A quick summary and review of the movie
Another Round
(Druk)
1. When it was made, production, cast and set, reception
Another Round (Druk) directed by Thomas Vinterburg and written by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm is a 2020 black comedy drama starring famous Danish actors such as one of my personal favorite actors Mads Mikkelsen (Martin) ; Thomas Bo Lersen (Tommy); Magnus Millang(Nikolaj) and Lars Ranthe (Peter). The plot follows four high school teachers living a mundane life and how they managed to find a way to spice it up.
The film was based on a play Vinterburg had written while he was working at the famous Burgtheater also known as “ Court Theater” in Vienna. Additionally, Vinterbergs’s own daughter, Ida, told him stories of the drinking culture within the Danish youth. She also originally pressed her father to adapt the play into a movie. She was also cast to play the daughter of Martin(Mads Mikkelsen). The story was originally “A celebration of alcohol based on the thesis that the world would have been different without alcohol”. Unfortunately. Ida was killed in a car accident. Following the tragedy, the script was reworked to also be an “eye-opener to living”. The film was dedicated to her and it was partially filmed in her classroom with her classmates.
During an interview with Mikkelsen, he stated that they had to drink enough so that they could relax around each other and had to watch a lot of drunk people on Youtube to understand how they should act.
The film premiered at the 45th International Film Festival on 12 of September 2020 and it was theatrically released in Denmark on 24 of September 2020
At the 93th Academy awards,it won best International Feature Film, Vinterburg got a nomination for best director. The movie also won four European Film Awards, including Best Film, four BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) nominations and winning Best Film not in the English Language!. With a 7.9/ 10 on IMDB and 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. (so to the reader who doesn't watch ANY movies, because they are to “sophisticated” or “not worth their time” and watch only blockbusters like “Dune”, I suggest they go watch something else that can also be called a FILM and be open minded, you doink)
2. Plot summary
The film follows four teachers—Martin (a history teacher), Tommy (a PE teacher), Peter (a music teacher) and Nikolaj (a psychology teacher)—at a gymnasium school in Copenhagen who are struggling with their personal and professional lives. They feel disconnected from their students, their families, and themselves. During a birthday dinner for Nikolaj, they discuss a theory by psychiatrist Finn Skårderud, suggesting that humans are born with a blood alcohol content (BAC) deficiency of 0.05%, and that achieving this level can make people more creative and relaxed. The teachers decide to test this theory by maintaining a BAC of 0.05% throughout their weekdays while working, and they begin to secretly drink alcohol during the day.
Soon, the experiment seems to improve their lives. Martin, who has been depressed and alienated, reconnects with his wife and students, making his teaching more engaging. The group raises their BAC minimum to 0.10%, which continues to bring success. However, when they drink excessively one night to test the effects further, their lives begin to unravel. Martin’s family confronts him about his drinking, and his wife admits that she was cheating on him. The group disbands the experiment, and Martin’s marriage ends.
Tragedy strikes when Tommy, the most affected by the drinking, drowns after drunkenly navigating his boat into the sea. The remaining teachers, feeling the loss, try to move forward. At Tommy's funeral, Martin receives a text from his wife saying she misses him. The three friends celebrate Tommy’s life and join a drunken graduation celebration by the harbor. Martin, initially reluctant to dance, finally joins in with joy, and his exuberance culminates in him jumping into the bay, symbolizing both freedom and the consequences of their reckless experiment.
3. My honest reaction
Well, this will be a weird one, since it's my first movie review: I found this movie recently since I do actor movie marathons. After finishing Jake Gyllenhal and Ryan Gosling and Christian Bale’s movie catalog, I was wondering who would I start next, that was until I saw a video on Youtube about the changes and many faces of the character “Hannibal”, the books, movies and even its own series. Of course, I watched the whole video and got really interested in Mads Mikkelsen’s performance in the critically acclaimed television series “Hannibal” as the cannibalistic psycho killer Hannibal. From that I watched the whole series (absolute cinema) and decided to see which movies he acted in. “Another Round” caught my attention the most since I have seen the famous dance scene at the end and also that Mads Mikkelsen was playing as a history teacher (which I felt personal since I want to be a history teacher).
As the plot was already summarised, I will share my personal feelings and opinion: The movie felt personal. Martin has lost his spark in life, not passionate to teach, be with his family and knowing that he is getting older. Feeling confused as to what to do to make his life colorful again, I felt a connection to the character, as I also feel confused on what to do to make my life as energetic, beautiful (thus that's why I came back to writing and doing stuff).
There are cute moments and it is relaxing to watch a more grounded film and to take a break from all of the sci-fi, cgi filled, explosion, popcorn munching movies you watch on a daily basis.
The teachers' relationships and chemistry is also well crafted, as they all have their own mid life crises and also get each other's support. Moving on, I also personally enjoyed watching how each teacher has their own personal problems, whether it's Martin’s alienation from his family, Nikolaj’s problem with raising three kids or Peter’s loneliness. Alo interesting was to see how each teacher teaches their students in different ways. Which reminds me to congratulate all of the cast for their incredible performance (even though most of them knew each other from before).
The camera work is phenomenal, as is the way it smoothly shifts tones from Martin’s home to the classroom, the opening “beer” race scene and Martin’s “declaration of freedom” dance,the shaky camera movement when they get extremely drunk at a local bar. The soundtrack was on point too, it was mainly classical music and the school’s choir.
If I have one criticism, it is that some characters, such as Peter, weren't focused that much (and probably that since It's my first, not actiony flashy film, it was at times boring to me).
Overall, this film definitely deserved all those awards and I recommend it to anyone who wants to watch a more grounded movie filled with emotional characters, a lot of monologues , good script and good camework.
4. Overall?
What I managed to get out of this movie is that you should always try new stuff. As a person who is always on the more negative side, tired of the mundane but too scared to try something new, I recently came to the realization that to live you must experience life. From getting drunk for the first time, first kiss, first love, first disappointment, to feeling the heaviness of losing a competition, a loved one, to the great joy of finally achieving something, watching the fruits of your labor grow. If I have a message that I want to give out to all the people, I suggest you go out there and live life, after all, you only have one.