Danish editor Molly Malene Stensgaard, best known for her decades-long collaboration with Lars von Trier, won’t be returning for the third season of his cult series “The Kingdom,” she confirmed at Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, where she also joined the Crystal Globe jury.
“It will be strange,” she admitted. Ghita Norby, Soren Pilmark and Peter Mygind will reprise their original roles.
“I did [‘The Kingdom’] less than a year after graduating from film school, where I learnt all sorts of rules. The first thing I heard from Lars was: ‘Forget them.’ It felt odd to stop this work relationship after almost 25 years. But it also felt right.”
After “The Kingdom,” which premiered in 1994 – with Jacob Thuesen and Pernille Bech Christensen also on editing duties – they went on to work on, among other films, “The Idiots,” “Dancer in the Dark” and “Melancholia,” with 2018 “The House That Jack Built” marking their final collaboration,...
“It will be strange,” she admitted. Ghita Norby, Soren Pilmark and Peter Mygind will reprise their original roles.
“I did [‘The Kingdom’] less than a year after graduating from film school, where I learnt all sorts of rules. The first thing I heard from Lars was: ‘Forget them.’ It felt odd to stop this work relationship after almost 25 years. But it also felt right.”
After “The Kingdom,” which premiered in 1994 – with Jacob Thuesen and Pernille Bech Christensen also on editing duties – they went on to work on, among other films, “The Idiots,” “Dancer in the Dark” and “Melancholia,” with 2018 “The House That Jack Built” marking their final collaboration,...
- 7/9/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Opposition to the Academy’s plan to award eight Oscars prior to the live telecast continues to grow, with more than 350 new names — including more than a dozen Oscar-winning editors, cinematographers and production designers — added to the petition sent last week to Academy president David Rubin urging a reversal of the plan.
Among the industry professionals signing are Oscar-winning cinematographers John Seale (“The English Patient”), John Toll (“Braveheart”) and Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves”), and Oscar-winning editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch (“Star Wars”), Mikkel Neilsen (“The Sound of Metal”), Pietro Scalia (“JFK”) and Zach Staenberg (“The Matrix”).
Oscar-winning production designers Hannah Beachler (“Black Panther”), Barbara Ling (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Adam Stockhausen (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and David and Sandy Wasco (“La La Land”) also signed on.
Cinematography will be presented during the live show, but editing and production design are among the eight awards to be presented during the 4 p.
Among the industry professionals signing are Oscar-winning cinematographers John Seale (“The English Patient”), John Toll (“Braveheart”) and Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves”), and Oscar-winning editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch (“Star Wars”), Mikkel Neilsen (“The Sound of Metal”), Pietro Scalia (“JFK”) and Zach Staenberg (“The Matrix”).
Oscar-winning production designers Hannah Beachler (“Black Panther”), Barbara Ling (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Adam Stockhausen (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and David and Sandy Wasco (“La La Land”) also signed on.
Cinematography will be presented during the live show, but editing and production design are among the eight awards to be presented during the 4 p.
- 3/17/2022
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Projects exploring the role of women in Indian society and the country’s rapid economic development feature heavily in the line-up for this year’s Work-in-Progress Lab at Film Bazaar, which includes six fiction and five documentary features.
Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burkha [pictured], produced by Prakash Jha Productions, tells the story of four women struggling with society’s restraints and searching for freedom in small town India.
“Many Indian films are focusing on patriarchy and the restrictions that women have to live with – even male filmmakers are starting to examine this subject,” said Deepti Dcunha, who curates Film Bazaar’s Wip Lab and Viewing Room sections.
The Wip fiction line-up also includes Amit Rai’s ‘I’ Pad, based on the true story of a man who invented a machine to make low-cost sanitary pads. “Its surprising to see a taboo subject like this in an Indian film,” said Dcunha.
In the documentary...
Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burkha [pictured], produced by Prakash Jha Productions, tells the story of four women struggling with society’s restraints and searching for freedom in small town India.
“Many Indian films are focusing on patriarchy and the restrictions that women have to live with – even male filmmakers are starting to examine this subject,” said Deepti Dcunha, who curates Film Bazaar’s Wip Lab and Viewing Room sections.
The Wip fiction line-up also includes Amit Rai’s ‘I’ Pad, based on the true story of a man who invented a machine to make low-cost sanitary pads. “Its surprising to see a taboo subject like this in an Indian film,” said Dcunha.
