Open Hearts/Elsker Dig for Evigt (2002) - Mikkelsen stands out in Bier's terrific Dogme drama

♥♥♥♥♥

 

The interchanging hot and cold of intimate relations define this Danish poster for Susanne Bier's Open Hearts

 

A woman accidentally drives into a man in her car. He becomes a tetraplegic [losing partial or complete control of all four limbs and torso], and his girlfriend begins an affair with the first woman's husband, SPOILER who falls in love with her and ultimately leaves his family for her, as the hospitalized man starts to become better.

Open Hearts is the 8th theatrical feature from Danish master filmmaker Susanne Bier (Love Is All You Need/Den Skaldede Frisør (2012)), written by Anders Thomas Jensen (The Salvation (2014)), and is also the 28th Dogme movie, referring to its production according (more or less) to the conventions of the Dogme 95 manifesto, an ascetic Danish approach to filmmaking. Its original Danish title translates to 'Love You Forever'.

Bier toys with the cruel, mercurial nature of human feelings and love in this intense and compelling drama that is among the finest in the Dogme tradition. Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)) is especially magical as a man who isn't a big talker, but who acts on his feelings here, - and suffers some consequences for it. The acting is fine all around, and Jensen's script plays on several keys with humor, depth and a great pace to it.

 

Related posts:

Susanne Bier: Love Is All You Need/Den Skaldede Frisør (2012) - Bier strikes gold with Italy-set romcom

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess

In a Better World/Hævnen (2010) - Bier's Big Moral Drama lives on its actors' performances
Brothers/Brødre (2004) or, A Woman Came Between Them 

Watch a clip from the film with English subtitles here

Cost: 8.7 mil. DKK, equal to approximately 1.24 mil. $

Box office: 1,692,272 $, excluding Denmark; with Denmark (approximately 4.3 mil. $) = 5.9 mil. $

= Big hit

[Open Hearts premiered August 23 (Norwegian International Film Festival) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place in Copenhagen, mainly in the Østerbro neighborhood. The film has a score, partly made by Bier's husband Jesper Winge Leisner, which a Dogme movie isn't allowed to have, but Open Hearts tries to get around that by having it played in its scenes. The film was a huge hit in its native Denmark, where 506k people paid admission to see it and it grossed approximately 4.3 mil. $ (72.9 % of the total gross). In North America it opened #71, its peak, in 2 theaters, later expanding to 13 theaters and grossing 136k $ (2.3 %). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 507k  $ (8.6 %) and Norway with 413k $ (7 %). The film won 5 Roberts (Danish Oscars), including Best Film, out of 10 nominations, and 3 Bodils (Danish critics' awards), including Best Film, out of 6 nominations, as well as a nomination for the Nordic Council Prize and a special mention critics' prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. Zach Braff has talked about doing an American remake for years, which hasn't materialized yet. The film will be adapted into a musical in Aarhus, Denmark in 2017. Open Hearts is certified fresh at 96 % with a 7.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Open Hearts?