 |
|
 Home
Products
Store
Forum
Warehouse
Contact Us
|
|
|
|
 
|
|
Author
|
Topic: In A Better World
|
Stu Jamieson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 524
From: Buccan, Qld, Australia
Registered: Jan 2008
|
posted 04-02-2011 07:19 PM
Following the death of his mother from cancer, 10 year old Christian (William Jøhnk Nielsen) embarks on a self destructive path to hit back at the world. At school he befriends the bullied Elias (Markus Rygaard) and his first target is Elias' tormentor. Through his viscious retributive attack, Christian and Elias learn that the oppressors of the world can be beaten into submission.
Elias' father, Anton (Mikael Persbrandt), is a doctor without borders commuting from his home in Denmark for weeks-long stints in a medical camp in third world Africa. He is a heavily principled man with a strong sense of social and moral justice. Like his son, he must also come to terms with acrimonious conflict in his life, both in Africa and at home, whilst trying to be a good paternal role model despite being in absentia for extended periods of time.
It's somewhat appropriate that In A Better World comes hot on the heels of the global youtube sensation that was the large Western Sydney kid breaking his schoolyard bully in spectacularly furious fashion. In A Better World examines such acts and their inevitable fall out from the point of view of not just children but adults as well. As a society, we place much emphasis on schoolyard bullying as a social problem (naturally because see our children as highly vulnerable) but bullying in the adult sphere is also prevalent and likewise presents a moral conundrum: is it an eye for an eye, or does one turn the other cheek?
Through an elegant economy of narrative, director Susanne Bier explores the complex nature of revenge versus forgiveness and while the film inevitably concludes in favour of the latter (no surprises there) it's far from preachy; instead giving each point of view the intelligent analysis it deserves whilst admitting that there are no easy answers.
A worthy winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film 2011, In A Better World is a powerfully affecting film whose themes will stick with you long after leaving the cinema.
10 out of 10.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
|
|
|
Printer-friendly view of this topic