Herança

"The Inheritance (Arven)" is the best look since "The Godfather" at the corrosive impact of family business where there's no boundaries between family and business.

The starting premise is strikingly similar to another Scandinavian drama, the Icelandic "The Storm (Hafið)," as in both we start off with a prodigal son happily and romantically involved abroad but forced back to deal with the patriarch's dramatic decision that has ever widening ramifications.

But whereas the first went off in psycho-sexual directions from a fishery, this Danish film stays realistically in the board room of a steel plant as much as the bed room.

Here, his wife is a Shakespearean actress and the Shakespearean references I caught are played up beyond "King Lear,"as the matriarch, a scarily formidable Ghita Nørby, whose role could be taken by Judi Dench or Glenn Close in an American remake, is a Lady MacBeth, and he's baited by a CFO with a pronounced Iago modus operandi, while the wife, the very moving Lisa Werlinder, is left to plead like Portia in "Julius Caeser."

Un-Hamlet-like, Ulrich Thomsen's manipulatable Christoffer plunges into decisions that succeed at high psychological prices for him and those around him, reminding me of the classic closing line of the adaptation of Henry James, "The Heiress": "I've learned from masters."

A Danish modern that seems spare and bare bones when compared to other slick art house fare that is out there like "Vanity Fair" and "Bright Young Things." But it is just that lack of gloss that gives it its strength. The semi-Dogma style fits the story of a young man living in Sweden with his beautiful actress wife who gets called back to Denmark to run the family steel mill after his father's suicide. When he had been younger, he had almost died from the stress of working in the business. Now, with his relations and the workers depending on him, he slowly starts to shut down all of his systems in order to deal with the tough decisions he has to make. This is not a new theme, but Fly gives it new life with his astringent approach.

Writer/director Per Fly is a strong filmmaker from Denmark who is unafraid to make controversial statements that challenge certain 'family values' sentiments prevalent in this country. In this brilliantly written, directed and acted film he manages to reveal the inner destruction of a family under whose surface is an institution of envy. It is a riveting film that despite its in excess of two-hour length keeps us riveted to our seats in its never-ending exploration of the darker side of familial machinations.

Christoffer (Ulrich Thomsen) has escaped his Danish family and is comfortably ensconced in Stockholm as a successful restaurateur, living with the beautiful actress Maria (Lisa Werlinder) whose love for life extends beyond the fulfilling pleasures of the boudoir. Their bliss is interrupted by an unexpected visit from Chrisoffer's father who briefly spends time with the couple, happy for their state of success in all things. Upon his departure Christoffer receives a phone call that his father has hung himself and his presence is demanded in Denmark. Christoffer and Maria fly home to the matriarch of the family, Christoffer's mother Anneliese (the brilliant Ghita Norby) who immediately takes charge of the family, demands that Christoffer take over the failing family steel company thus skipping over Christoffer's designated brother-in-law Ulrick (Lars Brygmann), a fact that tears at Christoffer's sister Benedikte (Karina Skands). Taking the position of head of the family business would mean his giving up his dreams in Stockholm, negate Maria's burgeoning acting career, and placing Christoffer in the ominous position of having to fire longtime employees and make changes that would decimate many - not the least of which would be Christoffer's character. But Anneliese is strong and gets her way and thus the destruction of Christoffer's humanity and life begins.

Christoffer is able to merge the company with a French company and make the family business successful. But at what a cost? Maria leaves him after they have a child, Benedikte collides with him over his ruining her life with Ulrick, and Christoffer moves to France where he drowns his sorrows in alcohol. Per Fly is not one to tidy up all of the loose ends of a family disintegration: he leaves the end results of a bad decision up to the audience to figure out. It is this respect for the audience that endears this artist to us. The script is brilliantly written, the acting is superb, and the direction is tight and sensitive to the storyline. In every way this is a film worthy of our attention, not only as an art piece, but also as a means of re-examining 'family values' that here are presented in quite a different light than our usual reference phrase suggests. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

I absolutely disagree that Arven should be boring. From the very beginning we feel the dilemma of Ulrick Thomsen and is thorn apart the deeper we go in the story, as we feel his pain and his obligations. Per Fly is an exellent director who forces his actors to do their vey best and it shines through the whole movie. The acting is deep and sensitive. It's exellent. Director Per Fly also understood to make us feel all swallowed up in the story. It's an exellent movie. Intellegent, sensitive and it really makes you think about how to live your life.

" Inheritance " is one of the greatest European movies of the last few years. It might seem boring for an average American viewer who is used to Hollywood action movie culture. The film is a great reflection of a real life situation. It is wonderfully acted and very believable. Directing is superb. I would recommend it to anybody who has an appreciation for a fine art of European cinema ( particularly for its ability to depict life the way it is ). This is one of the movies that I would definitely give a 10.