RSS 2.0 FeedMay 25, 2011, Featured Articles, Film
FILM REVIEW: "In a Better World" couldn’t be any better
Every once in a blue moon devoted cinema patrons have the opportunity to savor a work of art on the silver screen like a finely aged wine or a slice of rich chocolate cake. One of those rare opportunities can now be witnessed in the Kansas City area with the current running of "In A Better World," the 2011 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film.
In a windswept refugee camp in a war-torn African nation, a doctor named Anton (Mikael Persbrandt, Everlasting Moments) risks his life daily to provide desperately needed medical assistance. It’s a stark contrast to his other life in the idyllic Denmark town he calls home. However, not everything is rosy as Anton’s marriage to Marianne (Trine Dyrholm) is on life support and his diminutive 10-year-old son, Elias (Markus Rygaard) is being bullied at school.
Marooned on an island of loneliness, Elias’s apparent salvation comes when a stern-faced young boy named Christian (William Johnk Nielsen) arrives at his school from London. Elias gains a friend who defends him against the bullies, but Christian has a deep inner pain stemming from the recent death of his mother. Christian’s father, Claus (Ulrich Thomsen, The International) tries yet is always pushed away by the increasingly troubled Christian.
Elias and Christian quickly form a strong bond as both are wounded souls with sometimes physically absent fathers. Christian’s descent into nothing less than madness leads to an act of revenge which threatens not just their friendship, but their lives as well.
From the instant it starts, the pacing of In A Better World is brilliantly done as the tension builds steadily without any pauses or missteps. It’s easy to feel like you’re sitting on the edge of your seat during the last third of the film. The script is delivered with genuine emotional depth by the entire cast while the fragility of life and the complexities of human emotions come shining through with a tangible resonance.
In A Better World is a prime example of how great cinema can be and should prove to be a richly rewarding experience if you give it a chance.
On a letter grade scale from “A” being excellent to “F” for failing, In A Better World receives an A+.
In A Better World is rated R and has a running time of 119 minutes.
Now showing through May 26 @
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for more information.
Glenwood at Red Bridge
11118 Holmes, KCMO
Visit www.fineartsgroup.com or call 816-942-1131 for more information.
Indie Film Editor
Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.
In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.
Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.
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