After The Wedding

This is a stunningly emotional film which had me in tears several times... I don't usually cry at weddings. My old favourite Rolf Lassgård is for once matched for gravitas by the other stars Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen and Stine Fischer Christensen. At last a full complement of Danish actors to stretch the great man and produce a truly great film.

SPOILERS

We begin in India with Jacob (Mikkelsen) struggling to keep an orphanage running. You can tell that he's been there a long time and that he's committed to helping the children. A lifeline appears. A wealthy donor in Denmark wishes to fund the orphanage, on the condition that Jacob meets him in Denmark to complete the arrangements.

Jacob is reluctant to leave India. He tells the children that The West is full of rich idiots. But the head of the orphanage insists he goes, as this is the only way to save the orphanage. So he goes.

Clearly uncomfortable to be back in Denmark, Jacob meets with Jorgen (Lassgard) who explains that he hasn't quite made up his mind which projects to fund yet. This annoys Jacob, who thought the deal was already agreed. Jorgen is apologetic and explains that he can't think straight because his daughter Anna (Christensen) is getting married the next day. He invites Jacob to the wedding.

So far, so interesting. But when Jacob arrives at the church we see that Jorgen's wife Helene (Knudsen) recognises him. They clearly know each other but say nothing when they are formally introduced. Intriguing. Then comes the big shock. At the wedding reception Anna makes a speech thanking her parents... especially Jorgen even though he's not her genetic father!

This scene is terrific. At that point in the speech Helene casts a glance at Jacob. The look plus some quick maths tells Jacob that Anna is actually his daughter. He is shocked to say the least.

The following scenes are wonderfully done too. Jacob takes a moment, then confronts Helene, leaves and comes back the next day to get the truth. Everyone tries to be civilised. Anna learns the truth and tentatively meets with Jacob. The complexity and depth of emotion portrayed is exceptional.

It turns out that Jorgen and Helene have been looking for Jacob for years. Not finding him they had told Anna her father was dead. So there's a lot of sorting out to do. If that wasn't enough, Anna's husband turns out to be a gold-digger who is too dumb to not screw his secretary in his own house, so gets caught by Anna a few days after the wedding!

The only thing that seems a bit fishy here is that Jorgen seems a bit too happy to have found Jacob. That feeling gets stronger when he inserts a clause in the orphanage funding contract that says Jacob must live in Denmark. What is he playing at?

Dramatically Helene finds out that Jorgen has a terminal illness which he has been hiding from everyone. She confronts him and he confesses that he wants to force Jacob into taking care of her and their children. This part is Lassgard at his best, facing tragedy, and Knudsen matches him blow for blow.

By now I'm in bits. Everyone is breaking down. Especially poor Anna who has found her real dad, kicked out her cheating husband and now faces losing the man she knows as her father... all in a few days.

Jorgen dies. After the funeral we see Jacob visiting India where the orphanage is now vastly improved. One of the boys is like a son to him, as he raised him from a baby. Jacob asks him to come back to Denmark and live with him... but he refuses, partly because he likes his life in India (especially in the improved orphanage) but also because Jacob always said The West was full of rich idiots.

The film ends here, with Jacob realising that he has to leave behind his emotional ties in India if he wants to maintain the ones he has now found in Denmark.

Wow. What an emotional roller-coaster. This would have been a good film with any two of the four main performances. With all four we have wonderful scenes between Jacob and Anna, Jorgen and Helene... and all the other combinations! Truly absorbing from start to finish.