As in Heaven

Boring and incredibly long-winded film. Initially, it seems ok that the film progresses slowly, but suddenly it dawns on you that nothing more will ever happen. You do get a good impression of life in the countryside in Denmark around the year 1800, but the film is far too slow for my taste. Almost nothing happens in the scenes, and they are far too long. Really boring movie. I would think that film reviewers will love the film as it is full of symbolism and carries an artistic touch. But but but ... again, the film is far too long-winded and yawningly boring. However, I finished watching the film but was extremely disappointed.

Writer/director Tea Lindeburg's dramatic historical coming of age film "As in Heaven" features a brilliant screenplay and gorgeous cinematography among a beautifully devastating story and lead performance.

The film begins on a farm in the late 1800s where 14-year-old Lise (Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl) is preparing to leave her family to go away to school. With her pregnant mother (Ida Cæcilie Rasmussen) on the cusp of labor and her father leaving the family's farm on business, Lise must care for her younger brothers and sisters while the rest of her family and their staff tend to her mother. Once that labor begins to take a turn for the worst, Lise must contend with the difficult fact that her childhood may be coming to an end.

"As in Heaven" is a heavy film that explores its themes with grace and compassion. Its tone often mirrors the emotional journey that Lise goes on throughout the film. At the film's start, the viewer feels the childlike wonder and excitement that Lise expresses as she enjoys her time on her family's farm. As the story progresses and her mother's labor becomes more complicated and harrowing, the viewer feels the same distress and anxiety felt by Lise.

This is all thanks to Lindahl's incredible lead performance. The number of complex emotions that Lindahl is able to communicate directly through her facial expressions is truly on another level. By the film's end, the viewer identifies with her pain as they recall back to the film's beginning when all they can remember is the joy that Lindahl beamed through her performance.

Rasmussen is equally brilliant as a mother who is forced to go through some of the worst suffering imaginable, all the while having to convince her children that everything will be okay.

By the film's heartbreaking conclusion, viewers are left to wonder if its events could have somehow been avoided. At a time when people weren't as educated about the process of childbirth as they are today, it even makes them wonder why the modern world seems to be moving backward rather than forward in terms of the recent decisions that have been made in the United States on abortion. Hopefully, audiences will watch this film and understand the impact and importance that proper reproductive health has in society.

Lindeburg does not portray the film's themes in a condescending manner, but rather in a way that seeks to remind viewers of how far society has come since the period during which the film takes place. She allows the viewer to breathe and sit with the material that the film presents as it occurs in a way that is truly impactful. For good reason, this is a film that will be sure to stay in viewers' minds long after the credits have rolled.

This is an excellent movie all-round. The acting, especially by the main young girl, is fantastic. And the environment which the director evokes -- it's so well done that at times you feel just as trapped as some of the characters are. As in many Nordic films, there is no drawn-out action. Scenes are short when they need to be, like the arrival of the father back, just a little too late. He slaps his daughter, and then there's just a short shot of him hanging around outside. That's all you need to see to know that he's not a stellar parent, that he doesn't take on the responsibilities he should.

I like the realism, too: the blood from the delivery, the quick shot of the state of the woman giving birth.

And finally, I love what was (I think) the complete absence of a sound track. No dumb music telling you how to feel, even in scenes where there is complete silence.

If you think it's boring, you're not paying attention.

This intense little Danish indie film really covers a lot of ground. The meaning of life. The meaning of death. The meaning of religion. Parents and children. And coming of age.

I went into it with no real expectations, imagining that it would be just another daily-life historical drama, but it really took me by surprise. Dark, soulul cinematography and brilliant sound design gives it a sense of doom and horror that reminded me of Robert Eggers, and I was at the edge of my seat before I even realised how exciting it was.

The female perspective and intention are very good, but the story itself is still too thin, but it also adds a new way of female growth to the big screen.