En familie

People criticizing this for its lack of emotional impact obviously haven't lost a parent or loved one to cancer. It's excruciatingly realistic. Rikard's (Jesper Christensen) inability to come to terms with his fate pretty much sums up the horrible entity that is cancer. The phrase "what have I done to deserve this?" is uttered only once but is lingers heavily in every scene. It's pretty much the antithesis to everything Susanne Bier has ever done. And I mean that as a compliment.

A gripping drama about something as profane as death in the family. I'm actually amazed that I can't think of a single film that deals with this in quite the same way. The script is written after the premise that less is better- a good decision. Christensen, Christensen and Christensen deliver career bests, especially Jesper, showcasing a burning display of a man, not able to come to terms with his own mortality. Didn't like the intro, though.

Thematically, this is merely a Susanne Bier film. Only this one is well-directed. It's the small details in every scene, the often surprising dialogue, and the unusually bold ending that makes the key difference from this being a boring Bier-like cliché to an honest and very fine little film. It walks a thin line but ultimately takes it home. Very pleasant experience.

A good film, pulled down by clunky dialogue from a script which keeps making you aware of its constructedness, with events all too conveniently interrelated. Too bad, really, because Christensen's performance is a good one and Fischer Christensen convincingly captures how family life goes on in the face of crises and tragedy. To her credit, she never pulls too heavily on the heart-strings. Conversely, however, her film doesn't pack an emotional punch. Perhaps for this reason, it felt a bit slow.

A fine drama about losing your closed one. The movie was also about the relationship between father and daughter, and Jesper and Lene Maria Christensen were the only and the best actors of the story. The director spent a long time on people's faces. That was nice. I found the ending a bit longish, though I found the entire story pretty emotional.

What KMcNeil said... It's extremely realistic!