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Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard, William Jøhnk Nielsen ... see more see more... , Bodil Jorgensen , Elsebeth Steentoft , Martin Buch , Anette Støvlebæk , Kim Bodnia

Anton is a doctor who commutes between his home in an idyllic town in Denmark, and his work at an African refugee camp. In these two very different worlds, he and his family are faced with conflicts t... read more read more...hat lead them to difficult choices between revenge and forgiveness. Anton and his wife Marianne, who have two young sons, are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Their older, ten-year-old son Elias is being bullied at school, until he is defended by Christian, a new boy who has just moved from London with his father, Claus. Christian‟s mother recently lost her battle with cancer, and Christian is greatly troubled by her death. Elias and Christian quickly form a strong bond, but when Christian involves Elias in a dangerous act of revenge with potentially tragic consequences, their friendship is tested and lives are put in danger. Ultimately, it is their parents who are left to help them come to terms with the complexity of human emotions, pain and empathy. -- (C) Sony Pictures Classics

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85% liked it

5,798 ratings

Critics

77% liked it

114 critics

R, 1 hr. 53 min.

Directed by: Susanne Bier

Release Date: April 1, 2011

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DVD Release Date: August 30, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (495)

  • SirPant
    January 30, 2012
    SirPant
    A fantastic film with two main interweaving storeys. Susanne Bier started off as a Dogme 95 director, a manifesto I was a big fan off but it did have a limited shelf life - what has come from the movement and from it's directors are more focused, meaningful and realistic films. I... read moren a better World is a perfect example of this. I'm really glad it was nominated for an Oscar but it still doesn't seem to have given it the publicity it deserved as I still don't know many people who have seen it. I still think Biutiful should have won but it's a deserved winner and better than most of the non-foreign language fans nominated. Isn't it time to get rid of this category?
  • fb1216165431
    September 10, 2011
    fb1216165431
    In A Better World is an ethically provocative and morally thoughtful drama that advocates family, bullying, and justice. Ambitious.
  • itsjustme2004
    September 2, 2011
    itsjustme2004
    Breath-taking cinematography. Slow moving drama, but extremely well done. Great actors. Very moving story...and lots of very blue eyes. Oh those Scandinavians!
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    July 6, 2011
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "- If you hit him, he hits you, and then it never ends.
    - Not if you hit hard enough the first time."

    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.

    ... read morent size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook">REVIEW
    In a Better World is an uncompromising but effective study of grief, heroism, and friendship, in a league where everyone faces revenge and no one responds the same as anyone else. In other words this is a challenging study of human nature stretched but resilient. The acting is first-rate, the story simple but surprising, and the awards--Oscar and Golden Globe--are well deserved.

    Woven into the intricate plot is Anton's willingness literally to turn his other cheek with his own bully in front of the boys, who demand revenge. They seem unaware of Anton's heroics in Kenya, where death stalks the tent hospital, and he is called on daily to face down both death and his revenge thoughts about a murderous tribal lord. The film's strength is its ability to attach the major players to the themes of friendship (the boys), heroism (an occasional occurrence) and revenge (everyone must face it). Director Susanne Bier has guided her actors to underplay while allowing the harrowing circumstances to do the heavy emotional lifting. Be it in Denmark or Kenya, faith in the goodness of mankind is ever-present, but so is despair.

    That third-world bookending can be emotionally blackmailing because who could be neutral about the impoverished and terrorized poor being saved by a noble physician? When juxtaposed with the sterile yet subtly violent life in Denmark, the fragility of all life and the horrors possible anywhere are amply represented if not overdone. No matter, Bier has successfully translated our fears about violence, revenge, and survival into images and words we can all understand. Our mission will be to strive for a better world.
  • fb576433743
    April 30, 2011
    fb576433743
    Just back from seeing "In A Better World". Quite enjoyed it, althought still not sure that I'd have given it the Oscar over "Incendies".
  • blacksheepboy
    April 9, 2011
    blacksheepboy
    At some point this fascinating film reminded me of Dogville. A challenging meditation on how hurt-induced revenge and the intention of getting rid of a menace can overlap when one looks for a motive to get even. It would have been much better, however, if it did not move its focu... read mores to a minor subject (in comparison) in the third act.
  • CloudStrife84
    March 28, 2011
    CloudStrife84
    Danish Oscar-winner with supreme dramatic qualities. I'll admit that the story didn't seem very appealing to me at first, but it's one of those films that really grabs hold of you after a while - once you get to know all the characters. Engrossing and fine-spun intrigues, despite... read more being a bit depressing at its core. There's not a doubt in my mind as to why it brought home the Academy Award. Because if there's one thing that Danes are great at, it's making well-acted dramas. Also a moment of pride for us Swedes, with Mikael "soon-to-be-Beorn" Persbrandt in a very prominent role. An excellent film altogether, with a strong universal message that I believe everyone can relate to.
  • gator681
    April 24, 2011
    gator681
    Elias(Markus Rygaard) is a 12-year old student whose parents Anton(Mikael Persbrandt) and Marianne(Trine Dyrholm), doctors, are often apart with Anton volunteering to go to Africa. The situation looks to become permanent with their divorce. At least, things are looking up for E... read morelias when he finally makes a friend with the arrival of Christian(William Johnk Nielsen), a new student to his school with the same birthday of July 7. Christian's mother just died and his father(Ulrich Thomsen) who travels a lot to London has left the boy in his grandmother's(Dynah Bereket) care. But then Christian attacks Elias' bully, Sofus(Simon Maagaard Holm), with a bike pump.

