In a Better World

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Two outcast school boys (William Johnk Juels Nielsen & Markus Rygaard) begin to retaliate against the violence and injustice of their assaulters and it goes too far.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, William Johnk Juels Nielsen, Markus Rygaard, Bodil Jorgensen, Toke Lars Bjarke, Simon Maafaard Holm, Odiege Matthew, Elsebeth Steentoft, Anette Stovelbek, Kim Bodnia, Martin Buch

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. As is the case with most of Susanne Bier's films, you have to have a strong stomach and a fair amount of patience to endure it, but if you can, you will find you have a lot of respect for how angry she makes you feel.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Susanne Bier doesn't believe in humor.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Cry for a better world maybe. But mostly, it will inspire you not to have children, because they are the ones who will have to live in this one.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I predict that it will win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, last year.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: If the Academy really felt compelled to nominate kids for acting awards, these are the ones they should've nominated. Both Markus Rygaard and William Johnk Juels Nielsen blow Hailee Steinfeld out of the water. And if their characters had met her in a swimming pool, they probably would've done it literally.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Susanne Bier is one of the original Dogme 95 crew, and 16 years since that Danish filmmaking philosophy was founded, she hasn't seemed to veer too much from it. Some of the rules she still follows are: shooting solely on location and hand held. One of the rules she no longer follows is: The director must not be credited.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Intense, vicious, and true to how quickly sorrow, depression and desperation can turn even the most average of us into destructive psychopaths.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: In a Better World Trailer

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The White Ribbon

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Pre-World War I Germany, in a small town made up of self-righteous a-holes, strange accidents start to occur on a regular basis, and nobody knows why or who.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi, Leonie Benesch, Ulrich Tukur, Ursina Lardi, Burghart Klaussner, Steffi Kuhnert, Josef Bierbichler, Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Rainer Bock, Susanne Lothar

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It’s in black and white. It’s in German. It’s got subtitles. It’s a period piece. And it’s over 2 hours long. But if you enjoy not having a story spoon fed to you as to the why’s, how’s, and what for’s, this dark story could be your favorite film of the year.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If the depraved nature of heartless humans humors you, you will. My audience certainly discovered their dark side.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Especially if you’re Jewish, because it’s hard to look at all those Aryans and listen to the harsh German accents they are not using in jest… Although this movie certainly explains the type of cultural background it would take to lead so many people to think that joining the SS is cool.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won the Palme D’Or at Cannes. Which says more about the French than it does about this movie.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Even the smallest of children were able to cry on cue.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: About as deliberate as it gets. You get the impression that Michael Haneke gets everything he wants on the set, and there’s nothing accidental anywhere.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Pay very close attention to the narration in the first 2 minutes. Write it down if you have to. It’s the only clue you will get as to what this movie was about, and when the story ends, it will all seem much more relevant.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Regardless of your intellectual prowess, I suggest you bring the smartest person you know. You’re going to need someone to piece it together with you when it’s over, and you won’t know where to start.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-white-ribbon/38469/trailers

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