After The Wedding (2006)

seen on Netflix


This is a relatively straight forward drama, but a very well acted and directed one. I was attracted to this movie when I saw that Mads Mikkelsen was in the leading role.  Although he was not portraying the character he is usually cast in (think Casino Royale and Hannibal), he was believable as the gentle, but financially inept manager, Jacob Pedersen of an orphanage in India. There is a slowness, almost stiffness to the beginning of this movie. I believe that this was a deliberate action by the director and writer to show how Jacob Pedersen (Mads Mikkelsen) later opens up to life and living. Jacob has returned to his home country, Denmark to raise money for the orphanage. Away from the orphanage, he is awkward with people, hardly smiling or making eye contact. The acting is first rate and the scenes in Denmark and India are breathtaking. The soundtrack literally underscores and emphasizes the emotions in this movie.  I could have done without the multiple close-ups of the actors' eyes (and those of the stuffed/mounted animals). I am sure that it was done to generate a mood, but it got old very quickly.  This eye fascination was the only element that I disliked in the movie. Although  the English captioning did make me wonder if I was getting everything. Watching the actors mouths, hearing them speak and seeing the short sentences appear in the English caption field gave me the general impression that I might have been getting the abridged version of the script.  Luckily all the actors were up to the task of not only speaking but portraying emotions with their faces and body language.  SPOILER:  There is an emotional scene in the last 30 minutes of this film that is devastating to watch.