Synopsis
A Danish officer, Michael, is sent away to the International Security Assistance Force operation in Afghanistan for three months. His first mission there is to find a young radar technician who had been separated from his squad some days earlier. While on the search, his helicopter is shot down and he is taken as a prisoner of war, but is reported dead to the family.
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Cast
- Connie NielsenSarah
- Ulrich ThomsenMichael
- Nikolaj Lie KaasJannik
- Sarah Juel WernerNatalia
- Rebecca LøgstrupCamilla
- Solbjørg HøjfeldtElse
- Bent MejdingHenning
- Niels OlsenAllentoft
- Paw HenriksenNiels Peter
- Laura BroDitte
Recommendations
- 100
Christian Science Monitor
A triumph of psychological drama, owing as much to Ms. Bier's sensitive style as to Anders Thomas Jensen's smart screenplay, based on Bier's own story idea. - 90
The Hollywood Reporter
Everyone involved -- actors, crew, director Susanne Bier and screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen in their second collaboration -- are in peak form in this unflinching look at repressed feelings and emotional devastation. - 80
Variety
The second collaboration between helmer Susanne Bier and scriptwriter Anders Thomas Jensen once again shows what skilled artists can do with a story that might have ended up filled with cliches. - 80
The New York Times
Filmed in the unadorned Dogme style and acted with a ferocious intensity. - 75
New York Post
Director Susanne Bier is helped by a well-chosen cast, especially the glowing Nielsen, a Danish-born actress best known for American films like "Gladiator." - 75
New York Daily News
Tapping into the basest fears of war while subverting all expectations, director Susanne Bier deftly reads between the headlines. - 70
Film Threat
What sets Bier's film apart from similar fare are the consistently fine performances and powerful scenes of surprising ferocity. - 70
The A.V. Club
A movie so nice she made it twice, Susanne Bier's Dogme-certified feature "Open Hearts" gets a slight makeover in her follow-up Brothers, another raw melodrama about three lives recalibrated by sudden tragedy.
