In a Better World (2011)

Susanne Bier's most recent film was a frivolous rom-com starring Pierce Brosnan; so it's almost a surprise to be reminded how tough her previous work was. 'In a Better World' tells a story of playground bullying, civil war, parental death and alienation. I've seen more subtle treatments of these themes but nonetheless, there's a real power to the themes, which portray both the inevitable hardships of life, but also the way that human social structures build on a further layer of misery and grief. And also the way that our own reaction to the injustices we suffer can drive us to make the world an even worse place. In spite of the darkness, this is still an engaging movie, with warm, sympathetic characters. The drama isn't quite as acutely particular as it was in my favourite film of Bier's, 'After the Wedding'; but it's still worth watching.

In A Better World is yet another great film directed by the talented Susanna Bier. In this film, the characters deal with many ethical dilemmas and general life issues. The film deals with issues such as revenge, divorce, death, and other things that people deal with daily. The three main characters, Christian, Elias, and Anton deal with these issues differently and each have to figure out their beliefs throughout the film.Christian is a young boy who loses his mother early in the film. He moves to a new town in Denmark after living internationally for many years. At his new school, he meets Elias and they become good friends. Christian has a lot of anger built up from his mother's death and takes it out very violently. He carries around a knife and knows how to make a bomb. While he only uses this violence against people that he believes deserve it, he definitely takes things too far. This brings up the main theme of the film, revenge, which is also the meaning of the Danish title of the movie, Hævnen. Christian pulls a knife out on another boy who is bullying Elias. The boy deserved to be stood up to, but the knife is pretty extreme for young boys. He then convinces Elias to help him bomb a car owned by a man who was rude to Elias's father, Anton. Yet again, this is crossing the line. Eventually Christian learns his lesson, but this shows the struggles of a young boy lost from losing a parent figure and living in an unstable environment.Elias is dealing with divorced parents and bullies. He loves his father very much, but he is usually working abroad in Africa. He befriends Christian who teaches him to stand up for himself. As their relationship grows, Elias's values become more and more unclear because of his new friend's influence. It is typical for people to be pushed into situations that make them uncomfortable by the people around them, especially at a young age. Bier does a good job of portraying this common issue and the story is very moving. We know all along that Elias is a nice person and that he knows that he should not be carrying around a knife or bombing cars, but he also has been pushed around for years and is excited to have a friend and to be able to stand up for himself. Without the guidance of his father, he loses track of his values until things go too far. People often lose track of their values as they meet more people and experience things like divorce and Elias is a great example of that. Even people who are good at heart make mistakes, but it is possible to learn your lesson and be reminded of yourself.Anton, Elias's father, is a good example of the ethical issues that adults have to deal with. He is going through a divorce caused by his own extramarital relationship, yet he is still in love with his wife. Meanwhile, he is working as a doctor in Africa, making it hard to be a good father and to get his wife back. While in Africa, the man causing all of the terror for his patients comes to him for help. Anton must decide whether he wants to help this man who has done many terrible things, or if he can deal with letting him die. Tying the larger world into the lives of the characters in the film is something that Susanna Bier is very good at. This is an interesting way of making films and adds more to the stories of the characters. Africa is a big part of Anton's life and it is hard for him to distance himself from that life, while at the same time it is hard for him to be away from his life at home. Finding that balance while keeping his morals in tact is Anton's main issue. What he is doing in Africa is extremely admirable, but it gets in the way of raising his son and impacts their lives very much. In A Better World is not only very entertaining and beautifully filmed and scripted, but it forces the viewers to question their own actions and choices. Susanna Bier succeeds at creating a film that is both pleasing to watch and an extremely meaningful experience. She has created yet another beautiful and powerful movie that everyone can relate to. In another director's hands, the plot might seem a little bit extreme, but she makes it work. The characters are not only relatable, but also very complicated and easy to become attached to. Overall, I would definitely suggest this film to anyone looking for a meaningful movie-watching experience.

This movie is a very good look at one man's inner workings or into his soul if that is how you would rather put it. The movie is not perfect by any stretch and some of the performers acting could have been a little bit better.The lead actor was very good and you could see how he was changing throughout the movie. I'm not sure exactly what it is about the cinema in Denmark and of the Dutch and that region of Europe but for some reason all of the movies of theirs that I watch I tend to really enjoy and find amazing.Definitely worth watching!

The big problem with'Haevnen' is that there are too many 'incidents' lined up in a row in an all too easy manor. Strictly speaking, all these things could have happened, but crammed together into a two hour film it's just too much - a miniseries would have been the least - if only to get to know the characters a bit better. But this being a film, the director could have more wisely chosen to build on / around just a few tragic incidents (and coincidences)...The acting, the settings, the atmosphere, they're all pretty good, although I didn't care for some of that 'shaky' camera work. And a few of the incidents (for instance, the doctor taking the children to the garage owner and that same doctor leaving Big Man behind with the angry crowd) stood out in a positive way, even within that fatted script.Good? Bad? ...Somewhere in the middle; 5 out of 10.