Amor é Tudo o Que Você Precisa

Ida is a Danish woman near the end of her successful chemotherapy treatment. She gets home early and finds her husband Leif having sex with young Thilde. She is in shock when she crashes into Philip Saunders (Pierce Brosnan) at the airport parking. She is on her way to her daughter Astrid's wedding in Italy. Phillip turns out to be the father of Astrid's fiancée Patrick. He is bitter and closed off after the death of his wife. Ida tries to keep the situation secret from Astrid and then Leif shows up at the wedding with Thilde. The wedding includes gay worker Alessandro who has a crush on Patrick, Astrid's injured brother Kenneth returning from the military, Philip's rude flirtatious sister-in-law Benedikte and her bitter suffering daughter.

Ida is a compelling character and Trine Dyrholm does a nice job. I like her story. Pierce Brosnan is a bit of a Hollywood distraction but I understand his use. Eventually, I got used to him and their relationship is good romance. There are a lot of crazy relatives going off in that wedding and a couple of them could have less screen time. There's no reason to spend so much time with Benedikte and her daughter. They are one-dimensional comedic side characters. Ida's struggles make this a good romance despite a few too many dramatic developments at the wedding.

The brief preview I read of this film described it as an antidote to "shrill, soulless Hollywood romantic comedies" with the power to "restore your faith in the entire genre". I was unsure whether it would live up to such high praise, but decided to give it a go.

The film follows the story of Ida, a lovely lady recovering from chemotherapy and the antics of her unappreciative husband Leif. Separately we follow her daughter Astrid as she prepares to wed her fiancé Patrick in a beautiful secluded grove in Sorrento. But marriage is not portrayed in this film as a straightforward or predictable process, and hints of challenges soon begin to emerge, both for the engaged couple and for Ida herself.

My attention was gripped more than anything by the characters themselves. All confused to some degree, I found them likable to a person - even Leif, whose "activities" were less than admirable. Their hidden depths are revealed through their struggles. I'd like to give a special nod here to Pierce Brosnan's Philip. Emotionally constricted from the start, his defensiveness and wariness gradually ease to reveal a man of real depth and warmth.

The photography in this film is gorgeous, but there again, it's only important as the backdrop to the characters' personal development. It's also a very humorous film in places, and I found the two hours flew by. 10/10.

Love Is All You Need is a wedding, romance, and family movie from Denmark mostly taking place in Italy. It is about solving the riddles within yourself, not necessarily succeeding, but at least acknowledging them.

The good. Superb Italian panoramas. Fascinating and touching story with a lot of depth. Very realistic. Solidly built scenario with interesting twists and turns. Excellent background. Perfect ending. Nicely romantic with a few laughs. Well grounded. No clichés.

The actors. Trine Dyrholm is absolutely fantastic, beautiful and compelling. Pierce Brosnan, while not playing too far from his usual roles, is just great. And I have to mention the work of Paprika Steen as the annoying, mean, and self-centered aunt/sister-in-law.

The bad. I can't thing of anything. That's how much I appreciated the flick.

The ugly. Nothing.

The result. Something much different from Hollywood's romantic films. A true breath of fresh air. A must for everyone, to the exception of those not interested in romance or family conflicts.

As an American, sometimes it tough to watch a movie that doesn't feature at least one or two well known Hollywood actors. Granted, Pierce Brosnan is what lured me in - but it was Trine Dyrholm that stole my heart. There were several wonderful performances, and the locations and camera work were the icing on the cake.

This movie weaves a beautiful tapestry of the struggles and triumphs of a family. It exposes the most vulnerable emotions we all feel in our own families.

This was a well written movie. If you love beautiful Italian scenery, good dialog and the occasional dysfunctional family antic - then this is the movie for you. Relaxing, beautiful and a wonderful message.

I think the Italian review above is very harsh - what do we go to see films for? To be entertained and moved emotionally in at least one way. I laughed, cried, smiled and thought this was a great way to spend two hours. It is not pretentious or highbrow but that is good in my opinion - the locations are good on the eye, music enjoyable and a few interesting characters. Whilst it may not be Brosnan's most challenging role he is a likable guy and character and does portray a man with baggage, emotional issues and regret over his relationship with his son. many people will recognise some of the issues in this film, so lighten up in Italy and just regard some films as light entertainment - nothing wrong with that.