Writers: Jonas T. Bengtsson, Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg
Cast: Gustav Fischer Kjaerulff, Sebastian Bull Sarning, Mads Broe Andersen
Language: Danish
Two brothers are haunted by the death of their younger infant brother for which they were partly responsible through negligence. Having had a substance abusing and alcoholic mother, they themselves are on a self-destructive path in their adult lives. In terms of personalty they are mirror images of their childhood selves with the elder one having a stronger but impulsive character while the younger one being bit of a meek.
The film largely goes along predictable lines but we care for the characters deeply enough to be continuously in a sense of foreboding. Substance abuse is obviously a big problem is Western World but it was a surprise to see that the younger brother's son was not taken away from him by social services. The social services in Scandinavia is famous for being overly paranoid about abuse/negligence suffered by children and Thomas Vinterberg's recent film 'Jagten' kind of handles that subject.
Film is an adaptation of Jonas T. Bengtsson's novel of the same name and it was funded by broadcaster TV 2 which insisted that at least half the cast and production crew would be first timers. This has given the film a very raw feel of the social class that it depicts and one would also be reminded of 'Requiem for a Dream' as well.
Rating: 3.5/5
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