After the Wedding (2006)

A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.

Director:

Susanne Bier

Writers:

Susanne Bier (story), Anders Thomas Jensen (story)

Stars:

Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Rolf Lassgård

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Jacob Pederson
Neeral Mulchandani	...	Pramod, 8 year
Tanya Sharma	...	Indisk Pige 1
Swini Khara	...	Indisk Pige 2
Meenal Patel	...	Mrs. Shaw
Vallabh Gada	...	Suit No. 1
Hitesh Kotak	...	Suit No. 2
Suhita Thatte	...	Indisk Kvinde
Rolf Lassgård	...	Jörgen Lennart Hansson
Dispesh Mistry	...	Pramods Venner
Shivam Vichare	...	Pramods Venner (as Shivam Vicha)
Frederik Gullits Ernst	...	Martin Hansson
Kristian Gullits Ernst	...	Morten Hansson
Sidse Babett Knudsen	...	Helene Hansson
Mona Malm	...	Farmor (Grandmother)

Storyline

Jacob Pederson lives in shanty surroundings in Bombay, India, and assists in the running of Anand Orphanage and School. He had attempted a number of projects to assist orphans, including child prostitutes - all quite in vain. He has adopted a young male orphan, Pramod, and takes special care of him. With growing pressure on the facilities, which is on the verge bankruptcy, the orphanage receives an offer of funding from wealthy Danish citizen, Jorgen, which may put an end to its problems. In order to obtain the money, Jacob must travel to Copenhagen, meet with Jorgen, get financial assistance, and be back to celebrate Pramod's 8th birthday. He sets forth, is received by Christian Refner, an employee and future son-in-law of Jorgen. Jacob is shown all possible courtesy and even housed in a posh apartment. He subsequently meets with Jorgen, shows him video-tapes and submits that a few Kroner could really save several lives which would otherwise succumb to minor illnesses and infections....

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | orphanage | speech | promise | birthday | 

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Taglines:

champagne is poured... secrets are spilled.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and a scene of sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Equation [France] Official site [Denmark]

Country:

Denmark Sweden UK Norway

Language:

Danish Swedish English Hindi

Release Date:

11 May 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

After the Wedding

Filming Locations:

Denmark

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$47,311, 1 April 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$412,544

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,866,905

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zentropa Entertainments, After the Wedding, Sigma Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mads Mikkelsen and Sidse Babett Knudsen share the same birthday, November 22.

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Goofs

When the couple gets married, the rings are placed on the fingers, but no visible in scenes post marriage. The customs in Denmark may be different, but throughout the film, wedding bands, rings, etc. migrate from hand to hand (wedding band on the right hand for women, left for men), and also disappear.

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Quotes

Helene Hannson: I want to come with you.
Jørgen Lennart Hannson: No, out of the question. You don't want to, Helene. It's sons and their father in the woods. Or else they'll turn out gay.

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Connections

Referenced in Vild med dans: Vals og cha-cha-cha, del 2 (2011)

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Soundtracks

It's Raining Men
Performed by The Weather Girls
Written by Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer
EMI Music / Warner Chappel Music
(c) + (p) 1983 SonyBMG

User Reviews

Incredible acting, incredible story.

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.