Film Reviews by DW

Long films (137 minutes in this case) often mean snail-paced action but not in this case. A lot happens to this family of 3 so the film needs to be long enough to follow the single-topic plot. Very little background music, by the way so minimal distractions. Also missing are sub-plots & back stories.

Terrific!

It's the enormously high level of realism that makes this such an enjoyable watch, what you see could happen to almost anyone. Not having seen too many Norwegian films, I don't know if any of the actors are of "celebrity" status but the adults gave outstanding performances which set a high bar for the younger performers who all gave great individual contributions to something very special.

(There's a short scene in a wedding dress shop that had me laughing out loud & I bet you will too).

This is a splendid little film with a non-formulaic story line & a thought-provoking ending too. Robin Williams pops up here & there in a very poignant role: so sad.

Annette Bening consistently brings something special to the various roles she takes on, she's great to watch.

The opening scene is an example of inspired film-making. Roll out the red carpet for Joanna Scanlon, she's delivered a brilliant piece of acting here. I didn't want it to end!

Towards the end, I was thinking l could anticipate the likely ending, then all a of a sudden,things changed direction: superb!

This is a brilliantly conceived film with a rich vein of credibility both in the plot & also the script. There's an extensive cast though their respective roles are clearly defined so it's easy to follow. Some of the characters are memorable, code name "Mule" is one but there's also a likable geek who knows his way around International computer systems.

"Sub-title friendly" due to short lines of dialogue

Here are heroes & villains, a little orphan girl, a man with many faces, obscene wealth & utter poverty, tears & laughter, twists & turns. An intriguing story of two men bonded for life.

Treat yourself, you deserve to watch this terrific film.

After watching, I wanted to have someone to discuss this absorbing film but I live alone!

Plus points too many to mention but so nice to have no swearing & an insight into the Danish legal system (which I hope was true-to-life).

The story's impact didn't become fully clear until the last few scenes.

Terrific.

I watch very few war films these days so this one proved the wisdom of my choice. 10 minutes was all it took.

I watched it right through because I wanted to see who the serial killer was but I found the entire experience to be thoroughly underwhelming.

In the final scenes, the picture quality improved enormously: I wonder why that wasn't the case for the rest of this film. Had it been, I might've given it 2 stars.

Category 12 (no swearing or sexual content) with a fully relevant eco message, this a great opportunity to watch as a family unit.

Credible story line, family bonds on display, make-your-own-mind-up ending, amusing cameo performance from a character who excelled at being in the wrong place at the wrong time, questionably "typical" Iceland music from a non-speaking trio plus songs from another trio in authentic Icelandic garb!

Plenty for a family of 3 or more to discuss, as the closing credits roll by.

I had to feel sorry for Geoffrey Rush, trying his best with a daft plot & script in company with over-the-hill veteran actors or youngsters straight off the Drama School production line.

Steer clear, would be my advice or watch "The King's Speech" again to see Geoffrey Rush lifting a good film into a brilliant one.

The secret to its brilliance is that it has totally credible reality, this could easily occur in the real world. A division of the French legal system nearly gave this a film a docu-drama format, especially as all the actors were depicting truly ordinary people.

Away from the main story line, I thoroughly enjoyed the Judge's ancient housekeeper, his wife & the pharmacist. Cleverly, they included a court artist who talked through the legal proceedings with a colleague which helped us to work out what was going on.

A moving depiction of a right man in a wrong world, a principled man in an unprincipled world. As my mother might have said, "The poor man couldn't do right for doing wrong." (She would never have expected to get a "name check" in a film review)!

It's a gem..............

..................& the gem is a beautifully worked diamond that embellishes a simple story-line, slowly told "on location" to give complete authenticity. So much work must've gone into the making of this fine film.

Just like reviewer DB, I couldn't figure out the ending but I couldn't care less anyway.

Two hours in conversation with my mother-in-law would be more fulfilling.