After the Wedding
Encyclopedia
After the Wedding is a 2006 Danish
drama
directed by Susanne Bier
, starring Mads Mikkelsen
and Sidse Babett Knudsen
. The film was a critical and popular success and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
, but lost out to The Lives of Others
.
In 2009 it was announced that an English language remake would be filmed. The remake is scheduled to be directed by Michael Caton-Jones
and starring Tom Wilkinson
and Camilla Belle
.
. With a small staff, he works as hard as he can to keep the orphanage afloat, and is personally invested in the young charges - in particular, Pramod, a young boy Jacob has cared for since the boy's birth. The orphanage has been in danger of collapse for eight years and now faces bankruptcy
. A Danish corporation offers a substantial donation to maintain the orphanage, with the caveat that Jacob return to Denmark (where he grew up) to personally receive the funds. Apparently the CEO, Jørgen Hannson, wishes to meet Jacob.
Pramod is upset when he learns that Jacob must travel to Copenhagen, and is insistent that Jacob return for Pramod's birthday
, which is in eight days. Jacob departs for Denmark; once there, he is greeted by a driver and a young man named Christian, and is checked into a luxurious suite at a five-star hotel, paid for by the corporation: quite a contrast from his living conditions in India.
When Jacob meets with Jørgen, Jørgen says he is still considering which project to fund. This surprises Jacob, who had understood that the decision was already made. Jørgen's daughter Anna is to marry Christian - the man who accompanied Jacob on his arrival - the next day; Jørgen invites Jacob to the wedding
. During the ceremony, Helene, Jørgen's wife, notices Jacob, and steals surreptitious glances at him. They are formally introduced during the reception, though both of them have already confirmed each other's identity. She was the love of Jacob's life, but he was unfaithful with her best friend, and they broke up twenty years prior.
During Anna's speech at the marriage festivities, Jacob learns that she is not the biological daughter of Jørgen. His suspicion that she might be his daughter is confirmed by Helene the next day. Jacob is angry to have only learned of his daughter after two decades. Helene claims that they had tried to track him down in India but were unsuccessful. She is compelled to tell Anna of Jacob now; the two meet and get along rather well, if not a bit awkwardly.
Jørgen stalls the negotiations relating to funding, which distresses Jacob because of his promise to return for Pamrod's birthday. Jacob attempts to explain the situation to a disappointed Pramod, who cuts their telephone call short. Jørgen discloses that he will create a foundation in Jacob's and Anna's name and fund it with a large sum of money. One of the conditions of the contract, however, would be that Jacob must live in Denmark.
Jacob initially finds himself unable to comply, because he is thinking of Pramod and the other children who have been part of his life for so long. He also resents the implication that he could be bought by Jørgen.
When Jacob storms out, Jørgen runs after him and admits the real motivation: Jørgen is terminally ill and will soon die. Jørgen had brought Jacob to Denmark so he could care for Anna and Helene, as well as Morten and Martin, Jørgen's twin sons. Angered at this deception, Jacob hastily leaves for his hotel room. Later, Anna turns up there crying because she has just discovered Christian with another woman. Jacob comforts her, realizing his need for her in his life. He signs the contract with Jørgen with the conditions intact.
Jørgen dies. On Jacob's next visit to India, construction work at the orphanage is well underway. Jacob asks Pramod if he would like to come to Denmark to live with him, but partly because Jacob used to rail against the rich, Pramod decides to stay in his home country.
on 24 February 2006. The film had its North American premiere as a gala at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
on September 15, 2006. The film opened in wide release in the United Kingdom
on 9 March 2007. It opened in limited release
in the United States
on March 30, 2007.
reported that 86% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 95 reviews.
Time
magazine's Richard Schickel
named the film one of the Top 10 Movies of 2007, ranking it at #4, calling it a “dark, richly mounted film”. While Schickel saw the film as possibly “old-fashioned stylistically, and rather manipulative in its plotting”, he also saw “something deeply satisfying in the way it works out the fates of its troubled, yet believable characters.”
and Tom Wilkinson
attached to star. The film will be directed by Michael Caton-Jones
, who describes it as "a simple yet terrifically emotional story that asks us deep questions about our lives, families and responsibilities." Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek, and Joel B. Michaels of The Halcyon Company
will be producing with production set to commence on Fall 2009.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Susanne Bier
Susanne Bier
Susanne Bier is a Danish film director best known for her feature films Brothers, After the Wedding and the Academy-Award-winning In a Better World.-Life and work:Susanne Bier was born to Jewish parents in Copenhagen, Denmark...
