pinartarhan.com

Fun and comprehensive entertainment blog feat. movies, TV series, actors, movie-makers, music & books: 1980 - Present

  • Home
  • Hire Me
  • Books
  • Privacy Policy

Elsker dig for evigt (Open Hearts) starring Mads Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter & Nikolaj Lie Kaas

Posted on September 25, 2012 Written by ripitup

Share

Translation at the theatres: Open Hearts

Meaning: Love you forever.

Elsker dig for evigt starring Mads Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter & Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Elsker dig for evigt starring Mads Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter & Nikolaj Lie Kaas. Image via moviepostersdb.com.

Cæcilie (Sonja Richter) has recently accepted the proposal of his live-in boyfriend Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas). But shortly after Joachim is hit by a car, ending up paralyzed.

The woman (Paprika Steen) driving the car is Marie, who was having an argument with her teenage daughter Stine. They race Joachim to the hospital where her doctor husband Niels (Mads Mikkelsen) is also working.

The po lice decides that Marie wasn’t at fault, but both she and her daughter are deeply shaken up, though not as much as Cæcilie, and definitely not as much as Joachim. He is too angry and depressed to let Cæcilie in, leaving her helpless. Niels becomes the only person she can talk to, as he’s encouraged by his wife to help her.

From then on, Cæcilie calls Niels often, finding a shoulder to cry on. Not over her guilt, Marie is happy that he is helping Cæcilie in a way. But soon Niels develops feelings for Cæcilie , and a guy who’s ever-helpful and sweet seems more attractive than a fiancé who keeps shutting her out in hurtful ways.

But for a guy who has never cheated on his wife before, things are about to get complicated. A wife and 3 children on one end, a beautiful young and sad woman on the other. Who will choose who? Can there even be a happy ending for anyone?

Elsker dig for evigt: Good but evokes extreme cynicism

*Warning: Minor Spoilers, and a Rant on the major characters

The film is good and compelling alright. It is tragic, makes you truly depressed as well as being thankful that you are not any of the characters. I know I was. But the characters go beyond to assure we will be infuriated with them, no matter how sad and compassionate we may have felt for them in the beginning. I may like a movie, but it won’t be a favorite romance of mine when I root for everyone but the “lovers”.

You know from the start you will not probably not be impressed with the love story presented. A married man with 3 children, getting involved with the fiancé of a paralyzed guy who became paralyzed because of his wife? Yep, no one is exactly expecting something deeply romantic and sweet here.

But sometimes, you are ready to forgive the cheater(s) with the right circumstances. It’d be cool if the wife was a bitch, and/or already cheated on him and he knows it. Or if the girl had lost her fiancé- and was coming to terms with his loss and not having sex with the married with the doctor while he is in his hospital bed.

Yes, we can all give her a little break assuming her messed up psychology-after all she went from happily and truly loved up to completely excluded and alone…But how she could let go off all empathy and not imagine how she would have felt if her husband would go and sleep with another woman after so many years of marriage and children? She was engaged after all. Let’s call it severe depression, and try to be more forgiving. I’m trying to be open-minded, but still failing.

How annoying is a guy that sleeps with a woman in that condition, not giving a damn about all the years his wife spent with him? Hell, maybe this is the only needy, affection-deprived 25-year-old who was willing to screw him so that is the reason he was a loyal husband all those years? But seriously though-is that all it takes? Some guys are only loyal because they are too lazy to go after women, but are more than willing to go for it when the opportunity is presented on a golden plate? That’s seriously depressing.

And the wife? Come on…Why do you still want him after how he has treated you? At least do kick him, throw things at him or something. Shred his clothes. But no, she has to hate the other woman. But guess what, the other woman only became so after she pushed her on her husband. You don’t make your husband a 25-year-old emotionally damaged woman’s best friend! You just don’t.

So yes, it is a perfectly alright film- well-shot (although I could have done without the dogma-style shots), well-acted, well-developed. It is the characters that are not exactly likeable, although except perhaps for Joachim-he lost the most, and it is understandable that he’d be difficult.

But if this movie doesn’t make you feel a little depressed about marriage, love, loyalty and life in general, I don’t know what will. If the premise of Mads mikkelsen’s The Hunt (where he is falsely accused of harassing a kindergarten kid) makes me not so keen on having children, Elsker dig for evigt makes seem the idea of marriage…not very tempting. I know it is only a movie…but it is a pretty bleak and powerful one.

Written by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Susanne Bier- who also worked as a writer-director team on After the Wedding, also starring Mads Mikkelsen. 2002 film Elsker dig for evigt is rated at 7.6 on IMDB by over 4,000 users. A solid 7.5 from me.

 

*

In the end, I prefer 21 Grams when it comes to “a freaky accident makes characters collide in complicated ways” premise. Depressing as that movie may be, no one goes around cheating on each other (well at least not anyone with kids, a nice marriage and a sweet wife), the guilt of the “crasher” feels more natural and real and the “comforter”… well, his (Sean Penn’s character) wife wasn’t that nice to begin with.

