USA: Danish film "After the Wedding" gives insight into the lives of extraordinarily wealthy Scandinavians facing ordinary human problems

"After the Wedding," a Danish film directed by Susanne Bier about the secrets revealed surrounding a wealthy Scandinavian family's wedding debuts in the United States. The film made international headlines when it was nominated for the best foreign language film Oscar earlier this year, giving it a chance to provide to a larger audience a unique insight into Danish life, which Bier sees as necessary in understanding other cultures. "It's a very accessible way to understand other cultures, and to see, I mean, you can actually see how a life is being lived in different cultures. I think also what travels well is also that there are basic human conditions which is not dependent of the specific culture which is about family, love, compassion, loss, I mean, there are things that are probably the same for most cultures," said Bier. "After the Wedding," begins when Jacob, a Danish aid worker in India, is summoned to Copenhagen by a wealthy industrialist, who is interesting in making a contribution to his work. Once in Denmark, Jacob -- played by Mads Mikkelsen, who was introduced to international audiences as the villainous Le Chiffre in "Casino Royale" -- learns that the industrialist (Rolf Lassgard) has an entirely different agenda as mutual secrets are revealed. Much of the story deals with the trials and tribulations facing all humans regardless of wealth or social class, a point that was important for Bier to stress in "After the Wedding." "I think there's a prejudice, particularly where I come from, Scandinavia, where like, a somewhat justified prejudice, a somewhat justified, that all wealthy people are somehow, have some, are not necessarily the best human beings, and I guess that there's some truth to that, and one of the challenges was to say it's not just like that, they are, I want to make a movie where you feel that they, where you can identify with them even if they are wealthy beyond your reach," said Bier. Bier was in Hollywood in February, part of the select circle of filmmakers being feted as nominees for the foreign-language film Academy Award. "After the Wedding" didn't capture the prize -- the category boasted one of its strongest line-ups in years, and the Oscar went to German film "The Lives of Others," directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. As for Bier, the director is now busy with post-production on her first English-language film, DreamWorks' drama "Things We Lost in the Fire," starring Halle Berry as a widow who begins to cope with her life with the help of her husband's best friend, played by Benicio Del Toro. Bier shared with Reuters her experience at the 2007 Academy Awards. "It was great, I mean, it was fantastic, it was also completely overwhelming, it was like, after it was announced, it was a, I mean, the entire Scandinavian press just downed on me, and it came, I was not prepared for it, so I was in complete turmoil for like two days. And then I could finally enjoy it. And it was fun being at the Oscars," said Bier. Hollywood has recently taken notice of Bier, with U.S. remakes of her previous two films in the works: Paramount Pictures and Zach Braff are developing a remake of her 2002 film "Open Hearts," about a woman whose fiancé is paralysed in a car crash, and Sony Pictures is developing a remake of her 2004 "Brothers," about a sibling who goes off to fight in Afghanistan while his black-sheep brother looks after his family back home. "After the Wedding" debuted in a limited release in the United States on March 30.

ITN Source | April 5, 2007

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