, starring Mads Mikkelsen
Mads Mikkelsen
' is a Danish actor.-Life and career:Mikkelsen was born in the Østerbro area of Copenhagen, the son of Bente Christiansen and Henning Mikkelsen, a cab driver. He is the brother of actor Lars Mikkelsen. After attending Århus Theatre School, he made his film debut in the movie Pusher...
and Sidse Babett Knudsen
Sidse Babett Knudsen
Sidse Babett Knudsen is a Danish actress who has worked in theater, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy Let's Get Lost, for which she received both the Robert and Bodil awards for Best Actress.Following the critical success of her debut, Knudsen...
. The film was a critical and popular success and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, but lost out to The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...
.
In 2009 it was announced that an English language remake would be filmed. The remake is scheduled to be directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Michael Caton-Jones
Michael Caton-Jones is the director of such films as Scandal, Rob Roy, Memphis Belle and The Jackal...
and starring Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
and Camilla Belle
Camilla Belle
Camilla Belle is an American actress. Her works include The Lost World: Jurassic Park, When a Stranger Calls, 10,000 BC, The Quiet, Push and Speedy Singhs.- Early life :...
.
Plot
Jacob Petersen manages an Indian orphanageOrphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
. With a small staff, he works as hard as he can to keep the orphanage afloat, and is personally invested in the young charges - in particular, Pramod, a young boy Jacob has cared for since the boy's birth. The orphanage has been in danger of collapse for eight years and now faces bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. A Danish corporation offers a substantial donation to maintain the orphanage, with the caveat that Jacob return to Denmark (where he grew up) to personally receive the funds. Apparently the CEO, Jørgen Hannson, wishes to meet Jacob.
Pramod is upset when he learns that Jacob must travel to Copenhagen, and is insistent that Jacob return for Pramod's birthday
Birthday
A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...
, which is in eight days. Jacob departs for Denmark; once there, he is greeted by a driver and a young man named Christian, and is checked into a luxurious suite at a five-star hotel, paid for by the corporation: quite a contrast from his living conditions in India.
When Jacob meets with Jørgen, Jørgen says he is still considering which project to fund. This surprises Jacob, who had understood that the decision was already made. Jørgen's daughter Anna is to marry Christian - the man who accompanied Jacob on his arrival - the next day; Jørgen invites Jacob to the wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
. During the ceremony, Helene, Jørgen's wife, notices Jacob, and steals surreptitious glances at him. They are formally introduced during the reception, though both of them have already confirmed each other's identity. She was the love of Jacob's life, but he was unfaithful with her best friend, and they broke up twenty years prior.
During Anna's speech at the marriage festivities, Jacob learns that she is not the biological daughter of Jørgen. His suspicion that she might be his daughter is confirmed by Helene the next day. Jacob is angry to have only learned of his daughter after two decades. Helene claims that they had tried to track him down in India but were unsuccessful. She is compelled to tell Anna of Jacob now; the two meet and get along rather well, if not a bit awkwardly.
Jørgen stalls the negotiations relating to funding, which distresses Jacob because of his promise to return for Pamrod's birthday. Jacob attempts to explain the situation to a disappointed Pramod, who cuts their telephone call short. Jørgen discloses that he will create a foundation in Jacob's and Anna's name and fund it with a large sum of money. One of the conditions of the contract, however, would be that Jacob must live in Denmark.
Jacob initially finds himself unable to comply, because he is thinking of Pramod and the other children who have been part of his life for so long. He also resents the implication that he could be bought by Jørgen.
When Jacob storms out, Jørgen runs after him and admits the real motivation: Jørgen is terminally ill and will soon die. Jørgen had brought Jacob to Denmark so he could care for Anna and Helene, as well as Morten and Martin, Jørgen's twin sons. Angered at this deception, Jacob hastily leaves for his hotel room. Later, Anna turns up there crying because she has just discovered Christian with another woman. Jacob comforts her, realizing his need for her in his life. He signs the contract with Jørgen with the conditions intact.
Jørgen dies. On Jacob's next visit to India, construction work at the orphanage is well underway. Jacob asks Pramod if he would like to come to Denmark to live with him, but partly because Jacob used to rail against the rich, Pramod decides to stay in his home country.
Cast
- Mads MikkelsenMads Mikkelsen' is a Danish actor.-Life and career:Mikkelsen was born in the Østerbro area of Copenhagen, the son of Bente Christiansen and Henning Mikkelsen, a cab driver. He is the brother of actor Lars Mikkelsen. After attending Århus Theatre School, he made his film debut in the movie Pusher...
as Jacob Pederson - Rolf LassgårdRolf LassgårdRolf Lassgård is a Swedish actor.-Biography:A keen amateur ice hockey player in his youth, Lassgård also joined theatre teacher Ingemar Lind's Institute for the Performing Arts in the village of Storhögen outside Östersund. He then attended the Stage School in Malmö from 1975-78...
as Jørgen Lennart Hannson - Sidse Babett KnudsenSidse Babett KnudsenSidse Babett Knudsen is a Danish actress who has worked in theater, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy Let's Get Lost, for which she received both the Robert and Bodil awards for Best Actress.Following the critical success of her debut, Knudsen...
