After the Wedding (2006)

I may be getting too sentimental in my old age but this film was so touching that I actually cried through quite a bit of it. What I found so touching was how essentially good almost all the characters were.

The central character Jacob Pederson (Mads Mikkelsen) despite a nearly constant scowl on his face or a look of deep concern and perhaps worry is a man who really cares about right and wrong and other people. This is a sharp change from his misspent youth when all he cared about were...well what many of us cared about, having a good time. Now he runs an orphanage in Mumbai.

While Jacob is the central character the most interesting character and the one with the biggest heart is the very rich Jorgen Lennart Hannson (Rolf Lassgard). Jacob has gone to Denmark to convince Jorgen to support his orphanage. It isn't clear that Jorgen will do so. He has choices for charity. But when Jorgen invites Jacob to his daughter's elaborate wedding, things change.

I won't say any more about the plot since it is such an interesting and surprising plot. What I will say is that when Jorgen learns who Jacob really is in relationship to his family (and vice-versa!) he does something so caring, so surprising and so correct and so magnanimous that it will warm the cockles of the coldest heart and bring to tears the most cynical of viewers.

And then we are back to Jacob and how he deals with what Jorgen has concocted. And he too does the right thing even though it completely changes his life and costs him something dear to his heart..

I wish I could be more concrete. But see the film and I think you'll agree that this is the kind of movie that will make you feel good about people. It's a shame that it's rated "R." Perhaps if you have a tweener or even a bright 10-year-old you can watch it together. And you can talk about it. It is a great relationship film, and a great film for teaching young people about the real choices in life that can come up The acting was excellent. Mikkelsen brought the strength of character and a justified pride to the role of Jacob while Lassgard was warm and real and smart as Jorgen. Both Sidse Babett Knudsen, who played Jorgen's wife, and Stine Fischer Christensen, who played the bride, were intense and so vivid I felt I could touch them. (The intense close-ups on the eyes and faces—and I mean intense—made the actors almost leap off the screen.) But most of my praise must go to Susanne Bier who wrote the story and directed and to Anders Thomas Jensen who wrote the screenplay. The story and the movie are simply brilliant.

—Dennis Littrell, author of the movie review collection, "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!"

Fmovies: This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long while. I am lucky that I was able to see it at a screening, and I will certainly look out for other movies from the director and writer.

It starts off low key and you're not sure where it is going to go. Then things get very intense dramatically. In a lesser movie this would be near the end, but in this movie it is just the beginning. At times it gets emotional with very excellent acting. The plot keeps changing in unpredictable ways, and who the plot is revolving around keeps changing also. Really well designed story and well directed production.

Apparently it is on the verge of release in the US. The version I saw in a US screening was subtitled (one of the forum posters asked if it would be dubbed).

You've probably read the glowing remarks about this film, so I won't be too repetitious. The film moves slowly along and where the story is going to take us isn't revealed for a while. It's like peeling the onion but with rewards in each layer. I was thinking about differentiating here but, as does the onion, this film also brings tears.

I liked the way we find out that our protagonist is from Denmark and has a past that drove him away and into a new life. He is certainly more of a giving human being that when he left the country. The story then follows a course that to a large degree his former life created.

One of the aspects I especially enjoyed in the film is the use of some Dogme 95 rules. It's not a Dogme film but the director makes good use of many parts of that approach. The camera is hand held and it's use here made me feel more involved with the characters. The use of available light made the film much more beautiful and warm. One of the good results of the Dogme use here is that the director has made a film that, even for its' slow pace, dispenses with non-important fluff that would most certainly have been added if it had been made in the USA. There was a reason for every scene.

So be prepared for a slow paced film loaded with beauty and revelation. You'll be rewarded with a wonderful film experience. Prior to seeing it I had thought Pan's Labyrinth would win an Oscar, but not anymore. Then I saw The Lives of Others and moved both of the films down a notch. They were my top three films of 2006, in fact none of my top three were American made. What a year for imports!

After the Wedding fmovies. I knew nothing about this film before going to see it except that it was Oscar nominated and starred Bond's 'Casino Royale' foe Mads Mikkelsen. But I'd heard good things and despite it being a day so sunny in April that you should really spend it in the park I ventured into the dark cinema. All I can say is that I am so, so glad I did as this has to be one of the best films I have seen this year. Jacob (Mikkelsen) runs an orphanage/school in India that due to funding will have to close if they don't do something quickly, cue a phone call from Denmark where a millionaire is looking to invest some money in a good cause and Jacob has no choice but to go home and try to win over the mystery funder. Cut to Copenhagen and the very rich living of Jorgen and his family, a self-made millionaire Jorgen is preparing for the Wedding of his daughter and as his family gather round the mansion we see that he has a pretty good life. Cut back to Jacob who after living in squalid conditions in India for so long is struggling to understand the swish hotel he's been booked in for his visit. When the two meet to discuss the investment Jacob is over enthusiastic but Jorgen is nonchalant and pre-occupied with the weekends approaching festivities, so much so he decides to conclude the deal on Monday and seeing as Jacob is here on his invitation with nothing to do all weekend he decides to ask him to attend the wedding. So far so seemingly normal. It is at this point that the film takes some dramatic turns and through a series of unexpected events, a few skeletons in closets, the past and emotive performances, becomes a really deep and moving piece of cinema. I don't want to spoil it by saying anymore about it except it's nothing short of brilliant. I haven't seen a film for ages that deals with such negative and positive issues with such compassion and integrity without being hammy or over the top. The direction is flawless, the music is fitting and the cinematography is almost dogma in style but with a certain crispness to it. The performances are outstanding and it's not hard to see why it was Oscar nominated and won countless awards. The way the script is superbly written it reminded of 'Secrets and Lies' by Mike Leigh in the way it captures humans acting realistically in real situations. By the time the film starts to conclude the tissues were coming out to wipe away the tears of sadness and joy, which is a very powerful position to be in for any film, and the audience left the auditorium into bright sunshine glad like me that they'd had chance to see this amazing piece of cinema.

