In A Better World (Haevnen) Danish film 2010 Director Susanne Bier
In A Better World won the Oscar for the best foreign film in 2011.
The Danish title, Haevnen,means Vengeance.I feel that is the correct name for this thoughtful intense movie. In A Better World has the sound of a sermon, and thats not what this movie is about…even though it deals with problematic ethical issues. There is a lot of revenge happening…between bullying children, between adults , between husband & wife and between warring power groups.In all of these episodes there is an irony that can stimulate discussion and philosophic ideas. I believe the movie is about revenge , mainly vengeance that a child left bereft by the cancer death of his mother feels towards her for dying but is displaced. The reviews on this movie considered it to be a movie that dealt with world problems, but many didn’t feel it went into the injustices of the world deep enough..so it was considered to have missed its mark, despite being a beautiful movie. I think the reviewers viewed the film with their own expectations of what the movie should be, and ignored what it is really about which is the mindset and suffering of this 12 year old boy. The movie attends to that in a deep and moving fashion. I considered the critical reviews to be a question of not listening to the narrative.
Two families and 2 boys are the key to the story.The boys are both 12 years old. Elias’s father,Anton, is a surgeon who spends a great deal of time at a refugee camp in the Sudan running a clinic and a surgery for a gentle native population who live in extreme poverty and who are terrorized by a war lord,. He divides his time in the Sudan and living in his Danish village with his 2 sons, Elias who is 12 and a younger boy, perhaps 7 and his estranged wife.
The film opens in a refugee camp. The tent hospital is packed with patients with every sort of problem.Anton is trying to finish enough work so he can get back to Denmark…. it’s the end of a long day. His African assistant says we must leave and Anton says he will see just 2 more. There are many more than that sitting and waiting. As he finishes a woman is brought on a gurney. Her abdomen is slit open and she is bleeding badly. A surgery is quickly prepared. We see the surgery (all the surgeries in this movie are filmed with the audience looking down from above onto the surgical incision, and the repair). He saves her life but barely. His assistant says he has seen this kind of injury before. A warlord , known only as Bigman, bets with his cronies ,what the gender is of the fetus of pregnant women. Then they capture them, and slit open their bellies to make the bet valid for a winner.
Anton finally leaves followed by groups of children calling out a fond goodbye and gaily kicking a soccer ball that he has brought for them. They love him.
The next scene takes us to the other boy in the film. This is Christian, also 12, and we see him reading to a congregation at his mothers funeral.She has died from cancer. He is reading from the Nightingale, a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.
The story of the Nightingale is a story of a beloved Chinese emperor who has the most beautiful palace in the world. It is built entirely of porcelain and extends so far he doesn’t know its llimits. There is a noble forest with lofty trees. In one of these trees there lived a nightingale who sang beautifully.Learned men wrote books and poetry of the town, the palace, the gardens and always of the nightingale which was really the greatest wonder.The emperor read these books and as he had never heard the nightingale he sent out his men to find her. After many adventures, they did indeed return to the castle with the nightingale. The little gray bird sang for the emperor, and he was so moved with the beauty that tears rolled from his eyes, and he installed her in his court. The whole country knew and loved the nightingale,and children were even named after her.
One day the emperor received a gift.It was an artificial nightingale made to look like a living one, and covered all over with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. As soon as the artificial bird was wound up, it could sing like the real one, and could move its tail up and down which sparkled with silver and gold. It had a piece of ribbon on which was written/’ the Emperor of Japan’s nightingale in poor compared with that of the Emperor of China’s.
They tried to get the birds to sing together, but the artificial bird could only do waltz’s. As all were marveling over the new bird…its glittering beauty , and that it never got tired, The natural nightingale flew out the window and was not heard of again.
After that the real nightingale was banished from the kingdom and the artificial bird was given the title “Little Imperial Toilet Singer” and the artificial bird had the rank of No. 1 in the kingdom. One evening when the bird was singing its best something inside the bird sounded “whiz”. Then a spring cracked and the music stopped.The watchmaker fixed it as best he could but now it could be played but once a year.
Five years passed and then a real grief came upon the land. The beloved emperor lay dying and a new emperor had been chosen.
