Review of In a Better World (2010) by Ole C — 26 Nov 2011

In a better critic, you would get a thought-provoking review of the movie "In a Better World". But that is not the case here, because in my punner world, you will get tons of puns in my movie reviews.

The Danish flick "In a Better World" won the Best Foreign Film Academy Award for this past year. Did it deserve it? I guess in a better world it should have gone to the nominated Spanish film "Biutiful", but that is not to diminish the better parts of "In a Better World".

The film stars Mikael Presbrandt as Anton, a doctor of the famine-affected in an African country. He travels back to forth from home Denmark to Africa due to the nature of his job. He is a father of young son Elias, who for right now will remain alias until I go deeper in this review.

Anton is going through a heartbreaking separation from his wife Maryanne, who is mother to Elias. OK, I have to provide you more info on Elias now, so much for his alias nature. Elias befriends the new student in school named Christian who has moved to Denmark from London.

Christian is internally grieving due to the recent passing of his mother. Christian's dad Claus provides support to his son, but at times seems distant and avoids confronting the sorrow of the death of his wife and Christian's mother.

In Christian and Elias' school, a bully constantly picks on Elias. Moreover, Christian also becomes victimized in trying to defend Elias from the bullying. Christian decides to retaliate against the bully in a violent rage.

That is the first stepping stone in a gradual transformation of Christian from reserved child to revenge-seeking little monster. There is much juxtaposing that occurs in the film between Elias' friendship with Christian and Anton's work in the famine country related to such themes as: revenge, justice, retaliation, defense, duty, grief and reservation.

Director Suzanne Bier was biery biery good in orchestrating the themes of "In a Better World" within an important narrative with thought-provoking underlying messages. Anders Thomas Jensen's screenplay was melancholy at times, but it brought issues that more parents and even children should confront.

The acting of "In a Better World" could not have been better. Presbrandt was brilliant as Anton; Markus Rygaard should be held in high regard for his work as the gullible Elias. William John Nielsen received high Nielsen child thespian ratings for his profound performance as Christian.

Critically-acclaimed Danish actress Tryne Dyrholm was astounding as the caring mother Maryanne. And Ulrich Thomsen delivered us a thespian gift with a fine performance as Papa Claus. My only knock of "In A Better World" was the one too many nature scenes of birds flying in a sunset sky, I think it's a tactic used way too many times in a world of foreign cinema these days; I don't even know what it means anymore since its repetition takes away from its symbolic representation.

Nevertheless, I recommend for you to make this a better world (whatever that means) with a viewing of "In a Better World". **** Good.