In A Better World

After her mid-noughties trilogy of Open Hearts, Brothers and After The Wedding I was hooked on Susanne Bier. Her films had a great intensity and tackled human drama head on without compromise or elevation. Her English language debut, Things We Lost In The Fire then followed and despite containing some of these same traits the film was disappointing.

So with In A Better World, Bier returns to her native Denmark and can now boast an OSCAR for Best Foreign Film for her efforts. And while the film is not as good as the aforementioned Open Hearts, Brothers and After The Wedding it is great to see her back on form.

While the film does have problems (broad plot parallels and poor photography) it creates some moments of incredible tension that are performed to the highest level from the cast. Mikael Persbrandt in particular is a revelation as Anton, a doctor commuting between an African Refugee Camp and his, supposedly, idyllic life back in Denmark.

Whether the film deserved its Academy Award is debatable but if it means more admissions for the film then great, this is a film that deserves a wide audience and one that will move and affect most that watch it.