In the documentary...
- 11/21/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
DVD Playhouse—September 2011
By Allen Gardner
In A Better World (Sony) Winner of last year’s Best Foreign Film Oscar, this Danish export looks at two fractured families and the effect that the adult world dysfunction has on their two sons, who form an immediate and potentially deadly bond. Director Susanne Bier delivers another powerful work that maintains its drive during the films’ first 2/3, then falters somewhat during the last act. Still, well-worth seeing, and beautifully made. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Commentary by Bier and editor Pernille Bech Christensen; Interview with Bier. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
X-men First Class (20th Century Fox) “Origins” film set in the early 1960s, traces the beginnings of Magento and Professor X (played ably here by Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy), and how the once-close friends and colleagues became bitter enemies. First half is slam-bang entertainment at its stylish best,...
By Allen Gardner
In A Better World (Sony) Winner of last year’s Best Foreign Film Oscar, this Danish export looks at two fractured families and the effect that the adult world dysfunction has on their two sons, who form an immediate and potentially deadly bond. Director Susanne Bier delivers another powerful work that maintains its drive during the films’ first 2/3, then falters somewhat during the last act. Still, well-worth seeing, and beautifully made. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Commentary by Bier and editor Pernille Bech Christensen; Interview with Bier. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
X-men First Class (20th Century Fox) “Origins” film set in the early 1960s, traces the beginnings of Magento and Professor X (played ably here by Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy), and how the once-close friends and colleagues became bitter enemies. First half is slam-bang entertainment at its stylish best,...
- 9/11/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Chicago – Susanne Bier’s “In a Better World” has stuck with me. After seeing it in theaters five months ago, I was a little hard on the film due to the fact that it beat out so many great ones for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, including “Dogtooth,” “Incendies,” and the film that most people thought would win, “Biutiful.” I still question that decision, but this is a stronger film than I first gave it credit for — a bit more shallow and cut-and-dry than it should have been but a dramatically satisfying rental, now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Bier is a talented director (I would argue that her underrated “Things We Lost in the Fire” and spectacular “Brothers” are superior films to this one) with a gift for performance — drawing complex, interesting performances from her cast. She does so again here with excellent work...
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Bier is a talented director (I would argue that her underrated “Things We Lost in the Fire” and spectacular “Brothers” are superior films to this one) with a gift for performance — drawing complex, interesting performances from her cast. She does so again here with excellent work...
- 9/11/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This past year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race was an especially meaty one. From Canada's riveting "Incendies" to Greece's oddball domestic horror dramedy "Dogtooth," the nominees were a diverse bunch, to say the least. The winner of the pack, however, Denmark's "In a Better World," now hits DVD and Blu-ray, allowing audiences nationwide the chance to see what all the fuss is about.
Directed with precision and warmth by Susanne Bier ("Brothers," "After the Wedding"), one of Denmark's most popular and talented filmmakers, "In a Better World" is a 'message film' that also serves as a supremely involving drama in its own right.
Swedish star Mikael Persbrandt plays Anton, a doctor who lives with his two sons and estranged wife in a small town in Denmark, and regularly embarks on humanitarian missions at an African refugee camp. When his older son, 10-year-old Elias (Markus Rygaard) is bullied at school,...
Directed with precision and warmth by Susanne Bier ("Brothers," "After the Wedding"), one of Denmark's most popular and talented filmmakers, "In a Better World" is a 'message film' that also serves as a supremely involving drama in its own right.
Swedish star Mikael Persbrandt plays Anton, a doctor who lives with his two sons and estranged wife in a small town in Denmark, and regularly embarks on humanitarian missions at an African refugee camp. When his older son, 10-year-old Elias (Markus Rygaard) is bullied at school,...
- 8/30/2011
- by Nigel Smith
- NextMovie
In a Better World directed by Susanne Bier (Things We Lost in the Fire), the winner of this year’s Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, will be released on a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on August 30 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Markus Rygaard (.) and William Johnk Nielsen look to the future in In a Better World.
The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack carries a list price of $45.99, discounted to $31.99 on Amazon.
The drama-thriller movie follows the life of Anton (Mikael Persbrandt) and his wife Marianne (Trine Dyrholm), who have two young sons (Markus Rygaard and William Johnk Nielsen), are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Anton is a doctor who commutes between his home in an idyllic town in Denmark, and his work at an African refugee camp. In these two very different worlds, he and his family are faced with conflicts that...
