Review of After the Wedding (2006) by Daniel P — 27 Apr 2008

A complete surprise (well it would be I suppose since I watched it not knowing anything about it), After The Wedding is an unusually shot and very energetic film with a great cast and an absorbing story.

Jacob, who devotes his life to helping poverty-stricken children in India, is summoned to his homeland of Denmark by an extremely wealthy businessman, Jorgen Hannson, who is looking to donate some of his money to worthwhile projects, and is interested in Jacob's work.

Jorgen advises Jacob that he will take some time to consider how best to donate his money, and in the meantime invites Jacob to stay on and invites him to his daughter's wedding. Jacob soon begins to suspect all is not as it seems when he recognises someone at the wedding and secrets and motivations begin to become clear.

Well acted by everyone, in particular Sidse Babett Knudsen who is positively luminous, cleverly paced and inventively filmed, After the Wedding veers a little too much into sentimentality in the final section, but the characters are so well written that despite this slight lapse and a too-slow ending, it remains compelling, compulsive viewing.