Worlds Apart (2008)

The daughter of a Jehovah's Witness is forced to choose between religion and love when she falls for someone outside her faith.

Director:

Niels Arden Oplev

Writers:

Steen Bille, Niels Arden Oplev

Stars:

Rosalinde Mynster, Pilou Asbæk, Jens Jørn Spottag

5 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Rosalinde Mynster	...	Sara (as Rosalinde Spanning)
Pilou Asbæk	...	Teis
Jens Jørn Spottag	...	Andreas
Sarah Boberg	...	Karen (as Sarah Kjærgaard Boberg)
Anders W. Berthelsen	...	John
Sarah Juel Werner	...	Elisabeth
Jacob Ottensten	...	August (as Jacob August Ottensten)
Thomas Knuth-Winterfeldt	...	Jonas
Charlotte Fich	...	Jette
Hans Henrik Voetmann	...	Vagn
Catrine Beck	...	Thea
Hans Henrik Clemensen	...	Erik
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lasse Handberg	...	Mand med baby
Jytte Kvinesdal	...	Theas mor
Amalie Lindegård	...	Charlotte

Storyline

Sara is a teenager who lives with her family, who are Jehova's Witnesses. The family's devout image is questioned when the parents divorce as a consequence of the father's infidelity. One night at a party Sara meets Teis, an older boy who takes an interest in her. Teis is not a Witness, and their relationship is rejected by her father, but Sara falls in love and begins to doubt her faith. Facing ostracism from her faith and family, Sara must make the toughest choice of her young life.

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Plot Keywords:

betrayal by a friend | betrayal | jehovah | divorce | ostracism | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Sarah Juel Werner and Sarah Boberg worked together on the tv series Absalons Hemmelighed (2006)

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Goofs

When Sara and her younger siblings visit their mother in her new apartment, it is clearly late afternoon, but the show on the TV displays the clock at 11 am.

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Connections

Referenced in To verdener - En virkelig historie (2008)

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Soundtracks

Into You
Written and performed by Turboweekend
(c) & (p) 2007 Copenhagen Records

User Reviews

Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place!

For those interested in the social and cultural influences of certain religions in modern society, Worlds Apart offers an interesting, realistic perspective of a Jehovah's Witness girl trying to reconcile her faith, whilst involving herself in a relationship with a "non-believer" older boy.

It's quite a simple storyline presented by co-writer/director Niels Arden Oplev and clearly based on a true Danish story, but enhanced by the even-handed observations of the practices of this closed religious group, which has followers around the world.

Sara Dahl (Rosalinde Mynster) is seventeen years old and has been raised in a family of strict Jehovah's Witnesses. Sara follows the tenets of the faith and often joins her family to witness local people door to door in hopes of attracting new converts. Despite the Dahl family's devotion to their church, domestic matters are complicated when her father (Jens Jorn Spottag) is unfaithful to her mother (Sarah Boberg), and though contrite, she's unwilling to forgive him. In one of the more unsettling scenes in the movie, the 3 Dahl children vote to stay in the family home with the father, knowing this will lead to the mother leaving home as she wasn't prepared to forgive his transgressions. Sara, being the oldest child and a business college student, becomes the stand-in mother for her siblings, before meeting Teis (Pilou Asbaek), a boy she is immediately attracted too, at a dance club. Adding an extra layer of intriguing complexity to the story (without spoiling), is that we soon find out the eldest Dahl sibling, a son Jonas, has been expelled from his local church and then family, for "reading the wrong materials", questioning the Elders decisions and not repenting for these actions.

Worlds Apart is a well-directed, well-acted movie, illuminating the conventions of a religious group, that whilst being well-known, is frequently regarded by many in mainstream society, as one supporting character observes, as a "sect", As such it is frequently charged with indoctrination and manipulation of its adherents, by the powerful and influential Elders of the church branches. Ultimately Sara does make a contentious decision (as the real life person did), but we are reminded through the playing out of the narrative, that this may well mean she will have to contend with life-changing factors affecting her social and familiaral networks. It is a challenging, provocative, yet entertaining film that is recommended for those drawn to discussions of fundamentalist thinking and ideals.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Denmark]

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

A hit fogságában

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,361,860

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nordisk Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1