Open Hearts

Another one of those small Euro digital films that explores human emotion so much better than the mega-bucks equivalents from the States.

When a loving couples unity is shattered by a horrific road accident that cripples the boyfriend, the story explores how a moment can destroy a lifetime or create alternate paths. Superbly acted with deep pathos and unflinching torment, I have yet to see a better performance this year of a female lead. You leave the cinema questioning how the happiest moment in your life can be stolen in a blink of an eye. Life is fragile and all too brief. Not a minute should be wasted.

A girl whose boyfriend went paraplegic because of a car crash falls in love with the husband of the woman that ran her fiancée over. Though the plot may look like a twisted soap opera the fact is that the movie of Akeson & Olesen is such an intense and wise portrait of human emotions. Feeling of guilt, love, infidelity... no flowery stuff and no useless decorations. "Open hearts" is a piece of life.

Despite the directors probe to know their job their movie wouldn't be the same without the impressive work of the extraordinary actors she chose. Propably none of them will won an Oscar, and they're not very popular, but they'd deserve to be big stars.

Another great contribution of DOGMA movement to last decade's cinema.

*My rate: 9/10

I am not very much into dogma movies - but this one is really worth looking. As always, the danish acting is superb (by the way: can anybody explain me, why actors from Denmark are so convincing every time?) I also liked the open ending, which doesn't pretend to find a solution to a nearly unsolvable problem. Furthermore, the beginning was gorgeous. Susanne Bier presents her characters in slightly normal situations - but yet that charming and vivid, you just have to love the young couple. And so you also will suffer from the incident and its consequences for them. Another interesting aspect is, that there is absolutely no antagonist in this movie - and, surprise, surprise: you won't miss one! All the characters have two sides, are protagonist and antagonist at the same time - just like in real life!

This movie has a sober sense of tragic : It shows how life is fragile and uncontrollable, whether it is a young couple passionately in love hit by a terrible accident or a double-kid mature couple whose husband will be unfaithful to his wife. The cleverness of the story-telling lies in the fact that the two stories are highly intertwined and all through movie you find yourself recognising everything the characters struggle through. You want to judge them but you are left with you own guilt without any conclusion fro the film. The documentary-style and the dogme do not prevail over the meaning and even give some realistic strength to the beautiful acting. To sum up : a simple tale of two destinies where tragedy reveal our fragility and love can redeem guilt. (7 out Of 10)

Halfway through Open Hearts, it becomes more obvious that you're watching a fictional account. The plot becomes slightly predictable, which is a good thing. For the most part, this new Danish film feels like a reality documentary and pulls you in like reality itself. Director Susanne Bier follows the technical requirements to earn a Dogme 95 certification, which means the film has to be devoid of any unnatural camera movement, lighting and sound among other rules. As a result, Open Hearts is also devoid of superficial movie cliches and full of heartfelt human situations.

The film follows a young, newly?engaged couple and a married couple with kids, whose lives are interrupted and complicated by a road accident. Bier stays clear of the external effects of the drama and instead focuses on the characters' inner effects. Her protagonists lose emotional control and appear ill?equipped to handle the consequences of an unexpected tragedy. The film's appeal is not only universal, but timely as well, shattering the modern belief that everything is controllable. Once tragedy strikes, our lives seem far more fragile than we thought.

Stephan Paschalides