Além das Águas

I had pretty high hopes for "Across the Waters." I've seen several of the actors in other roles (Danica Curcic in "Chestnut Man," Jakob Cedergren in "The Guilty," Nicolas Bro in "The Bridge"), and they were all excellent. But for whatever reason, it just didn't all come together in this movie. Another reviewer called it a wasted opportunity, and I agree. All of the above mentioned actors did well, and so did most of the rest of the cast. But the movie was just...I don't know...hollow?

The true stories that inspired this film are amazing, and the courage of those involved is inspiring, but I felt neither amazed nor inspired. I felt like I was just getting to know the characters and relate to them, and then boom - the movie was over. I was left wanting more - not because what I'd experienced was so good, but because it seemed incomplete.

It wasn't bad, and maybe my mediocre score reflects my too-high expectations going in. But I probably wouldn't watch it again.

The story of saving the Danish Jews from deportation to Nazi extermination camps is well-known. It's a story of how a people united their forces and fooled the occupation forces. It is a story of how a people helped the neighbors to escape and survive. It is a glossy story of the common man's heroism. In recent years there came scratches to this tale. We have heard about fishermen who took overprice for sailing their Jewish countrymen to Sweden. There have been failings also. Not only "German Nazi pigs" were hating and hunting Jews, but there were also Danish Quislings. Thus an interesting situation, even with clear parallels to current affairs. Is this converted to a relevant film? Donato tells the story of Arne Itkin, a successful jazz musician, His wife hears in the synagogue that the German occupation forces are going to deport the Jewish citizens. Arne, however, is carefree - this cannot happen in Denmark. Instead of preparing their escape, he suggests domestic coziness in the bed. Thus we know that he is an artist and not seeing what is going on around him. However, also Arne cannot close his eyes when the Germans actually come to deport them. Within a second they change from citizens to refugees. They are told that the best chance is to take to the harbor of Gilleleje. (The rest of the plot is history. I won't tell it here; Google knows it already.) This is a film one should like, but there are different factors that make it difficult to enjoy it.

First - the photography and cinematography. Large parts of the film happen in darkness in a matter that make it difficult, sometimes for me impossible, to see what is going on. OK with "natural light", but we need to know what is going on. Exaggerated use of close-ups focus on parts of the faces, as if this was a chamber play. Presumably the intention was to show us the despair of the sudden homeless family. But to see a cut-off face without surrounding does not really work, at least not for me. Another reason is that the actors - and they are mostly really good actors - don't have much to work with. This leads to ...

Second - the dull script. The Itkin family is at best sketched, character development is missing. All stereotypes from films about Nazis are used. Dialogues are like speech bubbles and stilted statements. The actors seem to read from a batch card. Across the Waters - thus the English title - is mainly interesting because of the plot twist hinted at before. Take it as superficial time pass without expecting much from it.

Danica Curcic absolutely inhabits her role as Miriam, a determined and capable Jewish mother whose Copenhagen family is forced to flee the Nazi wave rolling through Denmark. Miriam and her jazz musician husband Arne (David Dencik) are given advanced warning (very slight) that the Germans have reneged on their promise of not interfering with Denmark's affairs, but she is dismissed Arne and his friends for worrying too much.

Arne, her husband, for much of the movie seems like a decent man if a little flaky. The type of artist or musician who in ordinary times ends up being behind on the bills or neglects the practical aspects of life. In this case, an expensive instrument well beyond their means nearly prove fatal to them all.

The "setup" is that they barely escape Copenhagen and make a desperate run for a small coastal fishing town, hoping to get across the water to Sweden. Not a lot different than the soldiers trying to get out of Dunkirk in certain respects, though these are just ordinary people.

In between they meet more kindness than not, though it only takes a little bit of evil and a little bit of cowardice to change everything. The other actors feel genuine and are well cast, and the locations and cinematography is equally up to the task.

Streaming Quality: This has nothing to do with the "movie" per se, but the streaming quality is unfortunately not great, with several scenes being very dark and blocky from poor compression. It'd be much better to see the movie on Blu-ray, but for now it seems unavailable.

** We watched the version of this film called Across the Water with English Subtitles. **

I couldn't disagree more with the other reviews. This film covers a period of Jewish history in WWII I was not personally aware of. It concerns Jews escaping the Nazis from Denmark to Sweden.

The film follows one family and their Journey. The performances were strong and as much as the Script was not over wordy it didn't need to be and would have been innappropriate. The cinematography was mainly done in a hand held style with great use of close ups which enabled the director to convey emotion. The extreme close ups when the family were hiding gave a feeling of claustrophobia which conveyed the situation at the time. Both myself and my Wife suffer from migraines and extreme ShakeyCam can trigger this. This film however did not cause any issues.

Overall this film is written well with strong performances. Don't expect some overly fast paced quick cutting experience. The pace of the film enables you to feel for the family. Yes you may not know the full family history but that is not needed to tell this gripping story.

As someone who has a great interest in the subject matter I would highly recommend this film that tells a lesser known story of that period. If this is a genre that interests you then I think you'll find this a good film also, it's certainty going to be one that we buy a copy of to add to our collection.

Was looking forward to this. The heroic rescue of the Danish Jews is an important story that deserves to be told and rememered.

Unfortunately the script is weak, the unsteady camera is annoying and the sound is amateurish - it's impossible to hear what the actors are whispering.

I'd call this movie a massive failure. Too bad.