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Original Message
"Brothers:" the original one by Susanne Bier, is another lacerating emotional
Posted by tinear on December 16, 2009 at 09:14:39:
roller-coaster ride. Coming on the heels of "Open Hearts," this surely completes the best one-two tragedy punch of any modern director.
Nikolaj Lies Kaas, the very effective victim in "Open Hearts," proves once again he is one of the screen's most powerful young actors in his fierce portrayal of the younger, under-achieving brother. The veteran Danish star Ulrik Thomsen, however, easily bears the weight of the film in his portrayal of a silent, strong man driven to madness by one unspeakable act committed during a wartime deployment to Afghanistan. During his stint, he is captured but reported as having been killed in an explosion. Back home in Copenhagen, his wife and daughters try to carry on, their grieving ameliorated from an unlikely source. As they begin to find peace, however, the father is found and returns to his family. From there, it gradually becomes clear he is not the same man to whom they bid a tearful farewell.
Bier's film is greatly helped, as I mentioned, by fine male performances but the wife, brilliantly underplayed by Connie Nielsen, is also superb, joining Paprika Steen and Sonja Richter from, "Open Hearts" to complete a threesome of wonderful female actors.
Where are the talented young actors in this country and why has Denmark become such a treasure trove of superb acting? I don't think we have one actor the match of any of these six.