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Bombay-based aid worker Jacob (Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen) returns home to Copenhagen, seeking a donation from monied businessman Jorgen (Rolf Lassgard) that could save his orphanage. The benefactor shows little interest in the charity’s work, but insists the younger man attend his daughter Anna’s (Stine Fischer Christensen) nuptials that same weekend, where Jacob discovers an old secret that will alter his future.
Helmer Susanne Bier and writer Anders Thomas Jensen (collaborators on Open Hearts and Brothers) craft another intense family melodrama where everyone, even the domineering Jorgen, has their reasons. Drawing us deeper into their predicaments, the filmmakers contrast the immaculate Danish interiors with turbulent emotional exchanges. Extreme facial close-ups heighten the sense of intimacy and there’s powerful playing from the ensemble cast.
