In un mondo migliore

A good movie is a good movie. But I seldom have seen such a fantastic movie from Scandinavia. The photo, the locations, the casting, the music, the acting, a strong story and Susanne Biers touch of directing.

I was really glad to see Mikael Persbrandt in this kind of roll, hoping to see more of this... The two young boys, playing the main characters, wow! We have not seen the last of this young men!

A strong story on many levels, a beautiful sadness from the Nordic country's, with a high recognize level for most people...

You really need to see this film, one of the best ones I have seen in years.

I wouldn't be surprised if this movie wins a ton of awards.

Susanne Bier, you have made a lot of good films before this one, but for this one I really salute you.

Thank You!!

Like anything, people will offer their own view of things. This is my own.

There are many films out there that focus on bullying and its effect on the children that experience it. A few will go further to picture the consequences to those children as they become adults, some of whom will never overcome that.

But it was the first time, from my perspective, that a film ventures to show bullying by an adult. As the stories (in Africa and in Denmark) run in parallel, it makes one wonder what the child bully would become if he were not stopped.

Brilliantly told, it left me with a sense that in our days we are still not taking bullying as seriously as we should. So how can the bullies ?

I went to see this movie with no expectations what so ever. When we arrived to the theater i saw people leaving (who just saw the movie) with tears streaming down their face. Inside the theater people was talking and laughing but after a few minutes their was a deadly silence all around us. The story is so well-written and the actors play just marvelous. Even the child actors, who often ruin most movies, were casted and performed perfectly. The camera setting is some of the best i've seen in a long time. There are so many beautiful scenes from Denmark aswel in some African country.

I highly recommend every one to go see this movie. The story is well written, and not full of the usual clichés film these days are full off. Susanne Bier has truly pulled of a masterpiece.

I heard a rumor after wards that this movie might be nominated for an Oscar, which i really hope for. Everyone should watch this emotional movie.

And for you who are wondering if i left the theater crying no i didn't, but my eyes got wet 3 or 4 times during the movie. That happens extremely rarely for me.

Saw this in Toronto and it remained with me for days afterward. Shattering filmmaking! The size and elegance of a Hollywood big budget, with the honesty and challenge of an indy. The performances, especially those of the two boys, are riveting, but I was also impressed with the deep focus photography, the haunting score. Went to see this because I had so enjoyed After the Wedding - but feel this is even better. Only the ending conflict resolution is, perhaps, a little too easy-- but not unearned. And oh boy, was I grateful for it. I want to see this with my son, because I want him to experience the moral and emotional snake pit Bier and her screenwriter toss us into: every guy --no matter what age-- will get it, and none of us will like it very much. To me, Bier speaks about what it SHOULD mean to be a man. Is vengeance built into our genes? I hope not. And I hope this wins the Academy Award this year, and everybody in America goes to see it.

Each with a young son who is being severely bullied at school. The idea of bullying is the point of departure for a look at related issues, especially the idea of revenge. The original Danish title was actually that single word---revenge. It was changed (the new title is somewhat of a stub ) for the International release, probably for the better, at least for the USA since the original title would probably conjure the notion of an action film with a minimum of delicacy instead of what it is, a rather heavy-hitting soap opera that deals with the inevitable emotional upheaval with a modicum of nuance here and there.

The movie asks how does one handle this sort of humiliating experience. This theme is enlarged by the fact that one of the fathers is a doctor who treats patients at a Sudanese refugee camp and has to deal with roving warlords. Back home this father makes what what comes across as a wise decision in turning the other cheek when he himself is bullied and lightly pushed around by a neighbor mainly because the offense was relatively light weight but could have escalated into something of a serious and perhaps far-reaching consequence.

So what do you do when such discretion is lost on your 10-year-old son who thinks you're a coward and calls you a wimp? The teleplay makes clear that domestic corporal punishment or no dessert for a week is not the answer, it wants to mean business and point to a more non-visceral response. This episode is thematically important and hits home with its direct simplicity and urgency but is subservient in scope to what these two young boys are up to.

There is backstory where a mother has died of cancer in one family, and a separation is in progress in the other, both that take a toll on the two young boys. Danish actress Trine Dyrholm pulls off an incredibly charged scene where she stumbles upon the neighboring boy in the hall of a hospital towards whom she has an uncontrollable and justifiable anger when she suddenly realizes that she is talking to a child, a child the same age as her own. The struggle in betraying a sudden compassion in such a circumstance is extraordinary.

Wisely, the teleplay imposes an interruption to the scene, otherwise the whole thing might have been ruined by either over sentimentality or rank incredulity. As is, it is terrific and I still have not been able to quite get it out of my mind.