After the Wedding

Sometimes some films go unnoticed. Either because they come from countries we don't exactly positioned on the world map, or because those gems are directed by none mainstream directors, or maybe because those films don't have a wide distribution and sometimes because the title or the story's pitch is not that engaging… "After the Wedding" might has gone unnoticed for all these bad reasons so let's first clear them up.

Denmark is in northern Europe, capital Copenhagen. This country gave us the 1987 Oscar winning "Babette's Feast" by Gabriel Axel and the 1988 Oscar winner, "Pelle the Conqueror" by Bille August. As per Susanne Bier who directed "After the Wedding" if she is not a mainstream director she also is not exactly a junior director. In fact she already directed a dozen of films, all emotionally engaging like Brødre (2004) aka Brothers or Sekten (1997) aka Credo.

In the city I was leaving in at that time only 2 or 3 cinemas were showing "After the Wedding". And quite frankly when I first red the synopsis I thought the movie would likely be a bore fest: a manager of an orphanage (Mikkelsen) in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark in order to discuss sponsoring with a billionaire (Lassgård) but what he discovers is a life-altering family secret. Fortunately my better half convinced me to go see this complete cinematic experience in which the depth of the characters, the originality of the scenario, and the outstanding acting concur to make this film one of the greatest films of 2006/07 and a true emotional experience.

The strength of "After the Wedding" resides in its dynamic based on our faculty to extrapolate and judge promptly. Indeed the film first 20 minutes builds stereotypes only for us to pull them down in the last hour and a half…terrific…

Do you know what realistic acting is? Well after witnessing Mads Mikkelsen and Rolf Lassgård answering, analyzing each other you'll understand what true acting is. The kind that feels so real you think you are witnessing stolen slice of life on screen. If those two actors really epitomized great performance, Sidse Babett Knudsen as Helene and Stine Fischer Christensen as Anna deserve a mention.

But a well directed well played film does not necessary triggers emotions. "After the Wedding" does. The film moves you in a way few films do. We don't identify but we relate and as the gap between the protagonists shrinks, the distance between the audience and the characters fades away. Profoundly "humanist" the film proposes another definition for the word "Gift"…The gift of oneself, the ultimate Love. Susanne Bier succeeds in triggering this Generosity not only on the screen but also in our soul.

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.

In a very poor area of India, the altruist Danish Jacob Pederson (Mads Mikkelsen) teaches and nurses children in an orphanage and has raised the eight year old Pramod since he was a foster baby. When Jacob is invited to travel to Copenhagen to meet the wealthy businessman Jørgen Lennart Hannson (Rolf Lassgård) that intends to donate a large amount to the orphanage, the reluctant Jacob is convinced by the director Mrs. Shaw (Meenal Patel) that he must travel for the good of the children, and he promises to Pramod to be back on his birthday on the next week. Jacob has a meeting with the self-made tycoon that promises a donation of one million-dollar and is invited to go to the wedding of his daughter Anna Hannson (Stine Fischer Christensen) on the next day. In the wedding, Jacob sees Jørgen's wife Helene Hannson (Sidse Babett Knudsen), who had a past with him, and discovers a family secret that will affect his and the Hannson's lives.

"Efter Brylluppet" is an intense and engaging family drama. The beginning (and the end) of this movie discloses the poor conditions of people in India and gives the false idea that the plot would be about the social differences between India and Denmark. Then there is a twist in the unpredictable story focusing serendipity and the personal dramas with many other discoveries of the lead characters and the masterminded plan of the clever Jørgen. All the characters are believable and human supported by magnificent direction of Susanne Blier that plays the emotions and feelings of the viewers; an awesome screenplay and top-notch performances. Sidse Babett Knudsen and Stine Fischer Christensen are very beautiful women and I really loved this feature. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Depois do Casamento" ("After the Wedding")

As may be expected of Susanne Bier, and as may be expected of Scandinavian films in general if you ask me, this film is really great. The acting is so good it's hard to call it acting. Mads Mikkelsen (Jacob) puts up a terrific performance with acting that is as credible as it is subtle. Not the over-the-top stuff that we are familiar with from Hollywood, but acting that actually makes you think "yes, this is how real flesh and blood people would react". I was also pleasantly surprised by Sidse Babett Knudsen (Helene). She has a lot of scenes with little or no dialog, but the way she tells everything with subtle face expression is simply mind blowing. And let's not forget Rolf Lassgård (Jörgen) and Stine Fisher Christensen (Anne), who both remind us what real flesh and blood emotions look like in a way that really hits you in the face.

Anyway, I'm a fan of Scandinavian films for reasons mentioned above, and I'm almost ashamed to say that in that light this film was really nothing new, and luckily so: just more of the same wonderful stuff! What really stuck with me about this film however is the story. It is so ...human in all aspects. I won't reveal any spoilers, but as the story unfolds, it just gets so much more complex than you expect at first. In the first 15 minutes, I expected the movie was mainly going to be about the struggle between Jörgen and Jacob. The struggle between these two "stereotypes" really... one being the cool business man who solves everything with money, and the other being the idealistic but clumsy social worker. I was pleasantly surprised however that it got even better after that. What I mainly like about the movie, is that it doesn't offer any simple solutions. In the end, there are no perfect happy endings that solve every puzzle; the main characters have to make decisions, but it's not all black and white like we see in a lot of other movies. People have to do things they might not have done initially, but in the end, there may be upsides as well. You know... that sounds an awful lot like real life, and that's a good thing for a film if you ask me.

I greatly admired the previous films by Susanne Bier (" Open Hearts" and "Brothers"), so my expectations were very high.Luckily they have been fulfilled.Like the other two the film is a sociological and emotional experiment.It's about one's place in the world (the crucial phrase in the film is Jorgen's "Can one expect from you help only on the other side of the globe" ), about responsibility and the making of painful decisions.The film starts quite slow,but after half an hour it's getting more intensive,mostly supported by 4 extraordinary actors and actresses.While I already knew the qualities of Mikkelsen,Knudsen and Lassgard,I was really blown away by Fischer Christensen as the daughter.There were 4 real-life characters and I could follow their psychological turmoil.Some may find the script too constructed,but life turns out to be full of unexpected twists.The film is no popcorn-entertainment,but for anyone,who appreciates a human,deeply moving drama with the concentration on the characters instead of superficial action,I can only say: Go and watch this movie!