Markus Rygaard (.) and William Johnk Nielsen look to the future in In a Better World.
The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack carries a list price of $45.99, discounted to $31.99 on Amazon.
The drama-thriller movie follows the life of Anton (Mikael Persbrandt) and his wife Marianne (Trine Dyrholm), who have two young sons (Markus Rygaard and William Johnk Nielsen), are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Anton is a doctor who commutes between his home in an idyllic town in Denmark, and his work at an African refugee camp. In these two very different worlds, he and his family are faced with conflicts that...
- 6/28/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Converted shipping containers can solve the housing crisis in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. They just have to get to those in need.
What is completely constructed of steel, reinforced with corrugated steel walls, able to withstand winds up to 140 mph, and can make a comfortable living space for the survivors of the Haitian earthquake? A standard shipping container. And researchers at Clemson University are scurrying to figure out how to turn their project, known as Seed, into a way to contribute emergency housing to Haiti right now.
Seed was initially conceived as a way to utilize some of the estimated 30 million shipping containers that were languishing in ports all over the world by turning them into homes for victims of hurricanes in both the Caribbean Islands and the United States.
A research and development team led by Pernille Christensen, associate professor Doug Hecker, and assistant professor Martha Skinner,...
What is completely constructed of steel, reinforced with corrugated steel walls, able to withstand winds up to 140 mph, and can make a comfortable living space for the survivors of the Haitian earthquake? A standard shipping container. And researchers at Clemson University are scurrying to figure out how to turn their project, known as Seed, into a way to contribute emergency housing to Haiti right now.
Seed was initially conceived as a way to utilize some of the estimated 30 million shipping containers that were languishing in ports all over the world by turning them into homes for victims of hurricanes in both the Caribbean Islands and the United States.
A research and development team led by Pernille Christensen, associate professor Doug Hecker, and assistant professor Martha Skinner,...
- 1/19/2010
- by Lydia Dishman
- Fast Company
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Things We Lost in the Fire".
"Things We Lost in the Fire" is an unstable mix of a tearjerker, junkie-recovery story and odd-couple pairing. The film marks the American debut of Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, whose European films show a strong affinity for stories of human frailties and of families unraveling. So this one is right up her alley. One final twist: In going for the best actors, Bier has put together a racially mixed cast with Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro in roles that were undoubtedly written as white. What a refreshing change.
Despite the challenges of blending a European sensibility into a Hollywood production, the film holds together not all that badly. Bier brings her audience into the film, to live the story with the characters in a manner highly unusual in an American film. Normally such dramatic intensity and keen observation come in top Sundance films pitched to small adult audiences, but with Oscar-winning actors top billed and the full-court press of Paramount's marketing team, "Fire" could and should break out to a much wider audience.
The film does not initially follow a linear path. Tacking forward and back over a brief period of time, the film, written by Allan Loeb, much more effectively conveys a sense of devastating loss than chronology would provide. A comfortable, happy family of four suffers the tragic death of the father, Brian Burke (David Duchovny). Yet because Brian appears on and off throughout these opening scenes via flashbacks, his actual absence becomes all the more an emotional, physical and even spiritual void.
If there is a false note here it is that this is a family set up for a fall: Everyone is too happy, comfortable and good looking to be real, and dad is impossibly good. He even dies a hero's death, trying to rescue a battered woman from her abusive -- and, it turns out, murderous -- husband. He also is a real estate genius who leaves behind enough of a nest egg that the only issue confronting his family is his loss.
There apparently was only one sore point between Brian and his loving, sexy wife Audrey (Berry). She neither understands nor appreciates his continuing friendship and support of childhood friend Jerry (Del Toro), a lawyer who has landed on skid row thanks to heroin addiction. So Jerry's appearance, at Audrey's generous invitation, during Brian's funeral is that of a ghost from another world -- yet a world in which he knows things about Brian that his wife does not.
As the only adult who loved Brian as much as she did, Audrey finds herself unnervingly drawn to Jerry. She invites the recovering addict to occupy the family's garage that was converted into a living quarters following a fire but never occupied. Jerry soon finds himself uncomfortably acting as a surrogate father and head of house. Ten-year-old Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) and 6-year-old Dory (Micah Berry, no relation to Halle) naturally respond to him with affection and emotional neediness. And there is something about him that allows him to tune into their wavelengths more easily than their own parents.