    With her latest film, "In a Better World," director Susanne Bier desperately wants to make an important statement about violence in the world. The question lingering at the end is what exactly is she trying to say. Is it that violence never does any good? In any case, the movie wants to have its cake and eat it, too. First, there is a case straight out of a medical ethics textbook. Then, there is Christian's behavior which might possibly be explained away by some as due to his mother just dying.(Absent parents are a constant theme here.) However, acting out is one thing, but Christian's behavior definitely falls in the neighborhood of garden variety psychopath.(Notice the violent video game he is playing.) He's not the only character who does not behave in any recognizable way, either. Add the punches telegraphed so far ahead of time that they are laughable, and "In a Better World" falls flat on its face either in sending a coherent message or telling a compelling story.
  • fb796967648
    March 22, 2011
    fb796967648
    Susanne Bier has made film after film of brutal, gut-punching morality, and her latest is no exception. If it lacks some of the of the delicacy of BROTHERS or AFTER THE WEDDING, IN A BETTER WORLD can't be faulted for not swinging for the fences. Bier is a true moralist, and thi... read mores story of responsibility and revenge is riveting from the word go. Divided between war-torn Africa and suburban Denmark, the story follows a good, good man and his family through hair-trigger decisions about how best to navigated a tricky world with grace and humanity intact. While not subtle, there is a kind of beauty in the way the tale unfolds, and you probably won't be sitting back in you seat for much of the ride.
  • fb720603734
    March 6, 2011
    fb720603734
    This 2011 Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film is a riveting experience....to a point...but when it works, it works. Basically this is a meditation on violence and bullying, wherein most of the main characters are faced with the same conundrum of what do to when o... read morene encounters a bully. Do you hit back or turn the other cheek? Does violence beget more violence or is it the answer?

    Set mainly in Denmark but with a part set in Kenya where a Swedish doctor runs a clinic for the needy villagers, this film plays almost like CRASH meets OFF THE MAP (Yes, the GREY'S ANATOMY quasi spinoff!) The tale of two families, one grieving over the death of a mother, while the other features the doctor in Kenya who is estranged from his wife and is the pacifist Dad as he deals with his own son being tormented at school. In the Kenya scenes, the Dad also has to confront a local kingpin who is raping and mutilating women, while back in Denmark, he has his own issues with a physically abusive auto mechanic.

    Bullying takes many forms here - with schoolkids and adults alike, and I became so wrapped up in the situations, because I found myself rooting for the characters to strike back. William Nielsen is particularly great as Christian, a young boy hardened to his core by the death of his mother and willing to resort to extreme violence to express his anger. Of course, nothing goes as planned for our characters, and we just know that tragedy is just around the corner. It eventually strikes, but then the movie starts to lose its nerve.

    In the last 15-20 minutes of the film, the writer obviously felt the need to tie up the many plot strands into tidy bows, and by doing so, it felt too pat and overextended. A little nerve was lost somehow. Not enough however to ruin what is mostly a beautifully shot, powerful film.

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Critic Reviews

Amy Biancolli
June 3, 2011
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Susanne Bier's latest meditation on grief and the boundaries of family -- which won this year's foreign-film Oscar -- is a tough piece of work, subtle in some ways, obvious in others, viscerally affec... Full Review

Tom Long
May 6, 2011
Tom Long, Detroit News

Simply put, this would be a better world if there were more films like In a Better World. Full Review

Roger Moore
May 3, 2011
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

A most deserving Oscar winner and a film that could provoke discussion anywhere it is shown, anywhere people of any age are being bullied. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
April 29, 2011
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

An ethically ambitious, morally thoughtful - and deeply vexing - drama about the fragility of civil order and the menace of the lawless. Full Review

Rick Groen
April 15, 2011
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

[This] encasing parable is brand new and immediately provocative. Full Review

J. R. Jones
April 15, 2011
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

I hate to rap this serious-minded filmmaker, but I'm beginning to wonder whether her scripts aren't better realized when they're held in check, whether by Hollywood star power (Things We Lost in the F... Full Review

Roger Ebert
April 15, 2011
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I admired Bier's "Things We Lost in the Fire" and her Danish and American versions of "Brothers," but here her method is too foregrounded. Full Review

Peter Howell
April 14, 2011
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Bathed in a golden light that contrasts with the film's dark emotional currents, In a Better World brilliantly dramatizes the vexing problem of trying to do right in a world of situational ethics. Full Review

Chris Vognar
April 14, 2011
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

In a Better World, Denmark's Oscar winner for best foreign-language film, boasts the kind of patiently constructed narrative that keeps you leaning forward and marveling at how all the pieces connect. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
April 14, 2011
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

[An] urgent and compassionate thriller about the vicious cycle of aggression and revenge. Full Review

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    • Christian: No one will dare hit me now.
    • Elias: Hi Dad!
    • Anton: Hi sweetie, did we agree to talk today?
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In A Better World Trivia

  • Which actor wants to make the world a better place in Pay it Forward?  Answer »
  • In the movie "Amazing Grace" William Wilberforce kept trying to end the slave trade for many years and succeeded. He then spent the rest of his life with his wife and kids, being too old and tired to continure making the world a better place. He died in 1833 and was buried in Westminster Abbey   Answer »
  • "There are two kinds of people in this world, Charlie. The first group is the people that face the music; the second group are those who run for cover. Cover is better." Is a quote from which 90s Al Pacino film?  Answer »
  • "Wo hu cang long", a film starring Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien, Yun-Chow Fat as Master Li Mu Bai, and Ziyi Zhang as Jen Yu, is better known in the western world as what?  Answer »
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