Danish director Susanne Bier has a genius for taking melodramatic plots – After The Wedding features at least two wrenching revelations and many emotional scenes – and transforming them into riveting and deeply moving human dramas. Closely tied with the Dogme movement, she is one of the most exciting talents to have emerged from the recent wave of quality Danish cinema, alongside Per Fly, Pernille Fischer Christensen and Annette K. Olesen. Her superb Brothers confirmed her talent, and the Oscar-nominated After The Wedding is even better.
Mads Mikkelsen, now a familiar face after his villainous Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, stars as Jacob, a humanitarian working on a project in Mumbai. They are in dire need of funds, and possible salvation is offered when Jacob reluctantly agrees to return to Copenhagen to meet a potential beneficiary, Jørgen (Rolf Lassgård). He agrees to attend Jørgen’s daughter’s wedding, but an impromptu speech given by the bride changes all their lives irrecoverably.
Scripted by Anders Thomas Jensen (Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself, Open Hearts), After The Wedding achieves a rare feat, given the material; although the resulting coincidences may seem far-fetched, Jensen’s avoidance of histrionics and Bier’s secure command of her material makes the intrigue completely believable. She is helped by a host of fine performances, with a particularly strong turn from newcomer Stine Fischer Christensen as the daughter, a performance that has already won several awards, whilst Lassgård is magnificent as Jørgen, arguably the most complex character.
Bier and her cast skillfully play with convention throughout – the aid worker is selfish and taciturn, whilst the wealthy businessman is a benevolent family man. The close relationship between Jacob and an Indian orphan, who is devastated when he leaves for Denmark, is revisited in the film’s last scene, and unfolds in an unexpected and poignant conversation. An unlikely but highly successful blend of soap opera convention and Dogme aesthetics (though not officially part of the movement, the film certainly follows Dogme’s “back to basics” approach), the splendid After The Wedding consolidates the reputations of both Bier and her impressive cast.
Jacob Petersen is a man who has dedicated his life to helping the children of India's streets. When the orphanage he runs is faced with closure, he receives an unusual proposal. Offered $4 million dollars by a Danish businessman called Jorgen, though there are two conditions. The first requires Jacob to return to Denmark; the second, he must take part in the wedding of Jorgen's daughter. The wedding serves as a critical juncture between past and present, forcing Jacob into the most intense situation of his life. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 Academy Awards.