Another false note is hit when Audrey insists that Jerry come to her bed one night and hold her as Brian once did so she can fall asleep. It makes sense on no level -- especially given her antipathy for him at this time -- and the movie takes a while to recover.
Sensing that Jerry is getting too close to her kids, Audrey abruptly and unfairly kicks him out of the garage. She does so just as Jerry has gotten a real estate license thanks to a friendly neighbor John Carroll Lynch), who is trying to shake off his own sense of loss following Brian's death. This rejection causes Jerry to relapse. A fellow Narcotics Anonymous attendee, Kelly (Alison Lohman), notices his absence and her tip sends Audrey into skid row to reclaim the troubled man.
The scenes of Jerry's recovery and Kelly's surprising impact on the Burke family elevate the third act into finely observed human drama. Despite its false steps, the film reclaims the intensity and integrity of its early scenes to finish on a note of hope.
Bier again sticks to the handheld camera style of previous films, even shoving her camera into actors' eyeballs, which is not always the best way to convey the emotions of particular scenes. Probably the most distracting problem is, oddly, her lead actress' glamour. With her own credited makeup artist and hair stylist, Berry walks into each scene, no matter what the emotions, as if ready for a photo shoot. The worst instance comes when Audrey searches for Jerry in a grim back alley junkies have turned into a shooting gallery. She is dressed in a tight outfit and eye-catching red jacket that is completely out of place.
Berry does deliver a solid performance as a woman and mother at the end of her emotional rope, not always rational but struggling to hold it together. Del Toro has nailed the junkie vibe without resorting to histrionics. He too is trying to hold himself together even as his insides threaten to implode. Duchovny makes a considerable impact in his brief appearances.
Lynch and Lohman do well with much meatier roles than minor supporting character generally have. Llewellyn and Berry are excellent as the children, who don't quite know how to feel about their father's death and the sudden appearance of a new man in their lives.
THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
Paramount
DreamWorks presents a Neal Street production
Credits:
Director: Susanne Bier
Screenwriter: Allan Loeb
Producers: Sam Mendes, Sam Mercer
Executive producers: Pippa Harris, Allan Loeb
Director of photography: Tom Stern
Production designer: Richard Sherman
Music: Johan Soderqvist
Costume designer: Karen Matthews
Editors: Pernille Bech Christensen, Bruce Cannon
Cast:
Audrey Burke: Halle Berry
Jerry Sunborne: Benicio Del Toro
Brian: David Duchovny
Harper: Alexis Llewellyn
Dory: Micah Berry
Howard: John Carroll Lynch
Kelly: Alison Lohman
Neal: Omar Benson Miller
Running time -- 117 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
"Things We Lost in the Fire" is an unstable mix of a tearjerker, junkie-recovery story and odd-couple pairing. The film marks the American debut of Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, whose European films show a strong affinity for stories of human frailties and of families unraveling. So this one is right up her alley. One final twist: In going for the best actors, Bier has put together a racially mixed cast with Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro in roles that were undoubtedly written as white. What a refreshing change.
Despite the challenges of blending a European sensibility into a Hollywood production, the film holds together not all that badly. Bier brings her audience into the film, to live the story with the characters in a manner highly unusual in an American film. Normally such dramatic intensity and keen observation come in top Sundance films pitched to small adult audiences, but with Oscar-winning actors top billed and the full-court press of Paramount's marketing team, "Fire" could and should break out to a much wider audience.
The film does not initially follow a linear path. Tacking forward and back over a brief period of time, the film, written by Allan Loeb, much more effectively conveys a sense of devastating loss than chronology would provide. A comfortable, happy family of four suffers the tragic death of the father, Brian Burke (David Duchovny). Yet because Brian appears on and off throughout these opening scenes via flashbacks, his actual absence becomes all the more an emotional, physical and even spiritual void.
If there is a false note here it is that this is a family set up for a fall: Everyone is too happy, comfortable and good looking to be real, and dad is impossibly good. He even dies a hero's death, trying to rescue a battered woman from her abusive -- and, it turns out, murderous -- husband. He also is a real estate genius who leaves behind enough of a nest egg that the only issue confronting his family is his loss.
There apparently was only one sore point between Brian and his loving, sexy wife Audrey (Berry). She neither understands nor appreciates his continuing friendship and support of childhood friend Jerry (Del Toro), a lawyer who has landed on skid row thanks to heroin addiction. So Jerry's appearance, at Audrey's generous invitation, during Brian's funeral is that of a ghost from another world -- yet a world in which he knows things about Brian that his wife does not.
