Otra ronda

spanishFilm challenge number two in quarantine - a exploration of world cinema, Denmark. Once again, Thomas Vinterberg does not disappoint and presents a thought-provoking theme, which can be approached from a sociological, psychological, psychiatric, general medical, familial, and professional perspective, and I haven't even mentioned half of it yet. Given the personal tragedy associated with the preparation of this film, filming must have been incredibly painful for him. I believe he is satisfied with the result, and his deceased daughter would have really liked the film. I wanted to give it four stars because, with Vinterberg, Hon and The Celebration will probably always be my favorites, but I have to raise it up one star for the unbelievably energizing ending and Mads Mikkelsen's dance performance. I know I will watch that scene several more times, and it will stay in my mind for a long time. (03.01.2021)

Intoxicating, incredibly intoxicating. A film that perfectly captures all the phases around alcohol. The positive ones, when booze miraculously makes us more fun, more cool, more relaxed people. But also the negative ones, when we wake up in a different place than we want or (according to our sober selves) should. In a state where we're not as well as we were a few hours ago. Now imagine if someone could translate all of this into a movie and film it exactly how you feel during these phases. It's hard to say why I’m not giving it the highest score. Maybe when I'm shivering around my apartment, glass in hand, to the final song and feeling like I own the world, I'll mark it up. Or after it airs on TV. We'll see. (02.05.2021)

Thomas Vinterberg, Mads Mikkelsen, and old friends from The Celebration (1998). Or the next generation of the Danish film miracle of the 90s. The Hunt (2012) was already brilliant and it will be great if Vinterberg and Mikkelsen find another common theme in the future. Another Round is one of those cinematic experiences that can be easily talked about as gems. (10.01.2021)

To paraphrase Homer Simpson, sometimes alcohol is the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems. Vinterberg has a fresh and well-written screenplay to work with and, above all, collaboration with the famous Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, who managed to combine realism and camera kinetics into a form where one really feels close to being intoxicated. Yes, in some ways it's like a model-driven drama in the vein of The Hunt, where you feel like you know where it's headed. But Vinterberg managed to be painfully personal and civil, something he desperately couldn't do in the dead film The Commune. His characters and their drunken movement of reality are completely free of morality, and there is something unusually sincere in this film. While Vinterberg occasionally worked as a mannerist or apathetic silver screen worker after The Celebration, urgency and sarcastic energy prevail here. This film is one of the best dramatizations of emptiness and the feeling of worthlessness that comes at a certain age. At the same time, Another Round brilliantly captures the fleeting feelings of euphoria and the moments when a person gets the feeling that he has gotten the better of life (and is then immediately disappointed). This is a film about a painful search, a destructive friendship and also about the fact that catharsis does not necessarily mean finding an answer, but rather surrendering to the moment. With this final performance, Mikkelsen confirms his best form and, with his movement, describes something that I know very well. It is something I don't see all that often in a film in this transparent Nordic openness. (08.10.2020)

A great drama focused on the concept of somehow controlled alcoholism. Vinterberg again captures important details which he dresses in a plot about real problems of our age. The acting is top-notch, Mads is cleverly hidden away at first, only to become the powerhouse of the movie in the finale. Alcohol as a friend and as a destructive power. A picture about weaknesses. (03.01.2021)