Review: In a Better World (Hævnen)

In a Better World won the 2011 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, so It's little surprise that it is a pretty great film. Like most films of its kind its best described through its themes of justice, revenge and well...bullies rather than a description of its plot. It's slow and thoughtful but never plodding or dull. The film splits its attention brilliantly between a medical outpost in Africa and a Danish town so I always found myself wanting to know what was going on in the other place instead of glancing down at my watch. It looks beautiful and the music is equally pleasent apart from a rather generic slide show at the end of the film.

My main issue with this film is just how obvious its message is and yet how much it is continually rubbed in your face. I don't need a films message to be hidden or anything but when I've got it I've got it. I don't need it put into four different perspectives and underlined 12 times. But then having said that, each perspective was interesting and well presented.


Like many other foreign films it uses young kids as a great window to its message and plot. It's like kids are always the same no matter where they grow up so you can always relate to their Situation. Think Kolya. Christian(William Jøhnk Nielsen) is intensely 
brooding and thankfully diluted by his new found friend Elias 
(Markus Rygaard)


As I said at the start, it won the Oscar and that is normally a decent indication to a films quality but if you hate the Oscars like me then here you go, confirmed good film.


JO