As the only adult who loved Brian as much as she did, Audrey finds herself unnervingly drawn to Jerry. She invites the recovering addict to occupy the family's garage that was converted into a living quarters following a fire but never occupied. Jerry soon finds himself uncomfortably acting as a surrogate father and head of house. Ten-year-old Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) and 6-year-old Dory (Micah Berry, no relation to Halle) naturally respond to him with affection and emotional neediness. And there is something about him that allows him to tune into their wavelengths more easily than their own parents.
Another false note is hit when Audrey insists that Jerry come to her bed one night and hold her as Brian once did so she can fall asleep. It makes sense on no level -- especially given her antipathy for him at this time -- and the movie takes a while to recover.
Sensing that Jerry is getting too close to her kids, Audrey abruptly and unfairly kicks him out of the garage. She does so just as Jerry has gotten a real estate license thanks to a friendly neighbor John Carroll Lynch), who is trying to shake off his own sense of loss following Brian's death. This rejection causes Jerry to relapse. A fellow Narcotics Anonymous attendee, Kelly (Alison Lohman), notices his absence and her tip sends Audrey into skid row to reclaim the troubled man.
The scenes of Jerry's recovery and Kelly's surprising impact on the Burke family elevate the third act into finely observed human drama. Despite its false steps, the film reclaims the intensity and integrity of its early scenes to finish on a note of hope.
Bier again sticks to the handheld camera style of previous films, even shoving her camera into actors' eyeballs, which is not always the best way to convey the emotions of particular scenes. Probably the most distracting problem is, oddly, her lead actress' glamour. With her own credited makeup artist and hair stylist, Berry walks into each scene, no matter what the emotions, as if ready for a photo shoot. The worst instance comes when Audrey searches for Jerry in a grim back alley junkies have turned into a shooting gallery. She is dressed in a tight outfit and eye-catching red jacket that is completely out of place.
Berry does deliver a solid performance as a woman and mother at the end of her emotional rope, not always rational but struggling to hold it together. Del Toro has nailed the junkie vibe without resorting to histrionics. He too is trying to hold himself together even as his insides threaten to implode. Duchovny makes a considerable impact in his brief appearances.
Lynch and Lohman do well with much meatier roles than minor supporting character generally have. Llewellyn and Berry are excellent as the children, who don't quite know how to feel about their father's death and the sudden appearance of a new man in their lives.
THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
Paramount
DreamWorks presents a Neal Street production
Credits:
Director: Susanne Bier
Screenwriter: Allan Loeb
Producers: Sam Mendes, Sam Mercer
Executive producers: Pippa Harris, Allan Loeb
Director of photography: Tom Stern
Production designer: Richard Sherman
Music: Johan Soderqvist
Costume designer: Karen Matthews
Editors: Pernille Bech Christensen, Bruce Cannon
Cast:
Audrey Burke: Halle Berry
Jerry Sunborne: Benicio Del Toro
Brian: David Duchovny
Harper: Alexis Llewellyn
Dory: Micah Berry
Howard: John Carroll Lynch
Kelly: Alison Lohman
Neal: Omar Benson Miller
Running time -- 117 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 10/9/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opens Friday, Feb. 21
New York
Adhering to the strict guidelines of Dogme filmmaking, Danish director Susanne Bier takes potentially melodramatic material and strips it down into something quite affecting in the constantly surprising "Open Hearts".
It's all still according to the Dogme 95 manifesto with all its rules regarding the use of nothing other than available ambient light and sound, but unlike most of those previous pared-down efforts, it's Dogme with a strong emotional backbone.
The first of Bier's successful features to be released in North America, Denmark's foreign-language Oscar submission should attract some handsome art house business for distributor Newmarket Films, particularly given its eyebrow-raising premise.
In less capable hands, the story about a doctor who has an intense affair with the woman whose fiance is seriously injured after being hit by a car driven by the doctor's wife would leave a big, messy trail of soapy suds in its path. But Bier, working from a screenplay by Anders Thomas Jensen ("The King Is Alive"), deftly brings any hand-wringing notions of tragic fate down to more conceivable, earthbound levels.
Through the effective use of some playful banter, Bier neatly and quickly establishes the attentive, loving relationship between the recently engaged Cecilie (Sonja Richter) and Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas).
