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Jacob (Mads Mikkelsen) is a missionary in India, constantly trying to raise
funds for his orphanage. He is summoned back home to Denmark to meet with
a possible patron, Jorgen (Rolf Lassgård), a billionaire businessman.
Jacob arrives just in time to be invited to Jorgen’s daughter’s wedding.
Jacob shows up and realizes the mother of the bride is Helene (Sidse Babett
Knudsen), the woman he loved just before he left for India and never returned.
There are more surprises for Jacob – he may be the real father of the bride,
Anna (Stine Fischer Christensen) and he starts wondering what ulterior
motives Jorgen had for bringing him back to Denmark in the first place.
Especially after Jorgen offers Jacob an enormous donation... only it comes
with very specific stipulations.
The plot sounds like something a soap opera writer would come up with – they throw every possible issue into the mix (except for the long-lost evil twin). The result could have been mere melodrama in the hands of a lesser storyteller or a less talented cast. Instead, it’s a moving story of sacrifice, renewed emotions, lost loves, and hope. The performances are honest reflections of human nature and the characters earn their emotional outbursts. Your opinions about the characters change as they expose their true nature, which keeps you engaged in their foibles.
Director Susanne Bier has a way of taking personal stories and making them utterly compelling (check out her other films: Open Hearts and Brothers) – she shows how powerful simple human drama can be.
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