Synopsis
The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Mikael PersbrandtAnton
- Trine DyrholmMarianne
- Ulrich ThomsenClaus
- William Jøhnk NielsenChristian
- Markus RygaardElias
- Martin BuchNiels
- Anette StøvelbækHanne
- Kim BodniaLars
- Tina Gylling MortensenSocial Worker
- Stig HoffmeyerDoctor
Recommendations
- 90
Los Angeles Times
One of the places where In a Better World is especially successful is comparing and contrasting the moral worlds of children and adults, showing how difficult but essential it is for each group to learn from the other. - 83
Entertainment Weekly
A fine example of Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier's (Brothers) talent for weaving together accessible domestic melodrama and issues of ethical awareness of the world beyond our doorstep. - 80
Variety
However didactic the film's final scenes, there's no denying the sheer dramatic intensity Bier achieves. - 80
Boxoffice Magazine
An artistically mature work with pitch perfect performances. - 75
Rolling Stone
An emotional powerhouse. - 67
IndieWire
Bier has done far more compelling work before, but the globe-spanning, life-affirming, morally upright trajectory of her latest accomplishment weakens its quality while sustaining its popularity. In a Better World is heavy, but it's also heavy-handed. - 50
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Bier dramatizes our ambivalence so earnestly that it's tempting to give her awards rather than admit that the movie is a crushing bore. - 50
Village Voice
Slick moralizing grows exponentially as the plot, wrapped in travelogue photography, transparently expository dialogue, and cheap thrills, drives home spurious parallels between the first and third worlds.
