The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
 
Movies
Features  |  Reviews

After the Wedding

Supreme human drama
By CHRIS WANGLER  |  April 18, 2007
3.0 3.0 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for After the Wedding.

After a 20-year absence, a determined idealist (Mads Mikkelsen) returns to Denmark to secure a donation for his struggling orphanage in Bombay. Jacob’s worldly benefactor (Rolf Lassgard) invites him to his daughter’s wedding, where Jacob runs headlong into his complicated past. Is it all a twisted ruse? Or a Babel-like coincidence? Subtle direction from rising star Susanne Bier should keep you guessing about the high cost of family secrets in this vivid and supremely human drama, one of this year’s five Best Foreign Film Oscar nominees. As Bier’s last two films, Brothers and Open Heart (both of which are being remade in the US), proved, few directors use reluctant smiles, simple gestures, and blank looks to convey so much. It’s a shame, then, to find so many forced crises and ambiguous motives in this more ambitious and frothily produced effort. Still worth a look.
Related:
  Topics: Reviews , Susanne Bier , Mads Mikkelsen
  • Share:
  • RSS feed Rss
  • Email this article to a friend Email
  • Print this article Print
Comments

Today's Event Picks
Plus 6 more >>
ARTICLES BY CHRIS WANGLER
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   CADILLAC RECORDS  |  December 12, 2008
    Muddies the Waters, but in a Good Way
  •   BOLT  |  November 24, 2008
    Pixarian technical wizardry and Disney schmaltz
  •   PILGRIMS’ PROGRESS  |  October 08, 2008
    Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies
  •   GHOST TOWN  |  September 16, 2008
    A fill-in-the-blanks, DOA comedy
  •   MIRRORS  |  August 20, 2008
    A less gory and more clichéd remake

 See all articles by: CHRIS WANGLER

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 
HOT TOPICS
 More Topics . . .
LATEST SLIDESHOWS

All Slideshows



Thursday, January 08, 2009  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group