Product: After The Wedding (Despues De La Boda) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America] (2006)
Rating: 3.0
Well intentioned but heavy handed melodrama
I knew nothing about this film and when it started I was instantly drawn in by the strange but moving presence of the young European man working in an orphanage in India. We soon learn that a benefactor in Denmark, where, it turns out, the young man. Jacob, is from, has offered a huge sum of money to the orphanage and Jacob goes back to Denmark to get it. It's the first time he's set foot in Denmark in twenty years and he is somewhat hostile to the whole scene, but is doing it for the money. The older man, Jurgen, is an extremely successful, self made man, very Type A, who expansively invites Jacob to the wedding of his daughter, Anna, which is being held that weekend. Jacob doesn't seem like a party guy but, having nothing else to do, and really wanting that grant, he shows up at the wedding.Here's where the plot thickens. There are strange looks passing between Jurgen's wife, Helene and Jacob and soon we realize that Anna might just be the product of an affair between Helene and Jacob back in India. It's a very interesting set up and I was really eager to see where the plot would lead us. I think that, in the hands of a better director it might have been very good. As it was, it was terribly melodramatic, really over the top performances in some parts, which made the characters lose any credibility. The actors tried valiantly and there were some parts that I found genuinely moving, but much of the second half of the film was tacky.I found the Danish countryside nice to see, especially the well appointed house of Jurgen and the interesting countryclub where the wedding party was held. There sure were a lot of stuffed animal heads on the walls, though, and the occasional close ups of these beasts was supposed to symbolized something important, I guess, but to me they just looked creepy. Likewise, the many close ups of peoples' eyes. It was an attempt to be arty that really failed and further cheapened what could have been a much better film. It seemed that the director was trying to imitate Ingmar Bergman.I think that if the director had cut about a half hour of the excessive emoting, that a fine film exploring some complex human relationships might have emerged. It seems like it was a good idea that got carried away with itself, and like so many opera plots, death just seemed like the only way to wind it up. Too bad.