as Helene Hannson - Stine Fischer Christensen as Anna Louisa Hannson
- Christian Tafdrup as Christian
- Mona MalmMona MalmMona Malm is a Swedish actress. She began her career with the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theater in 1957.-Selected filmography:* Smiles of a Summer Night * The Seventh Seal...
as Mrs. Hannson - Meenal Patel as Mrs. Shaw
- Neeral Mulchandani as Pramod
Release
The film premiered in DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
on 24 February 2006. The film had its North American premiere as a gala at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
2006 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2006 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 7 to September 16, 2006. Opening the festival was Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn's The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, a film that "explores the history of the Inuit people through the eyes of a father and daughter."In a press release...
on September 15, 2006. The film opened in wide release in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 9 March 2007. It opened in limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on March 30, 2007.
Critical reception
The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 86% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 95 reviews.
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
named the film one of the Top 10 Movies of 2007, ranking it at #4, calling it a “dark, richly mounted film”. While Schickel saw the film as possibly “old-fashioned stylistically, and rather manipulative in its plotting”, he also saw “something deeply satisfying in the way it works out the fates of its troubled, yet believable characters.”
Awards and nominations
- Academy Awards79th Academy AwardsThe 79th Academy Awards ceremony , honored the best films of 2006 and took place on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the ceremony for the first time. The producer was Laura Ziskin. The announcers were Don LaFontaine and Gina Tuttle.The nominees were...
- Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Bodil AwardsBodil AwardsThe Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by Denmark's National Association of Film Critics . The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in the Imperial Cinema in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe...
- Best Supporting Actress (Fischer Christensen, won)
- Best Film (Bier, nominated)
- Best Actor (Lassgård, nominated)
- Best Actress (Knudsen , nominated)
- European Film Awards
- Best Actor (Mikkelsen, nominated)
- Best Director (Bier, nominated)
- Festroia International Film FestivalFestroia International Film FestivalThe Festróia Festival Internacional de Cinema de Tróia is an annual film festival that takes place in Setúbal, Portugal since 1985.The festival's competitive section is open to films from countries producing less than 30 features per year...
- Jury Special Prize (Bier, won)
- Best Actor (Lassgård, won)
- Film by the Sea International Film Festival
- Audience Award (Bier, won)
- Robert AwardRobert AwardThe Robert statue is a Danish film prize awarded each year by the Film Academy of Denmark. It is the Danish equivalent of the American Oscars. The award, voted only by academy members, is acknowledgement by Danish industry colleagues of a person's or film's outstanding contributions during the...
s- Best Supporting Actress (Fischer Christensen, won)
- Best Actor (Mikkelsen, nominated)
- Best Actress (Knudsen, nominated)
- Best Cinematography (Søborg, nominated)
- Best Costume Design (Manon Rasmussen, nominated)
- Best Editor (Bech Christensen and Højbjerg, nominated)
- Best Film (Bier and Jørgensen, nominated)
- Best Make-Up (Charlotte Laustsen, nominated)
- Best Screenplay, Original (Jensen, nominated)
- Best Sound (Eddie Simonsen and Kristian Eidnes Andersen, nominated)
- Best Supporting Actor (Lassgård, nominated)
- Rouen Nordic Film FestivalRouen Nordic Film FestivalThe Rouen Nordic Film Festival was a film festival hold in Rouen, France for screening and competition films made in Nordic and Baltic countries, Holland and Belgium...
- Best Actress (Knudsen, won)
Remake
An English-language remake is currently in the works with Camilla BelleCamilla Belle
Camilla Belle is an American actress. Her works include The Lost World: Jurassic Park, When a Stranger Calls, 10,000 BC, The Quiet, Push and Speedy Singhs.- Early life :...
and Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
attached to star. The film will be directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Michael Caton-Jones
Michael Caton-Jones is the director of such films as Scandal, Rob Roy, Memphis Belle and The Jackal...
, who describes it as "a simple yet terrifically emotional story that asks us deep questions about our lives, families and responsibilities." Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek, and Joel B. Michaels of The Halcyon Company
The Halcyon Company
The Halcyon Company is an American privately financed, media development company headed by Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson. They are perhaps best known for acquiring the global rights to the Terminator franchise in 2007 and for producing Terminator Salvation, which was released worldwide in the...
will be producing with production set to commence on Fall 2009.
External links
- US Official site
- Denmark Official site
- After the Wedding The Times Review
- tiffreviews.com
- After the wedding: Film review
- UK Distributor Soda PicturesSoda PicturesSoda Pictures is a UK based film distributor of art house, independent and world cinema. They have provided distribution for many award-winning films such as Frostbite , Into Great Silence & Old Joy.- Releases :...
http://www.sodapictures.com - USA Distributor IFC FilmsIFC FilmsIFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....
http://www.ifcfilms.com/