Product Description: The shattering portrait of a family struggling with the fragility of life & searching for connection healing & forgiveness. Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 07/10/2007 Run time: 119 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com: Equal parts weepy drama and soap opera, After the Wedding is a beautifully filmed story centering on Jacob (Mads Mikkelsen, Casino Royale), a Danish man working at a orphanage in Bombay. Just when funds have run desperately low, Jorgen (Rolf Lassgård)--a wealthy benefactor--promises to donate millions of dollars to the orphanage. But there's a catch. Jacob must collect the funds himself in Copenhagen... and attend the wedding of the eccentric millionaire's daughter. But once Jacob meets the benefactor's wife Helene (played by a radiant Sidse Babett Knudsen), it's obvious to the viewer that the two have a complicated history. It's also likely that her daughter Anna (Stine Fischer Christensen) most probably is theirs. So why did Jorgen invite Jacob to Anna's wedding? Does he know Jacob is Anna's father? Is something nefarious in the works? The thought-provoking film was Denmark's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 Academy Awards. Subtitled in English, the Danish picture is well helmed by director Susanne Bier (Brothers), who manages to keep the film from delving into over the top histrionics. Mikkelsen is particularly good, whether he's channeling his anger at having been shut out of his maybe-daughter's life for the past 20 years, or having to grovel a bit to get Jorgen to donate the funds as promised to his orphanage. The relationships here are messy and often uncomfortable. But they also ring true to life. --Jae-Ha Kim
AN INTELLIGENT ADULT DRAMA ^ Social worker (Mikkelsen) runs an orphanage in India but must return to his home in Denmark to meet a wealthy industrialist who is interested in funding one of his projects. He arrives in Copenhagen just as the rich man's daughter is about to be married. At the man's insistence Mikkelsen attends the ceremony and during the wedding he makes a shocking discovery. This is one of the most interesting and intelligent dramas I've ever seen. An extremely well acted film that makes you realize the impact your decisions can have in other people's lives.
A film that reaches to my core and finds something pure... ^ I truly respect director Susanne Bier for not conforming to the types of films society often embraces but actually really working to create something that feels real and pure within her work. Even in her English speaking film `Things We Lost in the Fire' she never shied away from presenting the audience with something uncomfortable if she knew it was `real'.
Of all her work, I feel that `Efter Brylluppet' is her best.
We all know the term `misery loves company' and if you've read my reviews long enough to know the types of films I often indulge you'd know that that phrase can be applied to my preferred entertainment choice. I love a film that can move me to tears and tear me down because it produces something real in me; a real emotional connection to the material. Thus, the film becomes something so much more than just `entertainment'; it becomes a part of my soul. `Efter Brylluppet' is not that depressing but it does produce something in me, something raw and unforgettable. The film filters through so many emotions on screen and it elicits so many emotions off screen. It's such a well rounded emotional rollercoaster and I love that about it. You can feel something for every character, but what makes this movie so amazing is that you feel so many different things about each character. There is no designated villain, no designated hero, no designated victim. Everyone is all of the above at one time or another and thus each and every character becomes so much more than just a `character', they become human.
The film tells the story of Jacob, a man working in an orphanage in Bombay. When funds run low and he becomes desperate he travels to Copenhagen to meet with a wealthy man offering to `consider' his orphanage for a large donation. The catch is that he must stay and attend the man's daughter's wedding. It turns out that this man, Jorgen, is married to Jacob's ex-girlfriend Helene who happens to have bore her daughter, Anna, out of wedlock. If you aren't following then I'll put it a little blunter.
It appears that Jacob may actually be Anna's father.
This is the immediate surprise, but it is not the only one, in this masterfully crafted weep fest by Bier. Each character has so much to say, and each and every word seems to help complete and or flesh out the person next to them. Each person is so connected and reliant on those around them.
`Efter Brylluppet' exposes the beautiful side of human connection; trust me.
The acting here is also outstanding from everyone involved. Mads Mikkelsen is wonderfully controlled as Jacob, allowing his eyes to expose what his character is always trying to conceal. I also really loved what Rolf Lassgard did with the character of Jorgen. He takes this man and creates someone who appears one thing, so mysterious and someone guarded, and exposes his secret in such a desperate and crushingly realistic way. It's a beautiful (and heartbreaking) transformation. As great as the two men are, Sidse Babett Knudsen is even better. As Helene, she really has to carry a lot of the emotional weight of the film (it was her cross to bear) and she does so with such raw connection and flawless control.
Such a stunning performance.
So, to bring us back to my initial statement, about `misery loving company' and all that. The reason I brought that up is because, as some of you know, I love films that embellish the miseries in life. I often find that a films `happy ending' is a falsity and that it takes away from the gritty realities I like to see in my cinema. What is so beautiful about `Efter Brylluppet' is that I turned my whole opinion on its head. This is a film that, yes, focuses on some of life's miseries, but the end result is something so beautifully complete that it sparked in me a realistic idea of hope. No, the ending is not all roses and candy, but it lessens the bleak with a believable display of picking up, moving on and doing the right thing.
Well-Acted Drama ^ This subtitled Danish film give us an enjoyably nuanced and intruiging story of life and morality among attractive and successful people undergoing serious life crises. Many interesting twists contribute to suspense and poignancy. On the other hand, I really could have done without the artsy camera work and vertigo-inducing visual sweeps.
A Danish melodrama with substance ^ "After the Wedding" was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2007 and is directed by Susanne Bier [whose other credits include Brothers]. The story centers on human relationships, and the tangled webs that connect one individual to another, as well as family ties.
Jacob [Mads Mikkelsen, more familiar as the villain from Casino Royale] has devoted his time and many years to establishing humanitarian projects in India. He is told that the orphanage he is working in is running low on funds and is persuaded by the director of the orphanage to return to Denmark to negotiate a possible deal, a large donation from a prominent businessman. When Jacob arrives in Denmark, he meets Jorgen [Rolf Larsson] who seems almost uninterested in the details about the orphanage and doesn't give an immediate answer as to whether he will bail out the orphanage. Jorgen then insists that Jacob attend Jorgen's daughter's wedding, and Jacob reluctantly agrees.
At the wedding, Jacob is stunned to discover that Jorgen's wife is Helene, a woman from Jacob's past. Soon after this meeting, the drama escalates, as Jacob begins to feel he is some sort of pawn in a game orchestrated by Jorgen. Needless to say, all is not as it seems and Jacob questions Jorgen's motives, as does Helene.
There are plenty of twists and turns in this movie, and at times, it does appear contrived, but the excellent acting, especially by the actors playing Jorgen, Jacob and Helene, as well as the assured direction elevates this movie above a regular melodrama. There are some truly poignant moments that had me all weepy, but this is after all a drama about human frailties and the complex ties that bind people to one another.
The DVD comes with extra features such as a 2006 interview with the director [in Danish], 8 deleted scenes,and an eight-min featurette that has a movie critic discussing the deleted scenes with the director. Total running time is 1 hr 59 mins, and the language options are: Danish 5.1 Dolby Digital English Subtitles Spanish Subtitles English Captions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Conclusion - excellent Danish drama with substance.
Superb Movie ^ One of the best movies I have seen for a long while - quite an extraordinary story - one of the most moving I have seen as in some respects it is so believable - nothing is overdone here, and the twists in the plot come thick and fast. All Suzanne Bier's films are good - The Brothers/Open Heart are two recent ones very much worth watching - but this is even better. Watch it.
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