The poor emperor finding he could scarcely breathe with a strange weight on his chest, opened his eyes, and saw Death sitting there. He had put on the emperors golden crown, and held in one hand his sword of state and in the other his beautiful banner.
Music Music the emperor shouted…you little precious golden bird, sing pray sing. But the bird remained silent .there was no one to wind it up, and therefore it could not sing a note. Death continued to stare at the emperor with his cold,hollow eyes, and the room was fearfully still. Suddenly there came through the open window the sound of sweet music. Outside, on the bough of a tree,sat the living nightingale
She had heard of the emperor’s illness and came to sing to him of hope and trust. As she sang, the shadows grew paler and paler; the blood in the emperor’s vein flowed more rapidly, and gave life to his weak limbs, and even Death himself listened, and said, “Go on, little nightingale,go on”.
So Death gave up for a song.Death longed to go and see his garden and floated out through the window in the form of a cold white mist.
“Thanks, thanks, you heavenly little bird. I know you well, I banished you from my kingdom once, and yet you have charmed away the evil faces from my bed and banished Death from my heart with your sweet song. How can I reward you.
You have already rewarded me, said the nightingale. I shall never forget that I drew tears from your eyes the first time I sang to you. These are the jewels that rejoice a singers heart. But now sleep, and grow strong and well again. I will sing to you again.
I only ask one thing, she replied: “Let no one know that you have a little bird who tells you everything. It will be best to conceal it: So saying, the nightingale flew away.
I write this brief synopsis to the story so you can get a sense of Christians thinking. In the film we don’t know how much he has read as the scene starts when he is in the middle of the reading but it is a goodly amount of the story.
Christian is very disturbed by his mothers death, and the events of the movie show that. Whether he sees himself as the nightingale, but one who failed to save her or whether he sees the nightingale as his mother, one who tells him everything, and no one should know is provocative. I choose to feel the mother is both the emperor and the nightingale, and he is both also. I think his feelings are very complex, contradictory, and not explainable but lead him to very destructive and dangerous behavior as we shall see.
The father , Claus, is as devastated as the son but Christian doesn’t understand that. He works in London, but he needs a home with a mother for his motherless son,so he moves back to his childhood home where his kind, loving mother can provide for Christian as best she can. Claus continues to travel back and forth to his job in London, but this is Christians new home,and he enrolls in school.
Now we are at the school playground, and we meet Elias for the first time.He if facing a barricade of classmates…mostly bigger (he is a slender small boy) The big one is Sofus, the main tormentor of the bullying gang. They are calling Elias names….mostly ratface (he has a very slight overbite being corrected with braces)and derogatory vulgar language reserved for Swedes.(I didn’t know the Danes look down on Swedes, but the world over, each group will announce it’s supposed superiority over its neighbor….its the stuff of wars… the same here as the refugee camp in Africa) The bullies are also hitting Elias.
Christian observes this and goes into the classroom when the bell is rung. The teacher introduces the new boy, and asks his birthday. Ho,ho, it’s the same as Elias’s…sit next to him, the teacher instructs, and so he does. The bullying crowd laughs at the new boys misfortune, but Christian and Elias smile at each other, and a friendship begins.When they come out after school, Elias’s bike is mangled, and he tells Christian that every day something happens to his bike. It never ends.
Christian again observes the bullying of Elias which is incessant, and very frightening.He trys to intervene and defend Elias, but he is savagely hit in the face, and bleeds.One day after school when the bullying starts, Christian attacks Elias’s tormenters with a bicycle pump, and beats Sofus almost unconscious, and threatens him with a knife. He gives the knife to Elias who hides it. The police are called, and Elias’s parents are called in to talk to the principal. The principal defends Sofus and comments that Elias is having home trouble as the father is in Africa a lot, and the boy is often fatherless, and the mother and father are separated (the father lives in their summer home…..a 2nd home not too far away…but he is with Elias a lot when he is home in Denmark. He is actually a very devoted teaching and loving father, desperately trying to get his wife to forgive him for an affair that he had. He is deeply sorry but she is too hurt to be able to accept his apology, and the home is not happy. Sofus tells them he was threatened with a knife, but as much as the cops ask about a knife, Christian and Elilas deny having or seeing a knife. The police pursue this but the boys are adamant. There was no knife, and finally the cops give up trying to get the boys to confess.
