I had a few misgivings about watching this film as someone who has not had a sip of alcohol in over six months. Would it trigger me into drinking? Would it portray drinking in a positive light? Obviously I threw my doubts aside and watched it and I am glad I did. This film primarily tells the tale of Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) who is going through the motions of life. He is no longer effective as a teacher and his family life is lacking due to the alienation of his wife and kids. However, on a boozy night out with a group of co-workers / friends an idea is formed, based on Norwegian philosopher and psychologist Finn Skårderud's theory that humans are born with a blood alcohol level 0.050 lower than it should be, and that that amount should be drunk every day in order to bring about optimum performance levels. As all four friends engage in drinking in the morning things appear to work well, until the inevitable escalation. First off, this film is genuinely funny. Secondly, it is moving. Third, it is beautiful to look at. However if I were to judge this film as person who has a troubling relationship with alcohol and try to pinpoint a message to the film, then I would have some trouble. I believe the film is a commentary on the absurdity of Danish drinking culture. Not being Danish I maybe can't fully comprehend the social intricacies, but being British I can certainly understand (drinking is our culture). For better or worse this film doesn't appear to state definitively whether drinking alcohol is good or bad. Certainly you view tragedy born from over imbibing, but then it shows that there are some positives. For someone like me who wishes to moderate but can't and wants a binary judgement, this rubs me the wrong way.
Review of Another Round
