After the Wedding is one of those
stirring dramas so intense that it will remain with you
days after the last credit rolls. It has been over ten
years since Danish filmmakers Lars von Trier and Thomas
Vinterverg created the Dogme 95 movement, and this is the
first film I have seen that has taken this sometimes inaccessible
style and worked it into a thoroughly effective piece of
cinema. This is, without a doubt, one of the best foreign
films of the year, and one of the most powerful dramas
of the decade.
When Jacob (Mads Mikkelsen) is called away
from the Calcutta orphanage at which he works, to meet with
a potential donor in Copenhagen, he has no idea how much
the journey will change his life. Jørgen (Rolf Lassgård)
not only offers Jacob a sizable financial gift to the orphanage,
but also an invitation to his daughter Anna's (Stine Fischer
Christensen) wedding. There Jacob reunites with his former
lover Helene (Sidse Babett Knudsen), now Jørgen's
wife, and some long-hidden secrets about everyone's past
come shooting to the surface like the bubbles in a glass
of champagne.
The film focuses on the power of coincidences
and the inability to escape the past, as well as a deep
character study of Jacob. He is a man placed in an incredibly
difficult situation. He needs money for the orphanage,
and thus wants to get in good with Jørgen and his
family, but this relationship is brought to a head by
the revelations that follow Anna's wedding.
All four of the leads deliver stunning performances,
from the most subtle gestures and expressions to the emotional
breakdowns they each go through in the course of the film.
Just when one relationship appears to be the center of the
narrative, another evolves and moves in to take the focus,
all the while weaving in and out of the others. As the film
builds to its conclusion, I was most impressed with the
power of Lassgård's portrayal of Jørgen, which
was very subdued until that point. It's a very character-heavy
drama, and works perfectly because of the strength of the
cast.
I was most impressed by the direction of
the film, which is a clear product of the Dogme 95 movement.
While Bier has previously done Dogme certified works, this
is much more mainstream, yet retains all the emotional
impact and some of the stylistic elements of true Dogme,
without some of the more off-putting visual and narrative
requirements. There's no jarring, in-your-face camera work
here, like von Trier's Dancer in the Dark or Breaking
the Waves and it works in the film's favor. Moreover,
the strong focus on story and performances, rather than
visual or stylistic gimmicks, heightens the effectiveness
of the movie more than any other Dogme work. It may have
taken a decade, but the influence of Dogme has trickled
down through Scandinavian cinema and has had a profound
impact.
After the Wedding is a must-see
film for any fan of Scandinavian filmmaking, or any lover
of drama as it was meant to be seen. I am already excited
for Bier's upcoming American film, Things We Lost
in the Fire
and plan on going back and finding her previous work on
DVD. It's been a few days since I watched the movie, and
still I can't stop thinking about it. If that's not the
sign of a great film, I don't know what is.