Anton drives his son home. He is not angry with him…he is very kind and says to him that fighting with someone because they fought with you leads to an endless repetitive fighting that solves nothing, and that is what wars are made of. this may be true, but a startling new truth emerges. Christian emerges as a hero, and Elias and Christian are never bothered again by the bullies.
The two boys are inseparable…Christian is the leader and instigator, while Elias is admiring,passive, and is a dutiful son to his parents. Christian and his father seem to have nothing to say to each other…Christian regards him in a hostile manner, and their time together is awkward and not pleasant.
In the town there is a very high Silo and no one is allowed to go to the top. It is very dangerous, high with no railing or safety net to break a fall, lest anyone slip. Christian loves to go up there…the character of being alone, removed from the city life, and the danger all appeal to him. Elias follows him up but is quite frightened. Elias casually mentions it to his father. Anton is alarmed that the boys are going up to the roof and forbids Elias to go to the Silo. Elias promises his father that he will not go again, but he goes frequently with Christian with much guilt and concern.
One day, the boys are with Anton at the playground. Elias little brother has an argument with another kid at the swings. Christian goes to settle it and a fight starts. Anton goes over and separates the boys. He moves an aggressive child away from the fracas. that boys father…a burly angry looking man runs over , and spits at Anton that Anton better take his hands off of his (this man) child. Anton starts to explain that he is trying to prevent a fight, but the stranger hits him across the face. Anton gathers his 2 sons and Christian and leaves without any return remark…vocal or physical to the man who attacked him. Christian regards him a wimp.He has been considering Anton a wimp for some time as he also takes a very passive stand with his wife, Marianne, who is not very nice to him. Christian may not realize that Anton is attempting to reconcile with a wife he loves, but who he has deeply hurt , and does not want to fight with her.
Christian brings it up to Elias that they must do something to retaliate to this jerk who slapped Anton in the face. they cannot accept the passivity that was the response from Anton. It embarrasses them.They find out where he works. He is a mechanic.Christian insists that they will do something to pay him back for hitting Anton.
Elias retrieves the knife they hid at school, and brings it home. He is uncomfortable with having it, and tells his mother about it and that they lied to the police. It is Christians knife. Marianne is very angry that Elias is put in this predicament takes the knife and goes over to tell Claus about it. She comes in and they have a conversation in which she is very upset and she leaves. claus tells Christian, but Christian just stares at him, and says, “did you kiss her?” At first Claus can’t figure out what this question is about. He denies it…sort of dumbfounded how it even came about. But Christian persists…yelling at his father, saying that he kissed Marianne, and is hiding it. Claus continues to deny it and christian becomes more and more heated. He blurts out that Claus wanted the mother to die. The grieving Claus is stunned and denies. the more he denies, the more agitated Christian becomes. Finally to bring Christian down from his hysterical outburst, Claus says ok..I wanted her to die…I wanted her to die at the very end. She kept begging me to help her die..the cancer had destroyed her body and had eaten away her brain. she was in pain, and she wanted to die, and asked me to help her. I wanted to do it,but I could not because it would have devastated you.And he leaves.
Christian and Elias are working together on a science project that they have been assigned at school, and need some materials. they are at Christians home (his grandparents home). they go down to the basement and rummage around. Christian finds a large box that contains fireworks stored from years ago, that he is sure the grandfather forgot he even had. They shove a little of the gunpowder into a pipe , take it into the yard and light it. It goes off in a menacing explosion…but still contained because of the small quantity. Christian says lets make a bomb and blow up Lars car. Lars is the man who slapped Anton at the playground. that will teach him a lesson. Elias is afraid someone will get hurt. No, Christian assures him. We will do it early on a Sunday morning. No one will be around to get hurt. We will just blow up the car. I will look on the internet and find out how to do it.
This becomes their major activity as they learn how to make a bomb. there is a fascination in it for them, and Christian is intent on blowing up that car.
Now we are back in the Sudan refugee camp with Anton who is very busy with all these sick and needy people.One day a jeep filled with men with assault rifles comes storming into the camp to the hospital. the men are aimlessly shooting at everyone and nothing. the frightened villagers run for cover. they screech to a stop at the hospital and bring in a very large man with a festered terrible looking leg on a gurney. this is the warlord who is a terrorist. The leg is badly infected, open with pus, and insects are crawling all over it. He tells the Dr. he wants him to fix his leg, and he doesn’t want his leg cut off…the leg must remain, and the Dr. must heal him and he has the guns and manpower to force him.
The attendants whisper to the doctor that this is Bigman…a very evil man, who cuts and kills the pregnant women to play his guessing game. Anton is very grim at this development, but he tells his assistants that he must help this man. that is what he must do..whether or not he wants to.That is what is means to be a doctor. they look at him in disbelief, and refuse to assist him. He tells BigMan that he must order the jeep with the armed gunman to leave…that he must remain there alone with only 2 attendants of his who cannot be armed and that is the only way that he will do it. He says it will take a long time to heal and he doesn’t know if he can do it. there is some argument, but Bigman is going to lose his leg unless he agrees so he does.Anton goes to work on the wound alone.
Time passes , and Bigman is recuperating and is very restless now. Anton continues with his never ending work. A young woman,near death, is brought in with a big wound to her abdomen. Anton tries to save her , but it isn’t ‘going to happen. She dies and he tries again and again to revive her, but no use. Still he can’t pull away, his determination and frustration are so intense. His assistants pull him away and tell him its no use. At this time BigMan is about to leave with his 2 buddies. He looks at the corpse, laughs and says small pussy needs a big—why don’t you give her to (his buddy). He likes his women still and quiet. With a wild expression on his face, Anton grabs Bigman and and pulls, drags him out into the courtyard and tells him to go away…he drags him some more, and finally exhausted throws him down on the ground and he walks away. Instantly the residents rush around, drag Bigman a little further, and a huge crowd gathers and beat him to death.
Anton walks into his office, worn out. Elias is on the computer..probably on SKYPE . you can see a wavy picture of him. He is very disturbed, and wants to talk to his Dad…but it is not easy. He wants to tell him that a big bomb is built and they are going to ignite it, and he is frightened and worried. this never really gets out as he has trouble saying it, and his hesitancy about what he needs to say needs more listening than Anton can do at this emotionally exhausting time. He says to his son that he is very tired..whatever it is can wait , and lets talk tomorrow..and Elias agrees and fades away.
It is now the morning of the planned bombing. The boys come to where Lars car is parked,and carefully put the bomb under the car. As they complete their preparations, we see a mother and her young daughter jogging along the sidewalk coming towards the car. the boys do not see them. Christian tells Elias to light the fuse, and to walk nonchalantly away to their bicycles so they don’t arouse suspicion to themselves. Elias does this, and as he walks to his bike, he turns and sees the approaching woman and child. He runs towards them….stop…stop..and the bomb goes off in a huge explosion. the mother and child are safe, but Elias is unconscious and burned.An ambulance comes and takes him to the hospital.
Anton boards an emergency plane and comes home. Christian needs to see his friend…he doesn’t ‘know what the condition of Elias is. He comes to the room and Marianne runs out and forbids him to enter. she screams at him that he killed her son….she screams and screams it…you killed Elias.
Later that night Claus reports that his son is missing, and search parties go out. Anton joins them…thinks carefully, remembers the conversation with Elias, and heads towards the Silo. Before he gets there we see Christian, who is indeed at the top of the Silo…right on the edge, and very seriously getting ready to jump off.Anton has climbed up and approaches very quietly , afraid that disturbing will make the boy react and jump. when he gets close enough, he talks to Christian, to come away from the edge, to give up the idea of jumping and to leave with him.Anton tells him that Elias is going to live. That makes the difference and Christian leaves the edge of the roof. He said he thought that he had killed him,and he couldn’t live anymore. No, Marianne was just hysterical.
The rest of the movie is anti climatic. Marianne and Anton has some love play and we know they are going to be together again, and the boys resume their friendship.The happy ending seems to have irritated some reviewers who found it too pat, but there is a lot of emotion in this film.and it is a sense of relief to see ordinary life again.However one views the ending…the portrayal of this child dealing with the loss of his mother with death, anger, depression,projection of sexual feelings into the father…many of the complexities of this young boy with his tragic burden I felt made a superior movie.