- Source: Another Round
Another Round (Danish: Druk, lit. 'Binge drinking') is a 2020 black comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg, from a screenplay by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm. An international co-production between Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, the film stars Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe. It follows four high school teachers who embark on an experiment to maintain a constant level of intoxication throughout the workday.
The film had its world premiere at the 45th Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2020, and was theatrically released in Denmark on 24 September 2020, by Nordisk Film Distribution. At the 93rd Academy Awards, it won Best International Feature Film and Vinterberg was nominated for Best Director. It also won four European Film Awards, including Best Film, and earned four BAFTA Award nominations, winning for Best Film Not in the English Language.
Plot
Teachers Martin, Tommy, Peter, and Nikolaj are colleagues and friends that work at a gymnasium school in Copenhagen. All four struggle with unmotivated students and feel that their lives have become boring and stale. Martin is confronted by his senior students and their parents, who express that he has become a barrier to them passing their history exams. At a dinner celebrating Nikolaj's 40th birthday, the group begins to discuss a theory inspired by the work of psychiatrist Finn Skårderud—that humans are born with a blood alcohol content (BAC) deficiency of 0.05%, and that being at 0.05% makes one more creative and relaxed.
The friends decide to embark on an experiment to test Skårderud's theory. They start a group log of what occurs when they start drinking at regular intervals to maintain this blood alcohol level. Two of the friends have personal challenges that also make this experiment attractive: Martin is depressed and alienated from his family and students, and Nikolaj's wife seems to have contempt for him. They agree to a set of rules: their BAC should never be below 0.05 during the day on weekdays and they should not drink after 8:00pm or on the weekends. Each man has his own way of sneaking drinks of alcohol during the day while teaching or coaching children, but they never drink and drive, with 0.05 being the legal limit.
Within a short period of time, all four members of the group find both their work and private lives more enjoyable and successful. Martin, in particular, is delighted as he finally manages to reconnect with his wife and children. His teaching of history becomes inspired, and his students begin enjoying class and respecting him. He teaches history through the lens of drinking alcohol, connecting with heavy-drinking students. Agreeing that the experiment should be taken further, the group increases the BAC minimum to 0.10. Still finding their lives improved, one night they decide to drink to oblivion to test the liberating effects, but after coming home incapacitated, both Martin and Nikolaj are confronted by their families. Martin's family express their worries, revealing that they knew he has been drinking for weeks. He and his wife express how each has drawn away from the other, and she admits to infidelity. The group abandons the experiment. Martin and his wife have split up, and while he tries to make amends, she rejects him.
All the members of the group have stopped drinking during the day with the exception of Tommy, whom the others try to take care of. But at a faculty meeting where the headmaster reveals that teachers have been drinking at work, Tommy arrives obviously reeling drunk. Later, Tommy boards his boat drunk with his old dog, motors out on the bay, and later goes overboard, drowning at sea.
The three remaining members of the group go out to dinner after Tommy's funeral to celebrate him, and enjoy sparkling wine. While dining, Martin texts his wife that he misses her, and she replies that she misses him too. The recently graduated students pass by in their customary drunken graduation celebrations, and Martin, Peter and Nikolaj join them in celebrating and drinking at the harbour. Martin, a former jazz ballet dancer, dances with the rest of the partygoers, which he had refused up to this point despite his colleagues' urging. His dance becomes increasingly energetic and joyous before he jumps off the harbour wall into the bay.
Cast
Mads Mikkelsen as Martin
Thomas Bo Larsen as Tommy
Magnus Millang as Nikolaj
Lars Ranthe as Peter
Maria Bonnevie as Anika
Helene Reingaard Neumann as Amalie
Susse Wold as The Principal
Magnus Sjørup as Jonas
Silas Cornelius Van as Kasper
Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt as Sebastian
Martin Greis-Rosenthal as Overtjener
Frederik Winther Rasmussen as Malthe
Aksel Vedsegaard as Jason
Production
The film was based on a play Vinterberg had written while working at Burgtheater, Vienna. Additional inspiration came from Vinterberg's own daughter, Ida, who had told stories of the drinking culture within the Danish youth. Ida had originally pressed Vinterberg to adapt the play into a movie, and she was slated to play the daughter of Martin (Mads Mikkelsen). The story was originally "A celebration of alcohol based on the thesis that world history would have been different without alcohol." However, four days into filming, Ida was killed in a car accident. Following the tragedy, the script was reworked to become more life-affirming. "It should not just be about drinking. It was about being awakened to life," stated Vinterberg. Tobias Lindholm served as director in the week following the accident. The film was dedicated to Ida, and was partially filmed in her classroom with her classmates.
During production, the four main actors and Vinterberg would meet to drink just enough to let go of embarrassment in front of one another. They would also watch drunk people on YouTube to better understand how completely inebriated people would act.
Release
Another Round was set to have its world premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, prior to the festival's cancellation due to government restrictions prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The film instead had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It also screened at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Shell and opened Film Fest Gent 2020 in Belgium.
It was released in Denmark on 24 September 2020, by Nordisk Film. In September 2020, Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. It was also selected as opening film at the 51st International Film Festival of India.
Reception
= Critical response
=
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 225 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Take one part deftly directed tragicomedy, add a dash of Mads Mikkelsen in vintage form, and you've got Another Round – an intoxicating look at midlife crises." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 79 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
= Accolades
=
Remake
An American English-language remake of the film is planned to star Leonardo DiCaprio and to be produced by Appian Way Productions, Endeavor Content, and Makeready. In January 2024, it was reported that Chris Rock was attached to direct the movie, with Stuart Blumberg writing a draft script. On the choice of director, Vinterberg jokingly said: "If it’s shit, he’ll get slapped again."
See also
List of submissions to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
List of Danish submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
References
External links
Official website
Another Round at IMDb
Another Round at Rotten Tomatoes
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