on the screen but also in our soul.

If you are looking for a movie that confirms preconceived notions, don't go to this one. Rather than trotting out a character as a rooting interest in the second or third scene, the film presents four individuals who are definitely worthy of your interest and compassion.

The two men in this drama, Jacob and Jorgen, are each powerful in their own ways. Jacob in the power of his convictions, Jorgen in the power of money and commerce. The two women, Helene and Anne, and the decisions they make, are the characters that move the story and set up the very real personal tragedies that ultimately unfold. Rather than a recanting of the general plot, my recommendation is to go into this movie as cold as you can. There are twists to be resolved and lives to learn about -- they are not aided by hearing about them beforehand.

There are no special effects, no flashbacks, no grainy images, and resolution is provided without the use of gun-play. (When was the last time you saw a movie that didn't have a gun figuring in the outcome.) Like real life, it takes a while to learn who the characters are and confirm that first impressions may (or may not) be correct. The pacing of the movie seems to be a primary criticism on the message boards but it seemed to move at a breakneck pace to me. I was very sorry to see it end.

This is a human drama that the "old" Hollywood once made by the boatload. Highly recommended.