Just as swiftly, however, their lives together are brutally altered after the accident that renders Joachim physically and emotionally paralyzed.
As it turns out, Marie (Paprika Steen), the driver of the vehicle that hit him, had been quarreling with her daughter, Stine (Stine Bjerregaard) at the time, and, obviously guilt-ridden, she asks her husband, Niels (Mads Mikkelsen), who works at the hospital where Joachim was taken, to help Cecilie through the ordeal. The professional courtesy ultimately turns very personal as Niels and Cecilie end up falling into each others arms with repercussions that prove to be every bit as shattering as that car accident.
Miraculously, Bier, Jensen and her exceptional cast manage to sidestep every potential wince-inducing, melodramatic land mine, keeping it all very real despite those highly stacked odds.
In the absence of kitchen-sink villains and manipulative string sections (Dogme rules prohibit any kind of dramatic underscoring), a great deal of authentic, unfiltered poignancy is allowed to seep through.
At a point when the whole Dogme exercise seemed to be losing creative steam, along comes Bier with welcome filmmaking substance to invigorate the stripped-down style.
OPEN HEARTS
Newmarket Films
Zentropa Entertainments
Credits:
Director: Susanne Bier
Screenwriter: Anders Thomas Jensen
Based on an idea by Susanne Bier
Executive producer: Peter Aalbaek Jensen
Director of photography: Morten Soborg
Editors: Pernille Bech Christensen, Thomas Krag
Music: Jesper Winge Leisner
Cast:
Cecilie: Sonja Richter
Niels: Mads Mikkelsen
Joachim: Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Marie: Paprika Steen
Stine: Stine Bjerregaard
Running time -- 114 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
New York
Adhering to the strict guidelines of Dogme filmmaking, Danish director Susanne Bier takes potentially melodramatic material and strips it down into something quite affecting in the constantly surprising "Open Hearts".
It's all still according to the Dogme 95 manifesto with all its rules regarding the use of nothing other than available ambient light and sound, but unlike most of those previous pared-down efforts, it's Dogme with a strong emotional backbone.
The first of Bier's successful features to be released in North America, Denmark's foreign-language Oscar submission should attract some handsome art house business for distributor Newmarket Films, particularly given its eyebrow-raising premise.
In less capable hands, the story about a doctor who has an intense affair with the woman whose fiance is seriously injured after being hit by a car driven by the doctor's wife would leave a big, messy trail of soapy suds in its path. But Bier, working from a screenplay by Anders Thomas Jensen ("The King Is Alive"), deftly brings any hand-wringing notions of tragic fate down to more conceivable, earthbound levels.
Through the effective use of some playful banter, Bier neatly and quickly establishes the attentive, loving relationship between the recently engaged Cecilie (Sonja Richter) and Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas).
Just as swiftly, however, their lives together are brutally altered after the accident that renders Joachim physically and emotionally paralyzed.
As it turns out, Marie (Paprika Steen), the driver of the vehicle that hit him, had been quarreling with her daughter, Stine (Stine Bjerregaard) at the time, and, obviously guilt-ridden, she asks her husband, Niels (Mads Mikkelsen), who works at the hospital where Joachim was taken, to help Cecilie through the ordeal. The professional courtesy ultimately turns very personal as Niels and Cecilie end up falling into each others arms with repercussions that prove to be every bit as shattering as that car accident.
Miraculously, Bier, Jensen and her exceptional cast manage to sidestep every potential wince-inducing, melodramatic land mine, keeping it all very real despite those highly stacked odds.
In the absence of kitchen-sink villains and manipulative string sections (Dogme rules prohibit any kind of dramatic underscoring), a great deal of authentic, unfiltered poignancy is allowed to seep through.
At a point when the whole Dogme exercise seemed to be losing creative steam, along comes Bier with welcome filmmaking substance to invigorate the stripped-down style.
OPEN HEARTS
Newmarket Films
Zentropa Entertainments
Credits:
Director: Susanne Bier
Screenwriter: Anders Thomas Jensen
Based on an idea by Susanne Bier
Executive producer: Peter Aalbaek Jensen
Director of photography: Morten Soborg
Editors: Pernille Bech Christensen, Thomas Krag
Music: Jesper Winge Leisner
Cast:
Cecilie: Sonja Richter
Niels: Mads Mikkelsen
Joachim: Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Marie: Paprika Steen
Stine: Stine Bjerregaard
Running time -- 114 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 2/21/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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