It is rare to see the majority of Film Twitter responding positively to a decision made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. When Thomas Vinterberg leapt up and cheered after learning that he had received a Best Director nomination, everyone united and expressed excitement over this man’s moment in the sun. I knew that Another Round must have been something special when an infamously picky crowd were willing to unabashedly celebrate it.
The film is odd as it deals with a group of teachers, chiefly Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) and their efforts to deal with their feelings of inadequacy in middle age by consuming a considerable amount of alcohol each day. They theorise that their blood alcohol level should always be at 0.05. They use this theory to justify drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and briefly spicing up their lives. All of this inevitably leads them into dangerous territory and they find themselves unable to give up a lifestyle that is unhealthy.
That plot makes it sound like it’s overly morose but it’s actually one of the more easily digestible awards contenders. So much of the elation surrounding this awards buzz, seems to come from the fact that Vinterberg is a director who has stayed true to his arthouse roots. He received a nomination for a film that does seem of a piece with the rest of his work and his emotional connection to the characters is clear. One could easily dismiss this as one of those whiney mid-life crisis movies in which straight white men complain about their minor problems. It gets out of that trap by having the characters be so self aware about how pathetic they can seem and how they shouldn’t be doing something that is so foolish. It is touches like this that allow the film to appeal to a wider audience. Vinterberg also finds ways to complicate the morality of a tale that could have been a simplistic anti-alcohol tract. He is willing to flirt with controversy by noting that being drunk can have some positive side effects. It doesn’t feel like he has dumbed his work down for international audiences and this isn’t the sort of meaningless schmaltz that often brings tears to the eyes of soft hearted voters.
Vinterberg did face a tragedy during the making of this film. His daughter Ida had inspired him to write the play that the film is based on because of her experiences with drinking culture. She later pressed him to adapt the play into a film and she was meant to play the protagonist’s daughter. Tragically, she died in a car accident at the age of nineteen. This tragedy plunged Vinterberg into despair and he chose to rewrite the script for this film in order to reflect his grief over his daughter’s death. The tone became more somber and reflective than it had initially been and Vinterberg chose to adopt the message that middle aged family men need to be more engaged with their families and with life in general. It is an incredibly saddening story and it only adds depth to a film that does have a bitter, depressive tone.
These were some of the many reasons why people could grin as they watched him respond to getting recognised with genuine delight. There was no false modesty or over the top flourishes, he just seems like a filmmaker who wants to share in this glory with his family members. Of course, awards aren’t the be all, end all when it comes to quality but this was one of those times when it felt like they truly brought happiness into somebody’s life.
still courtesy of Mongrel Media
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I am passionate about screwball comedies from the 1930s and certain actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood. I’ll aim to review new Netflix releases and write features, so expect a lot of romantic comedies and cult favourites.