Film HITLIST THE BEST FILMS
OUTSIDE THE FESTIVALS
list.co.uk/film
In a Better World Oscar-winning melodrama juxtaposes moral dilemmas in a refugee camp and a Danish community with engrossing results. See review, right. Filmhouse, Edinburgh and selected release from Fri 19 Aug.
The Inbetweeners Movie Those embarrassing adolescents step out in their first feature film as they head off on holiday together. See feature, page 90, and Also Released, opposite. General release from Fri 19 Aug. Kind Hearts and Coronets Hilarious jet black Ealing comedy starring Alec Guinness, resurrected on digital print. See Also Released, opposite. Selected release from Fri 19 Aug.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes We gave them the power and now those monkeys are coming to get you in this prequel to the ape planet sci-fi thrillers. Out now on general release. The Devil’s Double Based on ‘Uday Hussein was a complete bastard’ by his body double. Giddy thriller based on real events. Out now on general release.
One Day Likeable adaptation of David Nicholls’ best selling book. Starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess as Edinburgh University students who carry on a relationship for life. See review, opposite. Out now on selected release.
Salt of Life More food, interfering pensioners and mid-life crises in Gianni Di Gregorio’s delightful follow-up to Mid-August Lunch. A slow and tasty treat. GFT, Glasgow and Filmhouse, Edinburgh until Thu 25 Aug.
Project Nim More monkey magic in James Man On Wire Marsh’s superb documentary about an ill-conceived social experiment that goes weirdly wrong. Needs to be seen to be believed. Out now on selected release.
100 THE LIST 18–25 Aug 2011
DRAMA/THRILLER IN A BETTER WORLD (HAEVNEN) (15) 117min ●●●●●
The winner of the 2011 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the digitally-shot In a Better World is another of director Suzanne Bier’s emotionally intense male melodramas, scripted by her regular collaborator Anders Thomas Jensen. It begins in an African refugee camp, where a Swedish surgeon, Anton (Mikael Persbrandt), is treating a patient whose unborn baby has been hacked out of her stomach by an infamous warlord, Big Man. Returning to a Danish coastal town, where he has separated from his wife, Anton discovers that their son, Elias (Markus Rygaard), is being repeatedly bullied at school. A recently bereaved new student, Christian (William Jonk Nielsen), comes to Elias’ aid by assaulting the tormentor and putting an end to the harassment. Emboldened by this demonstration of physical vengeance, however, the two young friends encourage Anton himself to confront a grown-up local bully.
In shifting between the two seemingly opposed environments of ‘civilized’ Europe and war-torn Africa, In a Better World throws up some powerful moral dilemmas. What good is Anton’s turn-the-other-cheek pacifism when confronted by such a cruel individual as Big Man? What are the circumstances when it’s acceptable for humans to seek physical retribution? Given that the school seeks to dismiss the hounding of Elias by blaming his parents for splitting up, does Christian’s Old Testament- style ‘eye-for-an-eye’ philosophy not have some validity in this context?
It’s a powerfully acted work, especially by newcomer Jonk Nielsen, and Bier punctuates proceedings by some striking landscape images of both Denmark and Africa. A pity then to note that In a Better World ultimately loses its way amid a flurry of last-minute rescues and familial reconciliations, reflecting an obligation perhaps to live up to the film’s idealistic title. (Tom Dawson) ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh and selected release from Fri 19 Aug.