Review of In a Better World (2010) by Luis B — 31 Mar 2011

The 2010 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film examines the ideas of masculinity and revenge as a Swedish doctor, who travels between a wartorn African nation and his home in Denmark, finds his home life dissolving around him. His son, Elias, is being bullied at school, and as he and his wife are in the middle of their own divorce battle, unable to give their son the attention he needs. Elias instead befriends Christian, a new boy in school who has just suffered the loss of his mother. They are united by a mutual encounter with a bully, which leads to escalating acts of revenge as an outlet for Christian's bitterness and anger. Surrounded by violence and revenge of all kinds, the good doctor is forced to examine his own role in a world gone mad. Does he seek revenge on behalf of the victims he treats, or does he turn the other cheek?

It's a compelling and thought provoking film. It loses some steam near the end, but Susanne Bier directs with grace and dignity and the filmuxtaposes outdated masculine ideas vs contemporary societal responsibilities in a consistently engaging way.. One of the better Foreign Language winners of recent years.