A Dogme film about an engaged couple that is torn apart after the man is paralyzed in an accident, and the woman falls in love with the husband of the woman who caused the accident.
Christoffer and Maja's trip to Prague to bring back Chistoffer's deceased father evolves into the story of a break-up. In the wake of the events that follow, secrets gradually emerge which threaten to destroy their marriage.
The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
Director:
Susanne Bier
Stars:
Mikael Persbrandt,
Trine Dyrholm,
Markus Rygaard
Jacob is a young man used to getting everything he wants. For several years, he has been living in a happy homosexual partnership with Jørgen, and one night Jacob decides to pop the big ... See full summary »
Director:
Hella Joof
Stars:
Mads Mikkelsen,
Charlotte Munck,
Troels Lyby
2 Danish friends are tired of their employer and open their own butcher shop. An electrician accidentally dies in the freezer and he's sold as marinated chicken and business picks up. What happens when they run out of "chicken"?
Director:
Anders Thomas Jensen
Stars:
Nikolaj Lie Kaas,
Mads Mikkelsen,
Line Kruse
Four small-time gangsters from Copenhagen trick a gangster boss: they take over 4,000,000 kroner which they were supposed to bring him. Trying to escape to Barcelona they are forced to stop... See full summary »
Mona Bergström is a sweet euro-vision-obsessed woman in her 30's. She is married to a lazy husband and have 4 children, all named after her favorite Swedish euro-vision pop stars. Her ... See full summary »
Director:
Susanne Bier
Stars:
Helena Bergström,
Jonas Karlsson,
Thomas Hanzon
A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.
Director:
Susanne Bier
Stars:
Halle Berry,
Benicio Del Toro,
Alison Lohman
How far would decent human beings be willing to go, when tragedy blurs the line between just and unjust? With "A Second Chance", Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen have crafted another ... See full summary »
Director:
Susanne Bier
Stars:
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau,
Roland Møller,
Ulrich Thomsen
SPOILER: Cecilie is devastated when her fiancée Joachim is seriously injured in a car accident and is paralyzed from the neck down. Marie was the driver that caused the accident and she ask her husband Niels, a doctor at the hospital where Joachim is being treated, to help out Cecilie. However their relationship evolves in an affair which threatens Niels family.Written by
Phythian
Enough has been said about the Dogme rules, and the many movies that have been made with the certificate. No matter if you like the concept or not, Dogme will always ad a great amount of realism into a movie. And in "Elsker Dig Forevigt"/"Open Heart" the realism is very strong. Probably stronger in any of the other Dogme-films I have seen.
Even more realistic the movie gets from the acting, which is outstanding. I found Mads Mikkelsen a bit under-achieving in the beginning, but as the drama gets more intense so does Mikkelsen. He is Niels, the soft, modern, Danish family-man, who is as good with the kids as he is with his job. Other of Mikkelsen's parts has been very far from that, not least playing Tonny in Refn's "Pusher" and "Pusher II".
The wife of Niels, Marie, is well performed by Paprika Steen. Danish movies have had a reputation (in Denmark) that they are all dull, everyday-dramas with Paprika Steen in a leading role. "Elsker Dig..." has probably played a part in creating this reputation. It's not really fair, firstly because Danish movies are a lot more than that and secondly because Steen is really good. In "Elsker Dig " she shows great dept in her acting, and in one of the best scenes in the movie Marie's 'house-wife-facade' breaks down, showing that Marie is a lot stronger than what you could have expected. It's a difficult scene, but Steen carries it out very well.
As the third corner stone of the triangle Sonja Richter is the young woman Cæcilie who's boyfriend Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) is severely injured, when he gets run down by Marie, driving a bit too fast. The performances by Richter and Kaas are as spotless as they are outstanding.
I have to comment on the children in this movie. It rarely works really well, because children aren't actors. But the teenage daughter of Niels and Marie, Stine (Stine Bjerregaard), has a lot to offer. She too has a big scene, again it works, and it's brilliant. The younger brothers, Gustav and Emil, works very good too. These kids aren't 'acting' they are 'living' their parts. Stop casting wonder-kids, and look this way!
This thing is normally not my thing. But still I rated this movie high because it is a good movie. I generally like realism in movies (which I guess this review unveils) and that is 100% here.
14 of 17 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Enough has been said about the Dogme rules, and the many movies that have been made with the certificate. No matter if you like the concept or not, Dogme will always ad a great amount of realism into a movie. And in "Elsker Dig Forevigt"/"Open Heart" the realism is very strong. Probably stronger in any of the other Dogme-films I have seen.
Even more realistic the movie gets from the acting, which is outstanding. I found Mads Mikkelsen a bit under-achieving in the beginning, but as the drama gets more intense so does Mikkelsen. He is Niels, the soft, modern, Danish family-man, who is as good with the kids as he is with his job. Other of Mikkelsen's parts has been very far from that, not least playing Tonny in Refn's "Pusher" and "Pusher II".
The wife of Niels, Marie, is well performed by Paprika Steen. Danish movies have had a reputation (in Denmark) that they are all dull, everyday-dramas with Paprika Steen in a leading role. "Elsker Dig..." has probably played a part in creating this reputation. It's not really fair, firstly because Danish movies are a lot more than that and secondly because Steen is really good. In "Elsker Dig " she shows great dept in her acting, and in one of the best scenes in the movie Marie's 'house-wife-facade' breaks down, showing that Marie is a lot stronger than what you could have expected. It's a difficult scene, but Steen carries it out very well.
As the third corner stone of the triangle Sonja Richter is the young woman Cæcilie who's boyfriend Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) is severely injured, when he gets run down by Marie, driving a bit too fast. The performances by Richter and Kaas are as spotless as they are outstanding.
I have to comment on the children in this movie. It rarely works really well, because children aren't actors. But the teenage daughter of Niels and Marie, Stine (Stine Bjerregaard), has a lot to offer. She too has a big scene, again it works, and it's brilliant. The younger brothers, Gustav and Emil, works very good too. These kids aren't 'acting' they are 'living' their parts. Stop casting wonder-kids, and look this way!
This thing is normally not my thing. But still I rated this movie high because it is a good movie. I generally like realism in movies (which I guess this review unveils) and that is 100% here.