*

Let’s have some fun. Lessons learned from: Elsker dig for evigt

All characters do some pretty stupid and/or reckless stuff in the film, so the tips go to different characters. You know who. : )

-Panic when your husband is depriving you of sex- he might not be so depriving towards others.

-Tell the girl what might come 15 years after a marriage with kids.

-Don’t get out of the car in the middle of the road, and don’t overdo the PDA thing, especially not in the middle of the road!

– There should be a limit on how much you trust your husband

– Have some friends-so that when your boyfriend is depressed beyond words, you can have someone to talk to other than the husband of the woman who caused your boyfriend’s situation.

– Have a separate circle of friends from your husband’s –and make sure you are not too close with jerks who thinks it is awesome to be cheating on your wife (as long as you don’t leave the family.)

-Don’t stay home so you will know a lot of people and hey, maybe there will be hot guys who can comfort you –so you won’t be begging your scumbag-cheating husband to stay (the first bit is wishful thinking. It would suck to be her either way.)

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: after the wedding, Anders Thomas Jensen, drama, elsker dig evigt movie review, Elsker dig for evigt, mads mikkelsen, mads mikkelsen movies, movies, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, open hearts 2002 movie, open hearts movie, Paprika Steen, Sonja Richter, Susanne Bier

After the Wedding starring Mads Mikkelsen – 2007 Best Foreign Film Oscar Nominee

Posted on September 9, 2012 Written by ripitup

Share

After the Wedding starring Mads Mikkelsen – A 2007 Best Foreign Film Oscar Nominee

after the wedding poster via amazon.
After the Wedding poster via amazon.

Danish Jacob (Mads Mikkelsen) has dedicated his life to the orphanage he is running in India, being a teacher/provider/friend. He is also doing his best to help the kids outside the orphanage.

So he is unwilling to go to Denmark to meet a businessman interested in investing in the orphanage. But Jacob also knows that he has no choice: it is either he gets the money, or they shut down. So he says goodbye to the kids, including Paramod, who Jacob has taken care of since he was born. His plan is to show the reality of India, get the money and fly back in a couple of days.

But the businessman Jørgen  (Rolf Lassgård) seems less than willing to give the money right away. Instead, he invites Jacob to the wedding of his daughter Anna (Stine Fischer Christensen).  It’s at the wedding that Jacob realizes that the orphanage might not be why he’s there: Helene (Sidse Babett Knudsen), his ex-girlfriend, is the bride’s mother and it won’t be the only shock he’ll get during the event, or his stay.

With a huge can of worms being opened, and Jørgen’s weird demands in order to give the money, Jacob will be in a dilemma of a lifetime, and Jørgen’s decisions will shake up his entire family. What the hell does he want? And why?

*

A Should-See: Like its characters, the film is flawed but highly gripping and impressive

After the Wedding (Efter brylluppet) is a gripping drama that successfully manipulates the audience’s feelings, as well as their thoughts of the characters.  Jørgen, Helene and Jacob are all multi-layered, grey characters who invoke a variety of feelings in a short amount of time.

Jacob started out as my favorite character, for instance. How can he not? Here’s a guy, away from home, working to run an orphanage. It’s as selfless as it can get. He is so unwilling to leave the kids, who have become his family, behind.

And Jørgen doesn’t make an impressive start. We all know he is up to something, and it would have been highly unlikely that a man of his resources didn’t know Jacob was Helene’s Jacob. And what kind of a man brings an ex –an ex that he suspects his wife isn’t completely over – to their daughter’s wedding?

And Helene- well, watch the movie to see what she does…

But as the characters interact more, we realize that Jacob has a less than impressive past, Helene faced some challenging choices and Jørgen, albeit flawed, is a decent father and husband.

It’s quite a fulfilling experience to watch a film where you get to experience contempt and love, admiration and anger, empathy, sympathy and forgiveness for the same character –not necessarily in that order.

After the Wedding has a wonderfully humane story and a marvelous cast.  That’s not to say the movie doesn’t have its flaws. The pace occasionally feels like it is slower than necessary, some characters add pretty much nothing to the story (OK-one character- the grandmother) and the frequent close-up of the actors’ eyes can get a bit irritating-to the point where you feel like eyes to Susanne Bier (director) are what feet are to Quentin Tarantino. And while I definitely prefer an obsession about the eyes, the movie could have used less shots of them.

But the forgivable flaws aside, I loved the movie, which was an Oscar nominee in 2007 for Best Foreign Language Film.

Directed and co-written by Susanne Bier, this 2006 gem is rated at 7.8 on IMDB. I’m rating it an 8.

You should give it a chance. Just like all movies, this movie has its share of discontent viewers, but stopping the experience is only a button away. So just start watching it. You might love it.

Also on Mads Mikkelsen:

Mads Mikkelsen Trivia

Looking Forward To: A Royal Affair starring Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard & Alicia Vikander

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: after the wedding, after the wedding 2006 movie, after the wedding cast, after the wedding movie, after the wedding movie review, effter brylluppet, mads mikkelsen, mads mikkelsen after the wedding, Rolf Lassgard, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Stine Fischer Christensen, Susanne Bier

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT