In a Better World (Haevnen)

Cecil says: Ah, the Swedes and Danes sure know how to do a feel-bad movie. This gripping story has a sense of foreboding mingled with grief and dysfunction from the word go, and only lets you free right at the end.

Two 12 year old boys are the focus of this film, with the setting jumping between Denmark and somewhere in Africa, where one of the boys' (Elias) father is working as a doctor in refugee camps. Oh, and just to make sure things aren't too rosy, the other 12 year old (Christian) just lost his Mum to cancer.

Of course, it may be my own life experience that made me feel that unease in my stomach from early on. I shared some of Elias's experiences of being bullied in my middle school years; I had Christian's anger and sense of injustice, without Christian's determination to act on those feelings. And there was something troubling about the school yard pecking order, making me more inclined to keeo my head down when others were being bullied rather than riding to their rescue as Christian does.

I have also experienced that Swedish approach to violence, which is total non-violence. I can well remember as an adult being told off during a weekend away once for encouraging this shy little 7-year-old to play fight with me: "That's why the English are so violent," the mother said to me, "You encourage violence"...The thing is, and this is what happens to Anton, the Swedish father of Elias in the film, you may prove your own moral values and backbone through a non-violent approach to life, but you don't actually change those who are violent or the kids who are caught up in a playground fight for status in the pecking order...

Probably being a Swede in a Danish school as a 12 year old is about as hard as it was being the only black kid in my own Yorkshire comprehensive. Difference leads to scapegoating and isolation; it's a tough old world out there for pre-pubescent boys, wherever you are in the world.

And things are even worse for the young teenage girls in Africa who are being treated by Anton after being mutilated once pregnant. Anton maintains his moral code by treating the mutilator as well as the victims, much to the displeasure of the other refugees. But even his principles are tested too far as the film progresses.

This is a gripping tale, but not one to watch if you need cheering up. But unsettling and for me just emphasised the lack of answers in how to deal with violence and aggression in this world. You can't walk on by, but equally not advisable to jump in and add violence to violence. Probably the best option is just to steer clear wherever possible. And with only five of us in the cinema, I guess most of the people of New Haven, Connecticut were doing just that.

**.5

Bea says:
I am not sure what I can add to Cecil's review above. This is, unusually, a thoughtful film about the lives and experiences of teenage boys, and if any readers have teenage sons or nephews, might be a good film choice for seeing together and talking about later.

Whilst I certainly wouldn't describe it as a "feel-good" film, I did not find it quite as disturbing as Cecil, probably because the experience it depicted was once removed from my own - as a female I certainly can relate schoolyard bullying and pecking orders but when I was young, girls were rarely physically violent towards each other.

I liked the fact that the film tried to get inside the world of teenage boys, and I felt it did this quite well. I was also interested in the relationship and grief issues of the adults. In fact, largely this film was about grief for me, as Christian and his father tried to cope with their loss, and Anton, Elias and Marianne with the impending divorce in their family. The film tries to resolve and move on from grief, and is partially successful in this attempt, but still left me with lingering doubts about the resolution - perhaps reflecting real life, when grief can return on and off as life takes its twists and turns.

I felt the time spent in watching this film was well-spent, as it gave me a lot to think about, and Cecil and I a lot to discuss, but it was hard going and not necessarily an enjoyable experience; in fact it cast rather a shadow over what had been up til then a good day. The sort of film to curl up with a hot cup of cocoa afterwards...
***