A Fortunate Man ****

This is a very engrossing and complicated story about a man who was anything but fortunate. The main character, Sidenius (Jens Albinus), is brought up in a religious Christian family, in which his father was the church pastor. The son does not get the blessing of the father as they have a bitter departure, as Sidenius goes off to seek his own life and fortune, which to him would mean selling his dream of giving the world his idea of a new form of energy and power through windmills and canals which could remake turn of the century Denmark. He encounters a wealthy Jewish family and is drawn to the oldest beautiful daughter (Katrine Greis-Rosenthal) who would also connect him with great wealth and the potential to make his engineering dream come true. However, the story becomes more complicated as we come to appreciate Sidenius’ rebellion from his father as he unwittingly also identifies with him. The movie allows the viewer to understand how for most of this man’s life, his self-centered personality made him insensitive to the feelings of the women in his life and even to his own children except for a final moment of insight. The story is adopted from a novel by the Danish author, Henrik Pontoppidan.

Aside from showing us the insight into the psychodynamics of a man, as we see the impact of his childhood on his subsequent life, the film also highlights several other interesting issues:

It shows the impact on a person raised in one culture (in this case a poor religious Christian culture) who suddenly finds himself surrounded by a wealthy family (in this case a Jewish culture).

It also spotlights a well-known dilemma when a creative genius with a new idea is confronted with the established society that is not quite ready to embrace his revolutionary concepts.

There is also a familiar subplot of a woman who believes she is in a committed relationship and finds herself pregnant and realizes that her partner, who does not know she is pregnant, is actually ready to move on and break up the relationship.

Finally, there is also the well known story of an estranged grown child finding out that a parent has died and now is drawn back to be a loyal child when it is really too late.

So, you can see this very well done film directed by Bille August will hold your attention and stir your emotions. It is certainly worth seeing (2020).

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****

Land Of Mine

We just had the opportunity to see Denmark’s entry for the Academy Award for best foreign film this year and we met the writer/director, Martin Zandvliet and one of the producers, Mikael Rieks. This is a very well-done movie, but what stands out about the film is learning a previously little-known aspect concerning World War II and the unique ethical dilemma which the film spotlights.

Towards the end of World War II, the Germans anticipated an Allied invasion of their occupation of Europe and thought it would likely occur on the shores of Denmark which would give the Allies the shortest distance to Berlin. The Germans planted hundreds of thousands of explosive mines on the beaches of Denmark. Of course, instead, the Allies successfully invaded at Normandy. Once the war was over, the Danes were faced with a dilemma of how to go about the dangerous task of removing these deadly explosive mines. They chose to use thousands of German prisoners of war, many of whom were young teenage soldiers who had beenconscripted into the German army towards the end of the war in a desperate attempt to fight off the Allies.

So now the Danes were forcing these mostly young prisoners of war to learn how to do the dangerous task of defusing the enormous number of mines on the coastline. You also may want to consider if there is  a valid question whether such forced life-threatening labor is against the treaties signed at the Geneva Convention.

So if this movie accomplished nothing else but to highlight this fascinating ethical dilemma, it would deserve to be seen. However, the production did this in a very personal and dramatic fashion. Most of the movie focused on a group of about a dozen German prisoners of war, most of whom appear to be young teenagers, perhaps as young as 15 or 16 who are under the command of a Danish soldier Sergeant Rasmussen (Roland Moller). Most viewers who appreciate the inhumane treatment to millions of people by the Nazi invaders of course might understand the initial harsh treatment by the sergeant of his captors as he trained and forced them to undertake the mine-clearing task.

However, the added dimension of this drama being played out on the screen was the viewers’ empathy for these young prisoners of war who shared dreams and aspirations of returning home to their families. Not surprising, the Danish sergeant himself, begins to understand his young prisoners and even care about them.

