Love Is All You Need

I saw this film as part of the Ghent filmfestival 2012. Usually I've little interest in feelgood movies, and particularly not when wedding festivities are an integral element. But the synopsis in the filmfestival brochure had that little something that made me book tickets, and I'm not disappointed. That does not mean that important questions of life and death are discussed, but rather that it proves solid entertainment for the whole duration (nearly 2 hours), no more no less. You will forget about the movie later on, to remember only that it was pleasant and amusing throughout.

The story line develops steadily, and all important characters get time to be introduced to the audience. In other words, we really get the chance to know them. These introductions are spread evenly, and luckily not condensed in the first quarter.

Center of the proceedings is hairdresser Ida, who just returned from hospital after a cancer treatment. She is wearing a wig as a result, hence the original title "The bald hairdresser" (possibly for commercial reasons translated to "Love is all you need"). Still not certain about the ultimate success of the cancer treatment, she returns home. There she finds her husband Leif with the much younger Tilde (from "accounting") doing it on the couch. Ida does not take it lightly, and a divorce seems imminent.

As her daughter Astrid will be getting married in Italy within a few days, she travels alone to the airport. In her nerves to park the car in order to catch her flight, she collides with the car of a business man in vegetables (Philip). He happens to be the father of the groom (Patrick), and on his way to the same marriage. This coincidence seems a bit of a stretch as well as statistically impossible. Luckily it is the only thing in this film that I consider far fetched. Combining that encounter with the fact (we learn that later on) that he is a widower, allows us to predict the main story line from that moment on. However... It does not happen that way, at least not exactly.

Apart from the developments around the relationship between Ida and Philip, there are ample opportunities for sub-plots and new characters to be introduced along the line. All this gets gradually interwoven in the story, without giving us a feeling that the film makers are overdoing it. The time that the film takes, much more than the average 90 minutes, offers sufficient room for parallel story lines to develop and come to a (sometimes happy, sometimes not so happy) conclusion. The script mixes all these many ingredients in an ingenious way, and stays believable from start to finish (aforementioned car accident being the only exception).

I don't think it makes any sense to delve deeper in the scenario. Which is next to impossible anyway without revealing how the story develops, and without introducing spoilers in the text. That would take away much of the surprise, a definite no-no, since surprises are the main ingredients out of which this film is made.

Apart from superb casting and acting that we are allowed to witness, the story line (better: story lines) suffice to keep the viewer interested all the time in what will happen next. I could not spot any dull moments, in other words fully qualified entertainment for the whole family. Expecting no more than what the label says, I scored it deservedly with a maximum (5) for the audience award when leaving the theater.

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.

It doesn't matter how much you have, materialistic speaking. The one and only thing that makes sense in life and never fades away is the love we all feel inside, regardless of how many times it seems to let us down. Love is like an endless spring, always digging other ways to keep on flowing, if you'll let it.

"Love Is All You Need" doesn't need to say much. It's just a look into dysfunctional families and the many secrets we all hold, trying to avoid confrontation because it's much easier to pretend everything is okay. It's a very romantic and, yet, sad journey that takes you through the pain and determination of a character fighting to stay alive in every sense of the way. Sometimes love may seem to have abandoned you until it kisses you from behind, restoring the hope you thought was lost. Simply lovely.

Surprisingly this movie expelled all my expectations. It was a simply good movie with nice characters and places, not an awesome-awesome one though. So diverse romance-drama told in the perspective of the elder people's beginning of a new relationship. It is a predictable plot so there's no surprise twists at all. From the director of 'In a Better World' this movie narrates the story of a widower and a hairdresser whose husband is cheating on her.

A widower businessman in his 50s probably is preparing to attend his son's wedding in abroad. In other side of the story a woman who successfully completed her cancer treatment as well getting ready to attend her daughter's wedding in Italy. In an accident these two meet at the airport. With a little discomfortable at beginning they start to like each other. For the sake of children these two must sacrifice what they have found within them. So the lives goes on as it forced them to move along with it.

Extraordinary performances by Pierce Brosnan and a woman on his counterpart character called Ida was awesome. I can't finish this review without mentioning the bride, she looked so pretty. Sadly it was not her story. The seaside locations in Italy were beautiful, played a crucial role in the movie's pleasant presentation. They shot it at the right season I guess because it was alluring. Everyone might not enjoy the movie because it deals about older people's romance and I am not old but I liked it.

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.