"Another Round" is a celebration of life
How much alcohol is too much, the question may seem trivial but when asked by the Danish director Thomas Vinterberg it opens us up to a more complicated discussion than we expect and that not everyone is willing to have, because what differentiates an alcoholic from someone who drinks a lot; Vinterberg surprises us with another great film of his in which, far from being moralistic and instructive, he does an exercise in sincerity, rather than conclusions he leaves us with several doubts.
"I found it fascinating that this socially accepted substance can elevate people to do very inspiring and fantastic things, and yet it can kill people and destroy families or societies" commented the director regarding his film. This message is very well reflected in the story of four high school teachers Martín, Tomi, Peter and Nikoláy whose lethargic lives begin to become more interesting when they decide to start drinking during the day, as they are teachers they give a serious tone to their project and pose it as an academic study in the that will measure the results.
The story, no matter how serious these teachers try to make the project seem, it is quite obvious that it costs them nothing to start drinking, although they are quite careful that the alcohol level is adequate, they make measurements and everything; They do not take long to discover that in fact drinking helps us to be more creative in their work and to have more confidence in themselves to face day after day some often disinterested teenagers, who by the way also drink a lot, in fact the whole plot is A country that drinks in large quantities, especially its young people, develops in Denmark.
Not only are we prejudiced against those who drink regularly, but many times we do not take into account that alcohol can be of great help to combat anxiety, for example or it can encourage us at times when we need to be more uninhibited, that is, if it is consumed in moderation, the director tells us. If you go over the line, whatever that line is for you, the results will be other problems with the family and at work with a bad reputation and even death are some of the consequences of being an alcoholic and it will be useless if you propose to leave it saying that you can control it.
The measured performances of the cast make a perfect glimpse of their inner state of struggle and sadness, there are no women pulling their hair out, nor great scenes of crying, this is a Nordic drama gentlemen and also a comedy with black humor and characters that speak to each other. the face without any filter its crudest thoughts, so here nothing to blame.
The music that combines modern songs such as the main theme "What A Life" interpreted by Scarlett blazer and that summarizes the central theme of the film to the classical music of composers such as schubert and tchaikovsky reflect the passion for life, the two composers by the way they were alcoholics, I don't think this choice is a coincidence.
The story behind the production of another round is very dramatic, I had the concern to find out because already in the credits there is a dedication "to Ida" when looking for information I saw that it is about one of her daughters who died in a car accident at Because of another driver who was looking at his cell phone, his death occurred just before his father started shooting the movie, he was 19 years old and was going to participate as an actress in the film to play Martín's daughter, it was going to be his debut as Actress the production was interrupted but finally the director decided together with his team to resume it in his honor, his real classmates as well as his school were incorporated into the film and Vinterberg appreciates the support of his entire team for having helped him to continue go ahead.
"It is inevitable to celebrate the various jokes in which the actors take part" the director commented that these will be attempts to make him laugh, "another round" is definitely a celebration of life and is a call to live it with desire and not with indolence and inertia an excellent message well given that it gives four kicks to those self-help books; Cheers ... if you've already seen another round, tell me what you think and if you haven't seen it too bad.