Review of After the Wedding (2006) by Tom P — 07 Jul 2008

Probably the best foreign language film of 2007, if not one of the best films of 2007 full stop, centrepieced wonderfully by Mads Mikkelsen's powerfully understaded performance, and supported by unfathomably strong acting from the rest of the cast.

Mikkelsen gives a performance a lot of people will be unfamiliar with after seeing him in Casino Royale and King Arthur. Whilst both of those roles hinted at Mikkelsen's prowess as a giant talent, particularly in the mould of the quiet, brooding man. However, unlike the malice of Le Chiffre or the anger of Tristan, in 'After the Wedding' Mikkelsen combines this with an immense will and determination and adherance to his own morals. He is a man of principle, but someone who always looks to please everyone in an effort to atone for his past, and this lends his character a belieavbility to his motives and generates great sympathy and empathy from the audience.

Mikkelsen's outstanding performance as the our troubled protagonist is expertly aided by Rolf Lassgard as the eccentric Jorgen, providing what at first seems to be the perfect antithesis to Jacob's morality. A clever and shrewd business man, Jorgen summons Jacob to a wedding under the pretense that he wishes to donate to Jacob's work in India. As things unravel, Jorgen's character becomes more and more complex, and it is a credit to Lassgard that he creates a character who will stretch you from the edges of likeability and back again whilst retaining a remarkable demeanour and demoiur aspect to his character. Jorgen is truly a wonderful creation as a character, in fact it could be argued that his rollercoaster of emotions is greater than that of Jacob's, nevertheless there is never any threat of him upstaging Jacob's story, after all, Jorgen's story is only unfolding due to the fact he has brought Jacob into his life.

The female roles are also well acted, though do not really have the room to develop as the aforementioned characters. Anna, whom you will see becomes more and more important throughout, could have been portrayed by any actress whose single talent is the ability to cry on cue, but it is a credit to stine Fischer Christensen that she three dimensionalises an otherwise cliched character to make you really care about her. Similarly, Sidsie Barbet Knudsson as Helene, Jorgen's wife, really puts her all into her character, yet is hampered slightly by a lack of screentime, *SPOILER* a greater exploration of her past with Jacob would actually have contributed to a more well rounded character *SPOILER*.

Ultimately though, this lack of footage concerning her past I believe aids the film, because, as the title states, this is about 'After the Wedding', and the consequence, trials and tribulations that arise from it, and in that regard the film is completely flawless.

Shot across India, Denmark and parts of Sweden, Bier captures an almost documentary like quality to her intensely human drama piece. The juxtaposition of extreme close ups and long shots of the characters convey an intimacy to the audience yet a lonliness within the character themselves, it is though each shot were a carefully crafter internal monolgue for each character, and you can read exactly their thoughts, feelings and emotions from it.

The soundtrack doesn't disappoint either, orchestral in parts, it provides a grandiose accompaniment (along with the beautiful danish landscape) to a subtle and evokative story. Moreover, ubiquitous Icelandic quartet Sigur Ros lend themselves to the soundtrack to, providing a truly haunting and powerful, almost ethereal undertone to the scenes in which their music features.

Unmistakeably this a masterpiece of film, a fantastic cast producing flawless performances is one thing, but when showcased perfectly with a variety of the most evokative, beautiful and subtle shots, Bier has created a high class piece of drama that will leave you stunned and amazed.