So our emotions are stirred up as we appreciate a great conflict and we can identify with the characters on the screen. There is drama, tension, and excellent photography by Camilla Hjelm Knudsen who is the wife of the director/screenwriter. We come away with a little more insight into history and human nature which adds up to a very good film. (2016)

****

Terribly Happy- nf-  ( In Danish with English subtitles) It is not surprising that this film and cast has won numerous international awards. The direction, acting, photography, lighting is all on the mark and the story is suspenseful and gripping. This film project got started when two men who were friends in their youth growing up in rural Denmark and now were achieving success in their respective fields were able to reconnect. Dunja Greg Jensen a writer, shared a story he was writing, based on some true events in his family, with film director  Henrik Rubin Genz who then collaborated with him in the screenplay for this movie. It is the story of a Copenhagen policeman Robett (Jakob Cedergren) who  is reassigned to small isolated town. The people here are a tough somewhat odd group and John gets drawn into a situation with  a married couple, where the man, by the name of Jorgen (Kim Bodnia)  has been abusing his wife Ingerlise (Lena Maria Christensen). Ingerlise appears to have what we psychiatrists call a Borderline Personality and she succeeds in seducing our policeman Robert. Things then begin to have serious twists and turns which makes this movie a very exciting thriller. The movie succeeds in that the viewer is able to identify and feel empathy with Robert despite the fact that he works  his way into some “deep shit” and does some things that are not very nice. This is not so much of a “who dunnit movie” as it is a “what is he going to do now movie” which, will keep you on the edge of your seat and give you a good ride. (2008)  

**

Babette’s Feast- nf-  Somebody mentioned to us that we should catch this 1987 Oscar winner for the best foreign that year. While there was a great scene of the preparation of a French meal , this was not a great feast  for us.  Two sisters live in a remote Danish town. They are the daughter of a minister who has captivated the small group of people who live there and follow his religious teachings even  after he has passed on. The sisters Phillippa   (Hanna Stesgaard) and Marina (Viveke Hastrup) each pass up the opportunity to fall in love with a dashing military officer and opera singer respectively and continue to live in their cloistered community.  A persecuted French women comes to live with them as their cook for 14 years until circumstances lead her to prepare them all a wonderful French meal with wine and all the trimmings. The underlying theme is the spirituality or religiosity that allows them to all  hold on to their values and believe they ultimately will be rewarded.  To us it is ultimately a sad commentary on missed opportunities for relationships, love and realizing your full potential as a person. We didn’t find it moving , although the characters were mildly interesting and the acting and direction under Gabriel Axel was top notch. We obviously have missed something here. As we noted it was chosen best foreign film and we usually find that there are some great films made outside the US. (1987)

*****

In A Better World- sp – We saw this film four days before the evening of the Academy awards and we do believe that this Danish film could give Biutiful from Mexico a run for the money for the best  Foreign Language Film. (We must confess that these two outstanding films were the only ones in this category that we have seen.) Director Susanne Bier who was guest speaker  at our  screening collaborated with Screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen to bring forth a magnificent story and movie which examines the issues of revenge, bullying, family relationships as well as a friendship between two pre-adolescent boys that is forged in their own painful circumstances. Biers effectively shifts  between scenes in Africa where Anton (Mikael Persbrandt), the father of one of the boys is a physician who makes regular trips to a medical outpost and Denmark where  his son Elias is being jerked around by some  classmates who are bullying him. The other boy Christian (perhaps an ironic choice of a name ) has just moved back from London  with his father to live with his grandmother in Denmark after his mother died of cancer. The main characters find themselves in situations where they can choose to act in a manner that may be wrong and immoral or which could also be considered by some to be justified. The presentation of moral ambiguities in characters that we can understand and identify with makes a stimulating and very riveting film. The scenery in Africa is beautiful and the people living in the refugee camp where they were casted are very genuine since most are non-actors. On the other hand the two child stars who were chosen from 120 auditions essentially carry the film as their characters make decisions which will keep you on the edge of your seat  for nearly the same number of minutes. It is all helped along by an appropriate musical background. We will give the edge to Biutiful but would not be surprised to see the Danes take first prize in this category.(2010) Addendum: It won the Oscar for best foreign film ! )