If other atheists than myself react to this movie as I did, they will find its story of academic interest in the everlasting quest to understand the role that religion plays in human behavior, but they will have a hard time identifying with the motivations for the behaviors of many of the characters. The story concentrates on a Danish farming family in 1925. The main characters are: the father Henrik, a member of a liberal Christian sect; Mikkel, a son who has lost his faith; Inger, Mikkel's wife; Johannes, a son who believes himself to be Jesus Christ; and Anders, a third son. Also, there is Peter, a tailor who is a member of a conservative Christian sect.
The characters we get to know well are Henrik and Mikkel. The only notable thing revealed about Anders is that he has fallen in love with Peter's daughter Anne, precipitating a proxy religious war between the two Christian factions. Johannes emerges from time to time spouting quotes from the Bible and other moral admonitions--that is all we know about him, and all we need to know, outside of his having been driven to his madness by studying Kierkegaard. As far as I am concerned the movie could have done with a lot less of Johannes. One takeaway for me was to witness yet once again the power of religion to cause much grief. If religion were removed from the equation here, then I think all of these people would have been much happier.
The movie is clearly based on a stage play and it has not been opened up much to make it more than the filming of a play.
Given the language barrier for me and the fact that I could not identify with most of the characters, I did not find the acting to rise above average. The women are not given much to go on. Mikkel's wife presents a pleasant, beatific presence and Anders' girlfriend is treated by Peter like property.
The birth scene I found excruciatingly painful. Not much was actually shown, but the offstage sound effects and final outcome were horrific.
Movies like this leave me in a quandary. I can recognize the quality of the production, but the main message (the value of pure faith to accomplish miracles) is something that I reject. Could any homophobe ever be enthusiastic about "Brokeback Mountain?"
I would be less critical of this movie if it had ended with Anne's becoming part of Henrik's family. Instead the movie presses on to a resurrection scene that I found to offer an unsatisfying and quite unbelievable resolution.
The characters we get to know well are Henrik and Mikkel. The only notable thing revealed about Anders is that he has fallen in love with Peter's daughter Anne, precipitating a proxy religious war between the two Christian factions. Johannes emerges from time to time spouting quotes from the Bible and other moral admonitions--that is all we know about him, and all we need to know, outside of his having been driven to his madness by studying Kierkegaard. As far as I am concerned the movie could have done with a lot less of Johannes. One takeaway for me was to witness yet once again the power of religion to cause much grief. If religion were removed from the equation here, then I think all of these people would have been much happier.
The movie is clearly based on a stage play and it has not been opened up much to make it more than the filming of a play.
Given the language barrier for me and the fact that I could not identify with most of the characters, I did not find the acting to rise above average. The women are not given much to go on. Mikkel's wife presents a pleasant, beatific presence and Anders' girlfriend is treated by Peter like property.
The birth scene I found excruciatingly painful. Not much was actually shown, but the offstage sound effects and final outcome were horrific.
Movies like this leave me in a quandary. I can recognize the quality of the production, but the main message (the value of pure faith to accomplish miracles) is something that I reject. Could any homophobe ever be enthusiastic about "Brokeback Mountain?"
I would be less critical of this movie if it had ended with Anne's becoming part of Henrik's family. Instead the movie presses on to a resurrection scene that I found to offer an unsatisfying and quite unbelievable resolution.