Currently browsing the "Danish" category.

Melancholia

Danish director Lars von Trier is not known for happy movies (Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark) and with Melancholia he keeps true to form. The title clues you in to the mood of the film centered on two sisters Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), which is told in two chapters. The first is Justine’s story – the saga of her wedding reception at her sister’s mansion, in which she has a slow and painful meltdown, revealing herself to be a deeply disturbed, depressed woman, incapable of being in any relationship, much less married. The second part belongs to Claire. It concerns her growing terror that a planet called Melancholia that has been hiding behind the sun is soon going to crash into the earth.

In a Better World (Hævnen)

After the Wedding (Efter bryllupet)

I heard about this film when it came out and was somewhat intrigued, but the reviews I read were cryptic about the story and I took that to mean it was deep or convoluted, so I put it off. In reality, it is hard to talk about it without giving away plot points that might take away the enjoyment of this wonderful drama. The basic set up is Jacob is running an orphanage in India. He is summoned to his home country of Denmark to meet with a very, very rich businessman, Jørgen, who is offering enough money to take care of more kids than Jacob could imagine. But there are strings attached and a lot of secrets come out on his trip that pull Jacob every which way.