After the Wedding - a review

Watching a film and then observing two of the leading actors stand up amidst members of the audience and receive an appreciative ovation is a very strange feeling. The ovation itself wasn't strange, as After the Wedding certainly deserved one. No, it was seeing people interact on a gigantic screen (and Roy Thompson Hall certainly does boast a large screen) and then seeing them interact on a much smaller level. As mentioned in a previous entry, a friend at work gave me a ticket to see After the Wedding. BM, if you ever read this, merci!

And now onto the review ...

What can I say about After the Wedding? Its Danish name is Efter brylluppet and it was filmed both in Denmark and India. Mads Mikkelsen plays Jacob, a middle aged Danish man who ventures to Copenhagen in a desperate effort to keep an orphanage open in India. While in Copenhagen the Jacob meets with Jorgen, a billionare who is in the process of choosing a charitable project to support. Rolf Lassgard plays Jorgen as warm and cold, passionate and controlling. The film poses questions about excess and need within a landscape where humanity and inhumane conditions coexist and, though Jacob's eyes, even intermingle. This is presented on a more more palpable level than I would imagine most of us are accustomed to. On a more personal layer a shrouded backstory unfolds as one family uncovers secrets from its past and must come to grips with one person's fading health. While the film is not cheerful film it is certainly engaging. I will refrain from writing more as I am afraid I'd delve into spoiler terrain.