Who said secrets aren't fun? Susanne Bier's After The Wedding reveals a deliciously profound and emotionally-impacting conundrum that draws the audience into the story early on. As a film technique, Bier's method of storytelling is effectively engaging. In fact, it's the director's ability to manipulate our emotions as viewers that makes this film so wonderfully unique. With the inclusion of a cross-cultural perspective not typically seen in Nordic film, After the Wedding is one of the more important films to emerge from Denmark in recent years.

One distinct aspect of the film is its use of raw emotion, a factor rarely seen to this extent in traditional Hollywood films. Much of this quality can be attributed to the film's actors and actresses. Mads Mikkelsen does a superb job playing Jacob, a man who's past roots entwine with the other characters in the film more heavily than he previously assumed. Situated in India, Jacob leaves for Copenhagen to meet with a wealthy man named Jorgen, played by Rolf Lassgård, to receive financial aid. To help get accustomed to Jacob and facilitate his trust, Jorgen invites Jacob to his daughter's wedding that evening. While there, the audience learns of a particular secret that turns out to be an emotional bombshell for both Jacob other members of the wedding.

The film really shines in its use of emotion to drive the story. Indeed, the most powerful moments of the film do take place after the titular wedding. Jacob, who was previously committed to returning to India to partake in his surrogate son's 8th birthday, must make difficult choices in lieu of the truths revealed at the wedding. Jorgen's wife Helene, played by Sidse Babett Knudsen, must conflict with her husband's consistent nondisclosure of the truth. Jorgen's daughter Anna, Stine Fischer Christensen, learns many of the hardships of marriage and commitment. Each of these instances are linked with a particularly poignant and powerful scene that draws the audience into the situation. One scene in particular pulls at our heartstrings, as we uncomfortably watch the previously indomitable Jorgen collapse in a fit of weeping and screaming. Bier manages to successfully make the audience empathize with the characters in the story, a difficult task and something not common in Hollywood convention.

Another element where After The Wedding succeeds is in the portrayal of cross-cultural experiences. Jacob's character is defined by his commitment to social justice. His motivations are clear from the beginning - he desires additional funding for his orphanage. After the wedding, when facts change, Jacob's moral obligations keep him in Denmark to continue doing the morally right thing. Without revealing too much of the film's plot, Jacob evolves into a morally capable character who satisfies the role he was presented. As it turns out, there is a strong Scandinavian presence in many social projects across the globe. It was refreshing to see this illustrated in Jacob's character.

The film also utilized unique techniques to achieve its desired emotional response. Many of the tense moments employ a cinematographic technique where the camera zooms in on a character's eyes with a shallow focus. While not practical from a storytelling standpoint, the viewer is immediately linked to the deeper thoughts and emotions of the character by focusing on the eye. Some say the eye is the gateway into the soul, and Bier clearly understood this concept. Another technique t

Efter brylluppet (2006), written and directed by Susanne Bier, is a Danish film shown in the U.S. with the title "After the Wedding."

The film is like a jigsaw puzzle that has been started but not completed. As the story progresses, pieces are added to the puzzle one at a time. There are secrets upon secrets, and memories upon memories. Only one character knows the entire story, and he is hiding a secret of his own.

The film begins in India, and the footage shot there has the ring of truth about it. Most of the film concerns wealthy people living in Denmark. The contrast between the poor in India and the wealthy in Scandinavia is immense. (Actually, it's more than that--it defies description.)

The person who travels between India and Denmark--Jacob--is the link between these two worlds. He works in an orphanage in India, and he is sent to Denmark to convince a billionaire businessman to fund the project. The plot unfolds slowly, in a subtle and unpredictable manner. There are many ambiguities, and not all of these are sorted out by the end of the film.

The acting is extremely good, with outstanding lead actors and an excellent supporting cast. If I had to single out one actor for praise, it would be the extraordinarily talented Sidse Babett Knudsen, who plays Helene, the wife of the wealthy business man. Ms. Knudsen turns in a nuanced and satisfying performance that is a pleasure to watch.

This exceptional film was appropriately nominated for an Oscar. It's certainly one of the best movies of 2006, and deserves wider distribution so that more people can see it.