But in a better world, In a Better World would be a better movie. There's sufficient craft that you go along with the twists, even as Bier is wrapping things up with a neatly tied bow. It also has predictably dire repercussions when the boys decide to apply it to other conflicts.Įlias (Markus Rygaard, left) finds a kindred spirit in Christian (William Johnk Nielsen), a seemingly polite boy who encourages him to fight violence with additional violence.Ĭontrasting warm African golds with chilly Danish greens, the director matches striking visuals with overtly melodramatic situations - children with access to rooftops and fireworks to get your protective juices flowing, predators so unsubtle their comeuppance seems a foregone conclusion.īier creates some genuinely disturbing moments - a scene in which Anton allows a bullying father to strike him again and again in front of the kids a harrowing exchange with Big Man as the thug begins to heal - but resolves them in ways that allow the audience, if not her protagonists, to shrug off moral consequences. But it changes the dynamics of Elias' life pretty quickly. Christian's philosophy about dealing with bullies, which is basically that if you hit back hard enough the first time, you won't need to hit back again, isn't one that school authorities would likely approve. That's not true early on, as Bier cuts between Anton (Mikael Persbrandt), a humanitarian Danish doctor dealing with the aftereffects of tribal violence in an unspecified African nation, and his put-upon adolescent son Elias (Markus Rygaard), who is at home and being tormented in his father's absence by a school bully.Įlias finds an ally when Christian (William Johnk Nielsen) joins the class - a well-spoken, polite kid whose anger at his mother's recent death (from cancer) needs an outlet. Fischer Christensens upcoming film features some of our times finest Scandinavian actors, Mikael Persbrandt (IN A BETTER WORLD, 2010 and Peter Jacksons upcoming THE HOBBIT - THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, 2013), Trine Dyrholm (IN A BETTER WORLD, 2010 and A ROYAL AFFAIR, 2012) and Birgitte Hjort Srensen (BORGEN, 2010-11) and reunites actor. But after a few queasy moments at its midpoint, the trajectory of In a Better World becomes so relentlessly platitudinous that an audience that ought to feel seriously rattled will be settling back, feeling comfortably reassured. And there's a lot to be said for a well-acted, attractively shot drama that has its heart so firmly in the right place. Taking home the trophy for Best Foreign Language Film will certainly help Susanne Bier's earnest treatise on the evil cycle of violence and retribution find an audience at art houses. Considering the number of ethical dilemmas raised in the Danish melodrama In a Better World, I wish I could say I'd been left with more questions rattling around in my head than "What on Earth were the Oscar voters thinking?"
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